Cooking Equipment and Supplies

Restaurant cooking equipment forms the backbone of any commercial kitchen operation, ensuring everything ranging from food prep and cooking to delivery are taken care of speedily and efficiently. While these appliances find the best use in a commercial operation, they're also essential tools in industrial, institutional, and outdoor kitchens, making sure the continuity of food operations continues unaffected. Having high-quality restaurant cooking equipment can help you produce delicious and safe offerings on a large scale, ensuring you never fall short on any front.

With several different variants & options available, business owners can choose from gas & electric, standalone & countertop, electronic & manual, and full & half-sized models to suit their operational requirements based on the number of people they serve every day. Understandably, both the number and varieties of restaurant cooking equipment are large and there are bound to be questions. We look at the basics of restaurant cooking equipment and frequently asked questions so prospective and experienced restaurateurs alike can make a better assessment of the type and model of the equipment they need. 

Right from essentials like commercial ranges, fryers, ovens, grills & griddles to specialty cooking equipment that includes pasta cookers, toasters, panini grills, broilers, and outdoor grills, we list every item that is essential to your restaurant cooking operation. Based on the quality of the equipment and the company of origin, every piece of restaurant cooking equipment will have features that set it apart from the rest, however, the basic function is bound to remain the same - cooking food.

The maintenance of this cooking equipment also requires several accessories depending on how complex the construction and operation are. Most commercial food equipment work in conjunction with another appliance and there's a contribution of several tools and units in putting every item on the table.

Most residential equipment and commercial kitchen equipment are based on the same principles. The difference lies in the volume handled and the durability of the restaurant cooking equipment to consistently work with and deliver high-volume product on an everyday basis. Residential equipment is not suited to the rigors of commercial cooking and is restricted to domestic and occasional use.

The volumes that a commercial kitchen see can easily result in the damage or breakdown of residential kitchen equipment merely because they're not built for it. Both the volume of product handled and volumes of product produced are far higher in commercial models, ensuring a steady stream of workflow in a restaurant kitchen.

A large number of machines are employed in making sure a commercial kitchen can run smoothly. A delicate interplay of functions between all of these tools ensures that a commercial food operation can put out quality food on time. Whether it's a restaurant, industrial kitchen, food truck, or café, a number of the following pieces of restaurant cooking equipment are bound to be used, and in varying combinations.

While standalone units are built to handle between high to ultra-high volumes of food, countertop units are smaller and set to tackle a smaller workload. The former is better suited to large and industrial operations that have an ample amount of space to accommodate a sizeable standalone unit. Countertop units are ingenious options to help with food service operations in smaller establishments where they're able to fit within small areas and are ideally suited for crowded and cramped kitchens.

Countertop varieties are just as efficient as their larger counterparts, whether it's ovens, fryers, grills, or ranges. They help with capacity-building when you look to supplement your output. However, if you do have space in your kitchen, a standalone model can reduce prep-time by large periods and can be worth your while.

As discussed in the previous section, standalone equipment is perfectly suited to large and high-volume operations. Not only are they deployed by hotels & restaurants, but they're also made use of by correctional facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and cafeterias. These institutions see orders in bulk and need to get a production line going to serve their customers on time.

When the number per food item is in the hundreds, specialized high-volume equipment is a must to maintain a delay-free kitchen. Large stackable ovens, deck-based ovens, heavy-duty ranges, standalone kettles, high-volume fryers, conveyor toasters, large rotisserie ovens, roll-in ovens, and wide grills are best suited to creating an efficient high-volume kitchen undeterred by large orders.

Pizzeria
These operations require high-volume deck-based ovens, cheese melters, rethermalizers, and convection ovens to maintain a steady flow of pizza.

Fast Food Restaurant
To be able to offer burgers, sandwiches, fries, grilled food, and roasted meats, a fast-food operation needs heavy-duty griddles, fryers, conveyor toasters, convection ovens, panini grills, and waffle makers.

Cafés
Cafés often operate in smaller capacities when compared to other foodservice operations. A convection oven, microwave oven, commercial kettles, beverage dispensers, coffee makers, blenders, and display cases are well suited to cafés.

Bakery
Bakeries rely on high-volume ovens to provide a steady flow of good-smelling bread, confections, and biscuits. Roll-in ovens, stacked ovens, kettles, standalone dough-kneaders, proofers, sheet pan racks, and display cases are absolute necessities.