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Having a fully equipped kitchen is essential for the success of a café. You need to ensure that everything can run smoothly and you can serve customers within minimal time. The kitchen requires several kinds of equipment running from an oven, grill, deep fryer, freezer, sauté pans, baking sheets, etc. When it comes to kitchen equipment, the list is endless. Despite the long list of equipment, there are four major equipment types that are a must-have in your kitchen. Below are a few critical types of equipment your café needs to have in order to thrive.

1. Oven

When it comes to assembling your kitchen arsenal, the oven takes center stage. Ovens come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the type that your café needs will depend on the kind of restaurant and food served.

When choosing an oven, you must consider its quality, size, and function. Ensure you incorporate the type of food you want to sell by checking out the different ovens available. You can decide to go for a commercial, convention, or a pizza oven, depending on your café needs.

2. Freezer/ Refrigerator

It isn't easy to operate a café without a freezer or a refrigerator. However, it is an essential item in your kitchen since it helps to keep your food fresh. In addition, having a freezer or refrigerator is mandatory when adhering to food safety and health code violations.

You may decide to go for a walk-in cooler or sizeable freezer depending on the capacity that meets your café needs. You can also go for a used stainless steel three-door commercial freezer which is less costly than a new unit. It is important to find a quality freezer the operates efficiently so that your food stays fresh for longer. Utilizing a freezer with an inconsistent performance could compromise the quality of the meals you serve.

3. Kitchen Display System

The kitchen display system (KDS) enables you to operate swiftly, ensuring things are moving effectively. The KDS is usually on a counter stand or mounted to the wall. It facilitates the ordering process because all staff can view their orders on one screen.

Fulfilling orders becomes more manageable when using the kitchen display system. Orders are worked on accurately and on time.

4. Fire Extinguisher

A fire extinguisher is an essential item in any building. When it comes to your café's kitchen, you must ensure you have a fire extinguisher because it is a requirement. It comes in handy in case of a fire and can prevent further fire damage.

When operating your café, you will want to have every piece of equipment in place. When this is not accomplished, you may be forced to compromise. You will have to prioritize and go for the items needed most. The four items mentioned above are a must-have in your kitchen for the smooth running of your operations.

Let face it; your kitchen is easily the most important area of your business. One equipment failure or even worse a fire can shut down your business for weeks and cost you thousands of dollars. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct weekly or monthly maintenance on your kitchen’s commercial equipment in order to achieve optimal production and ensure the safety of your guest and employees. The following are the top four maintenance procedures every commercial kitchen owner should know.

Maintenance on Your Vents and Air Ducts

Air vents and ducts provide your customers with a pleasant smelling area to dine-in while keeping your employees safe from dangerous gasses and smoke from the ovens. Although their primary job is to remove smoke and bad smells, they also take in other things such as grease and other cooking debris. This over time will begin to start moving its way up to your air ducts, thus increasing the possibilities of starting a fire. Air Vents within a restaurant should be cleaned at least once every six months.

Fire Suppression System

Although not directly connected to any of your commercial equipment, we can agree that a fire suppression system would no doubt help save not only your equipment but potentially the lives of others. Therefore, it is paramount that your fire suppression system is properly looked over by a professional at least once every six months.

Deep Fryer Inspection

A deep fryer is, no doubt one of the greatest fire hazards in any restaurant. Most owners tend to neglect the cleaning of their fryer due to the amount of gunk built up around the sides of the fryer but fail to understand that the condition of the fryer is directly connected to the number of times it’s cleaned. Therefore, it’s very important to have properly trained employees clean your fryer whenever possible as an improper maintaining of the equipment can be potentially dangerous to your employees and customers.

Drain Lines & Lime Build-up

Most commercial kitchen equipment rely on the use of water in some way. Therefore, your equipment is certainly prone to lime scale buildup. One of your goals as an owner is to prolong the life of your equipment-right? This is why it is important to clean and de-lime your equipment as much as possible, along with making sure that your water pipes are not beginning to be clogged up by debris. Consider adding these two cleaning services to your monthly maintenance checkup.

It is well known that most fires that occur within a restaurant are related to the kitchen. This is why it is imperative that maintenance is at the top of the list for any business owner as it could potentially save money and lives. Although these aren’t’ all the things you should properly maintain, things such as Refrigeration Vessel Inspections, floor maintenance and other parts of the kitchen should be also taken into account.