How to choose the best kitchen equipment for your restaurant

How to choose the right equipment for your restaurant is a huge question, and, just as important is how to choose the correct company to supply you with this equipment. Often the answer can be found by providing the answers to the following questions. 1. What is your menu? 2. How will the food be prepared to meet this menu? 3. How many meals do you expect to do in a single session? 4. Do you have a kitchen layout design? 5. Do you know the workflow patterns for this layout? 6. Do you know the food flow patterns for the kitchen?

1. The Menu

If the company you have chosen to supply your equipment employs a chef in their sales team then so much the better. The good news here is that they will understand what you do and how you want to do it. So, bring your menu along and listen to what they suggest. Equipment choices are varied and equipment can be either gas or electric. Commercial cooking equipment categories include static or convection ovens, deep fryers, combi ovens, grill plates, char grills, wok burners, tandoors, microwaves and even sous vide. Depending on how busy you think you will be then determines what size equipment is best suited to your operation. For example a smaller establishment might have a 4 burner oven, while a busier venue would probably opt for a 6 or 8 burner oven. Grill plates come in 300mm, 600mm, 900mm and wider, as do char grills. Deep fryers can be single, double or even high performance. But it doesn't stop there! Then you need to decide on your refrigeration needs. Do you have room for a coolroom? Once the food has been prepared where will you store it? Under bench fridges with stainless steel worktops often are found in the cooking line. What about a freezer? You will also have to consider what benchtop equipment you will need. Choices here might be blenders, food processors, planetary mixers, stick blenders, and the list goes on.

Work & Food Flow

The simple rule for this is not to cross paths, both for staff and food, when planning your kitchen layout. One of our recent clients came to us with their kitchen already designed. However, after inspection we discovered some serious errors in the layout of the pizza preparation area of the kitchen that would have impacted on staff safety. The food came out of the coolroom for preparation and from there it was stored in the preparation fridge. When ordered it went into the conveyor oven. It was at this point that things went wrong. There was nowhere for the pizza to be cut and plated and then the service window was back at the other side of the kitchen, before the preparation bench. Oops! Another potential customer was doing fast food in a busy CBD lunch area serving office workers. The requirement is of course the faster you can serve them with great food the more they like it and the more likely that they would come back and also tell their friends! She was seeking a way to preheat the wrap bread before putting in the filling, to maximise the flavours within. Looking at her kitchen design there was no simple solution as her preferred method was to quickly heat the wrap on a flat grill. Unfortunately the grill was in a different location and the simple act of walking there to heat up the wrap would have caused unnecessary delays plus crossed paths with the busy staff working in that area. Putting a small grill in the wrap area wouldn't work either due to the sheer number of wraps they would be making fresh. A commercial microwave provided the best and simplest solution, providing for both the speed and quantity requirements.

New, Used or Ex-Rental Equipment

New equipment

New equipment has many benefits, you know it will work as designed and it has a new warranty which provides a much higher level of security for the owner. These days with new equipment you can also take advantage of bundle deals, where the more you buy from one manufacturer the better the price. Extra or extended warranty periods are also very popular to give you added peace of mind. Purchasing new equipment often takes the worry out when buying catering equipment. On the flip side, new equipment is also the most expensive option in terms of initial cash outlay.

Ex-Rental Equipment

There is a continuous stream of customers who would prefer used equipment as a way to SAVE money on their start-up costs. These days, a popular way to buy second hand equipment is through Silver Chef’s ex-rental equipment. They have an extensive range and it is a clever way to increase your cash flow even further with competitive prices on quality ex-rental equipment that is both professionally cleaned and serviced. All their ex rental equipment comes with 3 months warranty on parts and labour and much of the equipment is less than 12 months old. This equipment is warehoused in both Brisbane and Melbourne and there are great savings to be made through a small network of dealers that Silver Chef have chosen to work through.

Second hand equipment

Often sold as "preloved" it can sometimes be an incredible bargain, especially when purchased for the right price at auction. Tip before you purchase any equipment make sure you have done your homework. Know exactly what the new price for the equipment is. Understand that the new price is not the retail price as given by the manufacturer, but the discounted rate that an authorised dealer is prepared to sell it for. Many people have been caught out buying used catering equipment, only to later realise that they paid almost new price without any of the benefits, such as the NEW warranty period. Equipment purchased at auction and through websites like ebay, often does not have a product warranty, so be warned. If the ebay seller is based overseas then that equipment may not even have the necessary approvals required for use in Australia. There are both electrical and gas approvals required for all catering equipment that is sold in Australia. As an example, without the required gas approvals, plumbers are not supposed to connect an item to either natural or LGP gas lines. Then what do you do? Also stainless steel equipment is timeless in appearance. It may look 2 or 3 years old but the reality is it could well be 10 or more. One potential way to find out the answer to the question 'How old is this equipment?' is to search for the serial number. You could then ring the manufacturer or importer and ask them the question. I recall doing exactly that once on behalf of one of our customers who was looking at a 2nd hand dishwasher that the used dealer said was a ‘bargain’ and ‘only a couple of years old’. The Australian manufacturer informed me that the dishwasher was actually over 10 years old and that they had a full history of service calls that had been made. Not good! It turns out that this dishwasher wasn’t quite the deal that the used dealer had implied. I am guessing that the used dealer involved actually knew all of this, so it is definitely a case of buyer beware. The bottom line is: if it is that good why was it sold in the first place? And the answer to that question may save you a fortune!

Equipment Finance

From small family restaurants to franchise groups and large corporate catering services, the right funding is essential if you want to keep your options open, and preserve as much cash as possible to grow and expand. With nearly 30 years of experience and industry knowledge, Silver Chef is Australia’s only dedicated hospitality equipment funder. With Silver Chef as your equipment funding partner, there’s no limit to where your business can go! Unique to the marketplace, the Rent-Try-Buy® Solution allows you to save your hard earned working capital rather than spending it on depreciating assets. Choose to rent commercial catering equipment and if you exercise your option to buy, they reduce your purchase price by 75% of the rent you’ve already paid. Rent-Try-Buy® is designed for businesses requiring Commercial Catering Equipment, Commercial Refrigeration Equipment or kitchen fit-outs.

Sydney Commercial Kitchens

Catering equipment brands you can TRUST at affordable prices.

Top 3 reasons why our customers keep coming back are:

1. Real, Experienced knowledge: Our sales specialists are qualified chefs, we understand what you need and how you want to work; 2. Hospitality Advice: We can help you think through all aspects of your business. Whether you require an individual appliance purchase, or an entire layout design, you can count on Sydney Commercial Kitchens to provide expert, non-biased advice that matches your needs; 3. Reputation: Operating since 1998, Sydney Commercial Kitchens enjoys a highly respected position within the hospitality industry in Australia. The trust from our long term suppliers and repeat customers is testament to the quality of service we provide. This has also been recognised by numerous awards for both social responsibility and business services. We SAVE you TIME and MONEY! In a hurry? Try our rapid response call centre to get your quote or catering equipment fast tracked! see original story on the greenroom  Sydney Commercial Kitchens P: 61 2 9999 5800 F: [02] 9999 5811 E: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=I want to fast track my enquiry with a rapid response) W: www.sck.com.au