Hotel Kitchen Design Guide

We know that efficiency, cost savings and sustainability are high on everyone’s agenda. That’s why the efficiency of a hotel kitchen design is the primary consideration when starting work on a new project. The requirements of a hotel kitchen will need to be identified before we can being working on drawings or even sketches.

Some key considerations will be:

• Your menu or menus
• Types of dining (i.e. those listed above)
• How many covers you will serve during the day, both on a regular basis and at peak (i.e. if you have a large function)
• Your main hours of food service.

Only once we understand this will we be able to create an ergonomic workflow that will increase the ease and efficiency of how your chefs operate. By creating a better workflow for your operation, it will increase your brigade’s efficiency and in some cases, reduce the numbers of chefs you need at any one time.

Our philosophy is to:

• Introduce colours and textures
• Open the views across the kitchen, creating a better working environment
• Use technology to increase chef wellbeing and morale (such as induction, lighting and extraction)
• Look for other revenue streams, like the introduction of exclusive chef’s tables or cookery classes

We give our clients initial 3D visualizations to give them a broad idea of the aesthetics and ergonomics of the space. This is very important because it means the flow of the space that we are proposing to our client is understood from the outset; it’s about more than what equipment goes where.

Once clients are happy with the initial drawings, we provide them with 3D renders and walkthroughs to give clients and chefs the chance to fully realize the kitchen.

This maximizes the use of space with all details thought through and visualized, especially important in City hotels that notoriously have limited kitchen space.

•  Heavy Duty Bespoke Fabrication – this is essential in your hotel kitchen! It will mean your kitchen will withstand the test of time, unlike modular equipment, which will need to be replaced within a few years of installation. Bespoke fabrication will mean that your kitchen will be hygienic and quicker to clean between and during service. This is also essential in hotels for preventing cross-contamination and for reducing labour at the end of a busy shift (or those that operate 24/7 and need to be cleaned during service). Heavy duty hotel kitchen fabrication really should be a fit and forget item for many years!

• Induction – leading the way in modern commercial kitchen equipment is induction cooking! It makes the environment safe from burns, reducing staff sickness and increasing staff retention by removing ambient heat from the kitchen. Reduced energy consumption is also achieved as the appliance needs no preheating and the hobs are only on when the pan is in contact with the cooking surface. The instant heat provides more than 50% of a standard hob which is perfect for late-night food orders for in-room dining. This helps to drastically reduce running costs by 70% and cleaning by 90% as the equipment only needs soapy water rather than chemicals which can be a major cause of damage to equipment. What’s more, by removing gas entirely from your kitchen, you remove the need for costly gas interlock systems!

• Multi-Use Equipment – Amazing for hotels with small kitchen space, but larger kitchens can reap the benefits. For example, the Rational two pan iVario gives you the flexibility for a combination of frying, deep-frying, sous vide, boiling, confit, pressure cooking or slow cooking food. Alternatively, the iCombi Pro range allows chefs to bake, roast, steam and cook a wide variety of foods. Multi-use equipment enables you to cook various items on your menu without specific equipment that takes up space but only used occassionally.

• Holding Cabinets – Temperature-controlled holding cabinets give kitchen staff a head start before a busy period. These appliances allow for additional food production, and a faster service time with the food staying at a hot or optimum temperature for serving. The Unox Evereo can safely hold food in a ready-to-serve condition for hours and days, meaning overnight in-room dining can be handled by night staff and not a dedicated chef. Coupled with the latest speed-oven technology, such as the Unox Speed-X, means you can make your operation super efficient!

• Ventilation – Our vented ceilings allow additional equipment to be added or items moved without the need for a new canopy, providing flexibility for future expansion and changes to the menu. Designs include gloss white panelling which brightens the kitchen space, improving the working environment, as well as LED lighting for optimum cost saving. Ultraviolet (UVC) light is used to break down grease and odours, increasing efficiency and reducing the impact on the environment. You should also implement demand-based ventilation for further cost savings; this means the ventilation will adjust its extraction rate based on what is happening in the kitchen below, all automatically without the need for any input from your team.

• Granular Pot Wash Machines – These help to reduce running costs and wastage as well as improved cleaning results and working conditions. They use less energy to operate, despite the additional electrical load. This is due to using less water and chemicals to operate, combined with less staff. With the inclusion of thousands of plastic beads that fire at the pots and pans, meaning all dirt and grease are loosened allowing the cleaning chemicals to fully work, giving perfect results every time. This all prevents the need for pre-soaking and scrubbing before going into the machine. Just remove any loose food and the machine will do the rest! Some machines have the flexibility for plate and glass washing, which can be improved with reverse osmosis technology. This water softening system creates excellent results with no hand polishing. State-of-the-art electronics and wash cycles combine with this to give excellent results, with a basket waiting that will not let the machine run until a full load is ready to be washed.