Posted by
Patrick Maness +
A community commercial kitchen requires a variety of equipment to meet the needs of its various clients. Whereas a restaurant or bakery has the luxury of needing only the equipment that fits its specific needs, a community commercial kitchen must serve a broad clientele, all using the space for diverse, culinary activities.
When determining what equipment to stock in your kitchen, it's useful to think big. After all, clients will want to use the space simply to have access to the large-scale industrial equipment they don’t have in their own kitchens.
That being said, let’s take a look at the essential pieces of equipment in an all-purpose community commercial kitchen, all of which can be found through TriMark.
The foundational pieces
Cooking and baking stations — Some kitchens choose to have separate stations for the oven and the stove, but however you choose to design your layout, make sure you have at least one four-burner gas stove and one high-capacity oven.
Shelves on wheels — For the sake of convenience, chefs love having a movable shelf where they can place and organize their ingredients and utensils.
Vent hoods — A baker doesn’t want to come into a kitchen that smells liked braised pork. Solid air ventilation is essential for keeping your customers happy.
Mixing station — An essential piece for bakers and many other chefs. Keep several large kettles on hand as well.
Prep tables — Be sure to provide adequate space for people to cut, mix, prepare and package their food and ingredients.
Blast Chillers — These are essential for many catering companies or food trucks where they are prepping food a day or two in advance and need to rapidly — and safely — cool down their food to store it.
Walk-in cooler — You don’t want the kitchen to become a storage facility, but with a walk-in cooler, clients can rent shelf space.
Triple sink dishwasher — Because no one wants to leave a great cooking session with a van full of dirty dishes.
Ice machines — If you’ve ever needed ice but it was unavailable, you know how essential these can be.
Beyond the basics
If you plan to open a community kitchen that has more than one cooking/prep area, you will have more flexibility to create customized kitchens and fill them with equipment that is more specifically targeted to bakers, caterers, small-batch food makers and so forth.
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