Equipment and materials
As well as understanding the different staff roles that may exist within a kitchen operation, it is also useful to understand the different pieces of equipment which may be used.
In a kitchen, you can typically separate equipment into three different types – click on the images below to find out more.
Storage equipment
Different types of storage equipment will be used to store raw ingredients, prepared food/ingredients and finished dishes. For example:
- Chillers/refrigerators – These are used to store fresh, perishable food items that do not need to be frozen (the term ‘perishable’ refers to food that is likely to spoil, rot or decay quickly).
- Freezers – Food can be frozen in order to keep it fresh for longer (until it is needed for menu preparation). For example, if meat products are bought from suppliers in large amounts, they may be frozen to prolong their shelf life and then defrosted for use at a later date.
- Warmers – Finished dishes may be stored in warmers for a short amount of time before being served to customers. This will keep the dishes hot so they are more appealing to customers when they are served.
Production equipment
These pieces of equipment are typically used during food preparation and they are designed to speed up the process/make it easier for the chefs to do their job. Examples include:
- Mixers used for combining ingredients (such as ingredients for cakes or pastries), often in large batches. Mixers will have different attachments for different types of mixing, including whisks for beating and whipping ingredients or paddles for gently folding ingredients together.
- Slicers used for slicing meat, potatoes, vegetables, baked products, etc.
- Food processors for chopping ingredients into smaller pieces, such as vegetables, bread (into breadcrumbs), herbs, etc.
- Handheld utensils, including knives, whisks, sieves, spoons, spatulas, etc.
- Other equipment including bowls, dishes, chopping boards and measuring jugs.
Cooking equipment
These pieces of equipment are all used in the final food production process, to cook and prepare dishes for customers. Examples include:
- Ovens
- Hobs
- Grills/Salamanders
- Fryers
- Microwave ovens
- Steamers
- Frying pans
- Saucepans
- Griddle pans
The type, amount and size of the equipment needed in a kitchen will depend on the type of dishes that are being prepared and produced. The equipment must also be located in the right place in the kitchen environment, in easy reach of the kitchen staff who need to use the equipment most often.
If equipment is located in the correct place in the kitchen, then work activities will flow smoothly and in the correct order (with minimal back-tracking and crossover).
In addition, it is often important that equipment is kept in specific areas of the kitchen. For example:
- Pastry equipment being kept in the pastry area, fish preparation utensils being kept in the fish area and so on. This helps to ensure that the correct equipment is on hand and easy to locate whenever it is needed (rather than kitchen staff having to search around the kitchen for the equipment that is needed for a particular task)
- Equipment that is used for preparing and storing raw food should be kept in the raw food area, and not allowed to move across into cooking areas (this helps to avoid the risk of cross-contamination, where bacteria found in raw food can contaminate cooked food and lead to a risk of food poisoning)