furniture and appliances for your restaurant

Every single product that gets delivered by your vendors needs to be appropriately stored. Generally, any stored product can be assigned to one of three categories: pantry items, cooled items, and frozen items. Within these categories, there might be different subcategories for various ingredients, such as specific temperature, light, or humidity requirements. 

Besides food storage, any utensils and products that are used in the dining room need to be stored as well. It is crucial to consider your restaurant’s capacities before purchasing any storage equipment, capacities meaning both available capacities in your spaces and needed capacities for your storage requirements. You can also only start thinking about furnishing and equipping your kitchen after choosing a layout.

Pantry items, meaning food items that do not have to be refrigerated or frozen, should have a designated storage area.

First, you will need to equip this area with kitchen shelves. Usually, these shelves are a long-term investment, so make sure that they are exceptionally durable and high-quality. Kitchen shelves can be made from various materials. Find a material that fits your overall style and budget, whilst making sure that the shelf is practical and durable.

If you want to occasionally move around storage items for easier access and efficiency, we recommend to also invest into mobile shelves with wheels at the bottom.

Any shelves also need to be organized with storage bins which sit on the racks. It is not recommended to have all food items loosely sit around on the racks of the shelves in an unorganized way. There are different types of storage bins for various food groups that prevent premature spoilage of any items. Vegetables and fruits need to be stored in special storage bins for produce to help keep them fresh. Small storage canisters can be used to store products that come in small quantities like spices. Medium-sized airtight boxes and large airtight boxes are ideal for the storage of dry goods like rice or flour.

You can either use clear storage bins, which allows for a quick insight into the contents of the container, or you can use metal storage bins which need to be labelled accordingly. Try to organize all the containers in a systematic way, accounting for the importance of the product and the frequency of the use of the product.

Any perishable foods need to either be cooled or frozen to keep them fresh and prevent premature spoilage. There are two different options for refrigerated and frozen storage: reach-in refrigerators/freezers and walk-in refrigerators/freezer.

Reach-in products are your typical units with one or two doors to open and reach in.

Walk-in products are separate rooms that are temperature controlled.

Depending on your capabilities, such as the size of your kitchen and the number of foods that need to be refrigerated or frozen, choose the option that works best for your restaurant.

Additionally, it can make sense to have an ice maker, especially for cold drinks. This can be integrated into your freezer unit.

3.1 Items for ingredient preparation

To prepare any ingredients, you will need surfaces to cut your food items. We recommend surfaces made of stainless steel and cutting boards made of plastic, rather than wood. Plastic cutting boards last longer and are easier to clean. Additionally, many professional knives of different sizes and styles, as well as a sharpening tool, are one of the key cooking utensils needed in every restaurant’s kitchen. With your knives, do not try to save much money when purchasing them, but rather go for high-quality products. Further, you will need mixing bowls and containers to prepare any food and set prepared ingredients aside until you need them. Products made of stainless steel or plastic are also preferable in this case.

If you have a larger restaurant and need to prepare larger amounts of food at the same time, it might make sense to obtain a professional cutting or slicing machine, which does the job for you. This can also be important if you plan on serving dishes with very thinly sliced meats, cheeses, or vegetables. More utensils for food preparation that you may need could be kitchen whisks, electric blenders, a garlic press, a mortar and pestle, graters, peelers, measuring cups and spoons, an electric scale, and a tenderizer. However, we recommend consulting the expert on any cooking utensils, your head chef. They will know what products they will need for the preparation of any dish on the menu.

3.2 Items for cooking

Many different utensils and appliances are needed for cooking. The two most important appliances you will need for your restaurant is an oven and a stove. Most likely, you will need multiple ovens and stoves.

Regarding ovens, there are multiple types which are individually preferable for the preparation of different kinds of dishes. A conventional oven, however, must be a key element in every restaurant’s kitchen. A convection oven can be necessary for the preparation of baked goods and for the process of roasting and toasting food items. If you have pizza on your menu, make sure that your kitchen is equipped with a pizza oven. There are two different kinds of stoves: gas stoves and electrical stoves. It might make sense to have both types in your kitchen, as they have their individual advantages and disadvantages. Consult your chef on their needs and wishes regarding the stoves. Another important appliance is a cooker hood, or multiple cooker hoods, which will suck in the fumes that are produced when cooking.

More appliances that may be necessary in your kitchen are steam cookers, sous-vide machines, smokers, and a grill. An appliance that is commonly found in many larger-scale restaurant kitchens are food processors, that can prepare many food components for you, after you added all the ingredients. Utensils that are needed for cooking are pots and pans in various sizes and styles, cooking spoons and spatulas, ladles, thermometers, brushes, and tongs. It goes without saying that any utensils that may need to be purchased are individual to the menu your restaurant is planning to offer.

Obviously, you do not only need to furnish and equip your kitchen, but you also need to furnish and equip your restaurant’s dining space.

Furniture pieces that are necessary in any dining space are tables, chairs, and chairs for babies and toddlers. You will also need table settings, which include dishes, such as plates and bowls, glassware, such as wine glasses, water glasses, and beer glasses, cutlery, such as knives, spoons, and forks, table accessories, such as place mats, salt and pepper shakers, cups, vases, and candles, and lastly, textiles, such as fabric serviettes and tablecloths.

Just like with any other products you may need to purchase, consult your kitchen staff, especially the head chef, to find out what products work best for the dishes on your menu.

To ensure smooth operations in your restaurant, it can be favourable to use electronical equipment.

In the restaurant’s kitchen, we at recommend the use of a kitchen display, which is connected to a computer or tablet in the dining space of your restaurant. Service staff enters the orders of your customers, and these orders automatically appear on the kitchen display. That way, your kitchen staff can work their way through the orders in an organized and efficient manner. Any paper is eliminated, which is favourable to the environment, and any issues regarding the communication of service staff and kitchen staff are bypassed.

Moreover, having an electronic cash register makes sense in today’s day in age. Any transactions can be recorded and any bills for tables can be split according to your customers’ wishes.

Additionally, it is essential to offer payment methods other than cash, and therefore have a, preferably mobile, card reader.