The Ultimate Commercial Kitchen Equipment Checklist

The Ultimate Commercial Kitchen Equipment Checklist

The market for restaurant kitchen equipment is huge.

Globally, it's estimated to be worth approximately $112 billion by 2025.

Great restaurants need the best equipment in order to thrive. That's why they're happy to shell out large amounts of money on these items. As well as enabling them to store, prepare, and sell food, they can dictate the success of the business.

If you're looking to buy commercial kitchen appliances for your restaurant, you're in the right place. In this article, we'll give you a list of all the items you need.

Essential Restaurant Kitchen Equipment

If you're looking to start a restaurant business, buying equipment for a restaurant is one of the first things you'll need to do. With these items, you can serve up just about any type of cuisine.

Commercial Refrigerators

In order to keep your food fresh for as long as possible, it's crucial that you buy top-quality commercial refrigeration equipment.

They'll stop your ingredients from spoiling, increasing their lifespan, and saving you money. That's why they're one of the most important pieces of industrial kitchen equipment out there.

When you're thinking about what type of refrigerators to buy for your restaurant, consider the size and capacity that you'll need. A restaurant that seats a hundred people will require much more than a small, casual cafe, to keep this in mind when you're shopping.

Take a look at the various features available, too. Ideally, you should be looking at reach-in refrigerators, as these will be the most convenient for your staff. However, you may also need a walk-in cooler if your establishment is particularly big.

You may also need prep refrigerators, which have countertops mounted to them, or merchandise refrigerators for customers to use.

Commercial Grill

Whether you're grilling steaks, pancakes, or burgers, you'll need the perfect commercial grill.

Flat-top grills or griddles are great all-around options for restaurants. They can accommodate just about any food, allowing you to prepare several separate servings in one space at the same time.

There are also other specific types of grills.

For example, panini grills have a lid that can be pulled down to press and cook Italian sandwiches. For Japanese restaurants, there are dedicated Teppanyaki griddles available. There are tortilla grills for Mexican restaurants, too.

Ice Machine

A restaurant isn't complete without an ice machine. How else would you serve cold drinks on a large scale?

These machines will constantly create ice, so it's ready for your staff to use and serve at all times. It can be dispensed into an ice bin or directly into a soda fountain.

You can also use these machines to create blended ice drinks like margaritas, smoothies, and slushies.

Cookware & Linens

As well as large commercial kitchen appliances, you'll also need to purchase cookware. These essential items can add up quickly, so it's important that you write out a kitchen checklist and make sure you cover what you need.

The specific cookware items you need will depend on the cuisine you're serving and the skills of your chefs. However, this generally includes pots and pans, baking pans for cakes and pies, and hand tools like tongs, whisks, ladles, and spatulas.

Of course, you'll also need to shop for knives.

On top of that, there are linens to buy. This means various towels and rags that will be used to handle hot equipment for your restaurant and clean it as well.

Oven

Every restaurant needs an oven. However, there are lots of different types to choose from.

First, there are conventional ovens and convection ones. Then, there are pizza ovens, too. These can include brick ovens, conveyor ovens, and deck ovens.

The specific type you need will depend on the type of food your serving and how quickly you want to prepare it.

Deep-Fryer

Are you serving french fries, tempura, calamari, mozzarella sticks, churros or donuts? If so, you'll need a deep-fryer.

When you're shopping around, take note of the capacity and temperature range you need. Then, consider the individual features of each model, how appropriate they are for your cuisine, and how easy they are to clean.

Shelving

For your dry storage, you'll need to buy some shelving.

Before you do so, consider the needs of your business. Will you need to move it from place to place around your restaurant? If so, look for some with lockable wheels.

If your shelving will be used to store delicate items like bottles, plates, and glasses, you might need to look at caged shelving units. This will prevent any accidents, spillage, or damage.

A POS System and Printer

A POS (point of sale) system will help you to keep track of all of the orders and transactions that take place in your restaurant.

Waiting staff can use it to input every order they receive and communicate them to the kitchen staff in a quick and efficient way. This means your service is efficient and mistakes are kept to a minimum.

It can also be used to track employee hours and calculate labor costs, as employees can use them to clock in and out of work.

Along with the POS system, you'll also need a printer. This will produce tickets for the kitchen staff to use for each order, as well as bills and receipts for customers. You may have several printers for different stations throughout the restaurant.

Safety Equipment

Health and safety is a priority in the restaurant business. If you don't follow the appropriate regulations, you could get shut down before you even get started.

Stock up on items that keep your staff and premises safe, such as security cameras, fire extinguishers, wet floor signs, aprons, oven mitts, and goggles.

Buy the Right Equipment

In order to run a successful restaurant, it's crucial that you arm yourself with the best tools of the trade.

That means buying equipment for a restaurant that not only suits the needs of your staff and your customers but your budget, too.

If you're not sure what to look for, we're here to help. See our restaurant kitchen equipment buying guides to find out what you need.

Eco-Friendly Commercial Kitchen Equipment Infographic

Comments

  1. comment authorRavi Solanki Oct 12, 2018

    Nice Checklist! Cooking can be interesting and easier with the right kitchen equipment! When it comes to collection of Commercial Kitchen Equipment, it is always good to use thick and heavy pans & pots of high quality. Stainless steel, copper and aluminium are good material to choose.

  2. comment authorSuhana Morgan Nov 5, 2018

    Great and supportive information about kitchen tools. As a kitchen worker or housewife, this is a perfect blog post for me. Good explanation on cooking instruments.

  3. comment authorNorthern Catering Jan 2, 2019

    Great Post. Thanks for sharing this. Really helpful

  4. comment authorKing if the KIngs Apr 25, 2019

    I think this great for my dishwasher

  5. comment authorKafilat May 9, 2019

    Thank You so much, you have been helpful!

  6. comment authorklassicessential Jun 24, 2019

    Wow, appreciate your article i have been looking up since long time to set my new kitchen and finally your article helps me a lot and planning for business purpose too.

  7. comment authorFrey Sep 17, 2019

    Wow good article, checklist that you write is very helpful, and it is important for more complete kitchen tools. and yeah we have to buy equipment according to our needs, thank you for sharing.

  8. comment authorLarry Austin Nov 6, 2020

    Wow got the information l needed . To stage my start up store.

  9. comment authordolargroup Jul 15, 2021

    Thank you for sharing such amazing information with us. I found this blog very useful for those who are looking for kitchen equipment. And yes I was planning to open a restaurant so this blog helped me. Keep sharing.

  10. comment authordolargroup Jul 27, 2021

    That’s great information! You have put lots of effort into preparing this wonderful material! It helps lots of people!

  11. comment authordolargroup Dec 29, 2021

    Amazing article and valuable information on this website I will totally recommend this website to my friends and family. I found it a very useful and wonderful blog. Keep Sharing.

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