All posts by Jennifer Welsh
After exploring commercial refrigeration inside and out, it’s time to take a closer look at the most important, and ubiquitous, units of all – reach-in refrigerators and freezers. No matter what type of restaurant or catering business you have, your kitchen will inevitably need a reach-in unit which will improve the quality and speed of both food preparation and service.
In our previous post, we discussed the types of cookware that are vital for a well-stocked commercial kitchen. These include high-quality fry pans, stock pots, sauce pans, skillets, and roasting pans. Other pieces of specialized cookware are nice to have on hand, as well – such as a wok and a paella pan – but we covered the basics to ensure that your kitchen gets off to a good start.
While restaurateurs are frequently advised to aim their marketing campaigns and sales pitches at millennials, they may be missing their biggest target audience if they do. The economy is always shifting, and the preferential customer and the demographic that can make or break a restaurant’s reputation and success changes along with the times.
As we discussed in a previous post, refrigeration units will be one of the most important purchases you make when you set up your commercial kitchen. In this post, we’ll talk about two other useful types of refrigerators found in many commercial kitchens: the refrigerated prep table and the refrigerated chef base.
A key requirement for food preparation, in general, and restaurants in particular, is to adhere to food-handling procedures that ensure that food is safe to eat. Proper food hygiene prevents germs, which can cause food-borne illnesses, from contaminating food. Whereas health inspectors will visit your restaurant from time to time to inspect it for compliance with legal health and safety requirements, it is up to you to provide the proper food safety products and training to help your staff promote food safety in your restaurant.
Cookware is essential equipment in every commercial kitchen. Whether you’re making soup or a stew, pan-searing chicken or stir frying noodles, choosing the right cookware will make a significant difference in the quality of your food and the efficiency of your kitchen. There are a multitude of options available to the executive chef and head cook, and we’re here to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each type of cookware to help you move forward with your purchases.
When you’re opening a new restaurant, every element matters. The food, the décor, the furnishings, and the staff all tell the story of your brand and your mission. Included in these all-important elements is the dinnerware, which will showcase your food and present your chef’s culinary skills in the best light.
In a restaurant, where the price of every item can make a difference to the bottom line, weighing food can provide accuracy when measuring ingredients for recipes. A restaurant food scale can also help in maintaining consistent portion sizes to control costs, and it can let a restaurant owner know how much to charge a customer when selling items by weight.
One of the niftiest features on Facebook – an oldie but goodie that was introduced back in 2010 – is Facebook Places, which allows people to use the GPS on their mobile phones to let their friends know where they are located. Using Facebook’s Check-In button users can announce their location to friends and followers, including the name of the business they are currently frequenting.
Much has been written about how competitive the restaurant business is and how hard it is to get to the top of the heap – and to stay there. Even more than your chef’s signature dish or the investment you made in décor and ambiance, the way you market your restaurant will have a huge impact on whether your business will succeed or fail.