Our Commercial Kitchen Project Team has led cutting edge interior design, refurbishment and remodeling projects for all types of venues across Australia and New Zealand. Using a practical understanding of your vision, combined with expert knowledge about commercial kitchen equipment and an awareness of practical sustainable solutions, we will always deliver the ideal fit out for your space and business.
We sat down with Trent Howie, Bunzl’s National Business Development Manager of Food Service Design & Project Management, to cover the trending topics he’s noticed trending in the food services design space.
With the Hospitality sector continuously evolving, how do you design a kitchen to be adaptable to any future changes?
When designing any kitchen, it’s important to spend a bit of time thinking about what any future changes might look like. For example, if you think you might need a large combi oven to cater for when the functions get busier then it might be worth extending the canopy at the building stage so that it can accommodate another combi oven. Modifying canopies after they have been installed can be expensive and in some cases, not an option at all, which is why future-thinking considerations are essential to creating the ideal space for you.
How do you ensure compliance with health and safety regulations?
Our Commercial Kitchen Projects Team is very experienced and will ensure every design meets all the required health and safety standards. We design against the Australian Standards, but there are many hospitality workflow design imperatives that the Australian standards (and most architects) may not consider – which is where our expertise comes into play. We are Hospitality experts, so we will always consider all aspects of work flow.
What are the differences between equipment like electric fryers and gas fryers?
This comes down to what your kitchen requirements are. Electric fryers are considerably more efficient that gas fryers so if you’re taking into account speed, then they’ll be significantly faster. This is because electric fryers have the elements inside the oil, which means that there is no wasted energy. Gas fryers have flames that surround the pot, resulting in flames that sometimes run up the side and created wasted energy.
How big does my coolroom and freezer room need to be?
This is a tricky one and very dependent on the needs of your business. When consulting a client, we always ask the following questions to make sure that all considerations can be met:
- How big is the menu and what type of food are you serving?
- What is the regularity of deliveries? (For example, a remote area might only get one delivery per week. They will need a coolroom considerably bigger than a city venue that can get 6 day a week deliveries.)
- How many service areas does it need to cater for? (Can we install a smaller coolroom, or large upright refrigerators, in another area).
One questions I often ask my clients is, “How many boxes of chips do you need to order before the Easter weekend?” That gives us an idea of how big the freezer needs to be and allows us to factor in what will be the maximum output for a business.
If you’re after a new commercial kitchen fit-out or refurbishment, contact your Bunzl Account Manager today.
