Improved Productivity: 3 Ways To Organize Your Restaurant's Kitchen

1 September 2015
 Categories: Food & Cooking, Articles

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Even if you have incredible cooking skills, opening up a restaurant is a lot harder than you might think. The success of a restaurant is not only attributed to the quality of the food, but also the service provided and whether the restaurant owner knows how to reduce expenses to increase their profit margin. The truth is that 60% of restaurants do not make it past the first year and 80% of restaurants go under within 5 years. Keeping the kitchen organized will boost productivity, which in turn will help reduce cost and increase the profit margin. Here are 3 tips to consider.

Pare Down on Kitchen Equipment

To have a functional kitchen in your restaurant, you don't have to splurge on all of the latest restaurant equipment that has just hit the market. In fact, having too much equipment in your kitchen may even lower overall productivity as the chefs and other employees may have a hard time maneuvering around the kitchen.

The trick is to be very critical of the type of restaurant kitchen equipment you invest in, and whether your kitchen actually needs it. A lot of equipment can double down on different jobs. For example, you can use an immersion blender as an alternative to a food processor. In addition, you really don't need to have that many knives lying around. Keep it simple, as your chefs will only really need serrated knives, slicing knives, chef's knives and paring knives.

Not only will cutting down on the amount of equipment stored in your kitchen boost productivity, but you will also be able to significantly lower your initial expenses. It's good for everyone.

Install Overhead Cabinets and Storage Space

You want to give your chefs and employees as much room to work with the food as possible. Because of this, consider installing overhead cabinets and storage space. You'd be surprised at how much storage space is actually available in the kitchen when you repurpose previously empty walls. There are also plenty of overhead bar racks that can be used for storing pots and pans. Having these restaurant equipment supplies hanging off a hook makes them readily available at all times. You should see an increase in the kitchen's operation speed.

Divide the Kitchen Into Different Zones

Instead of having all of the restaurant equipment and heavy appliances stored in a central location, divide the kitchen up into different zones and store special equipment and tools in their designated zones. For example, you should consider setting up a zone that tackles only appetizers, another for entrees and another for desserts or pastries. You can also set up different stations for specific tasks, such as prepping, baking and frying. By dividing up your kitchen in different zones, you can keep needed appliances and restaurant equipment close to those who need it.

In short, your pastry chef will no longer have to walk across the entire kitchen just to get to the pastry tools that they need, like rolling pins or standing mixers. You can also take this opportunity to organize all of the ingredients, so that they are stored in their respective zones.

Conclusion

Taking the time to organize your restaurant's kitchen and making sure that all of the equipment and supplies are stored properly can significantly boost overall productivity. By reducing the preparation or cooking time needed for each dish, you are going to lower expenses, be able to service more customers a day and also provide better service that helps your restaurant stand out from competitors. This way, you'll be able to make a good impression on everyone that enters your restaurant, and really showcase your talent in cooking.