Having your own restaurant is often a life project, a dream come true and a personal achievement. Behind this ideology lies a finely crafted strategy to make the restaurant work. Gastronomy or fast-food, whatever your sector of activity, it is imperative that you choose the right equipment and the right kitchen accessories in order to claim professional quality. This is the only way to impress your guests and create a loyal customer base.
Draw up a list of materials and equipment
As with any project, equipment, especially restaurant equipment, must be carefully selected. Rather than starting your purchases randomly, by chance, you should rather draw up an exhaustive list of the items you need. It is even recommended that you start by defining the essential parts you need to run your restaurant. To do this, provide an Excel spreadsheet in which you can insert your elements:
- Cooking equipment: Deep fryer, microwave, hot plates, stove, etc.
- Food preparation appliances: Robot, blender, electric vegetable peeler, etc.
- Refrigeration tools: Freezer, ice machine, cold table, etc.
Maintenance equipment: Garbage disposal, sink, dishwasher, etc.
Once you have indicated on this table the appliances that require the largest share of investment, you can think about the dishes. For the smooth running of a restaurant, you will need plates, salad bowls, large utensils, woks, etc. Next comes the furnishing equipment. To have a well-organized professional kitchen, you need to carefully choose your storage units, removable worktops, as well as chairs and stools that will allow you to increase your level of comfort while speeding up the pace of work. You can determine your needs and order your professional catering equipment on many websites like
www.rollergrill-international.com for instance.
Resistant and secure equipment
The choice of professional kitchen equipment differs from that of a domestic kitchen. At home, the equipment is not used as much as in a restaurant. When you start a project, remember that your equipment will be used all day long, which can lead to it deteriorating faster than you think. Your CHR equipment must then be of very good quality to withstand the test. On the other hand, there is also the safety aspect. When customers become numerous, your tools and machines represent a definite danger. Splashes of utensils that contain hot oil, a sharp electric robot with a blade that clings to your fingers, a dishwasher that shocks you when you turn it on because your hands are wet. Quality and safety come at a great price! There's no denying it, quality comes at a price. You are then faced with an important choice: buy equipment in affordable materials and with limited operation, but which do not cost very much or get good quality tools but which require a good investment. If you are new to the restaurant business, be aware that you can't avoid paying a large sum of money, especially for the purchase of basic machines such as fryers, ovens, cookers, etc. If you don't want to find yourself in a few months with a broken appliance or worse, an appliance that will reduce the quality of your dishes and tarnish the reputation of your restaurant, bet on excellence!
Entrust maintenance to a professional
Once again, restaurateurs, especially novices, think they can reduce their expense bills by doing everything themselves, including machine maintenance. This amateurish behaviour can in no way be applied in the context of a restaurant and a respectable professional activity. Be aware that every machine is sold with its own maintenance contract. Each time you encounter a problem with a machine, you must quickly ask for the intervention of a professional. The maintenance of equipment for hotels and restaurants cannot be improvised. It requires a high level of expertise without which your equipment can be disrupted rather than repaired. Even if this maintenance contract is limited in time, take advantage of it while you have the possibility. Then get your own technician. You'll need it more than you think:
- Control
- Maintenance
- Repair
On the other hand, it is highly recommended to be intelligent and practical when designing your professional kitchen. Saving space and a practical location for your equipment is certainly a prerequisite for optimising work in the kitchen. But you also need to put your machines in an easily accessible place. It would be a shame to close the restaurant for repair work which, being clever, can be carried out even when the kitchen is running. So, when choosing your professional kitchen equipment, check their dimensions and the location of the opening. By giving it the necessary importance, you will combine practicality, space saving and efficiency.