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Alongside the dining area, the kitchen emerges as the most critical zone within a restaurant, hosting a variety of continuous tasks and housing numerous hot and sharp appliances.
As such, restaurant kitchen design necessitates meticulous and scientific planning to enable convenient movement for kitchen staff while ensuring food safety, fire safety for kitchen staff, odor control, and prevention of smoke spreading to dining areas.
Below are suggestions for standards in restaurant kitchen design and effective, rational kitchen layout models.
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Allocating Space within a Restaurant
No matter what restaurant model or scale you possess, a standard restaurant kitchen should ensure the presence of the following areas:
- Storage area
- Preparation area
- Cooking area
- Plating area
- Dishwashing and sanitization area (can be separate)
Thus, to ensure adequate space allocation for those areas, in the principle of restaurant kitchen design, space is typically allocated as follows:
- 30 - 40% of the area is designated for the Kitchen
- 50 – 60% of the area is designated for the dining area
- 10% of the area is designated for other areas such as waiting rooms, restrooms,…
>> Explore more: Standards for designing beautiful and feng shui-friendly restaurants
Standards for designing each area within the Kitchen
The kitchen can be considered the most continuously active area in a restaurant. Almost no staff here ever rests; from food preparation, processing, cooking, dish presentation, dishwashing, ... Therefore, arranging the restaurant kitchen properly according to each functional area to achieve the highest productivity is also a very important task in restaurant management.
Below are some specific standards for each area in the Kitchen:
1. Food storage area
It is necessary to classify various types of food before storage: Dry goods, frozen foods, foods for immediate use in the day,... From there, divide small areas in the warehouse and arrange food storage logically.
Area for Food Processing
Restaurant staff retrieve items from storage or newly purchased from outside, then proceed to prepare them.
Within this area, restaurants should install stainless steel shelves and food preparation sinks logically connected to each other, facilitating kitchen staff's preparation stages more efficiently while ensuring food safety and hygiene.
Food Processing Zone
Processed foods are transferred to the food processing zone for tasks such as meat chopping, dough kneading, dough shaping, meatball forming, seasoning...
Kitchen equipment in this area includes: Cutting tables, processing tables, meat grinders, meat slicers, dough mixers...
Therefore, in the food processing zone, it's advisable to design a spacious kitchen area to accommodate 2 – 4 standing kitchen staff. Equipment used in this area should be made of shiny materials such as stainless steel or stone for cleanliness, easy observation, and cleaning...
Food Processing and Cooking Area
After processing, foods are transferred to nearby waiting tables within reach of the chef's hands for convenient cooking and dish preparation.
Kitchen cooking equipment includes: Stir-fry stove, cooking stove, stewing stove, steaming stove, deep-frying stove, grilling stove, Western stove, Asian stove, oven, smoke extractor, odor extractor...
The cooking area is the most crucial area in the restaurant kitchen, therefore, it requires investment in suitable equipment and arranging a reasonable space so that the chef always feels comfortable during the cooking process, ensuring consistently delicious food quality. Additionally, it fosters creative inspiration for the chef.
Food Preparation and Presentation Area
This is the area for preparing and plating cooked food, ensuring cleanliness and spaciousness are top priorities. This area requires kitchen equipment with food warming and odor extraction capabilities.
6. Area for Dish Collection, Washing, and Sanitization
After diners finish their meal, dishes will be collected back to this area. Industrial kitchen equipment includes: Dish collection carts, drainage tables, sinks, multi-tiered stainless steel racks, dishwashers, dish dryers, dish drying cabinets...
Depending on the restaurant model and space availability, the dishwashing area may be located within the restaurant kitchen or separately outside. However, regardless of its location, this area needs to ensure a comprehensive, spacious, logical, and scientific workflow.
Common Layout Models for Restaurant Kitchens
Each business model or restaurant style has different food requirements, equipment, ingredients, and workforce numbers in the kitchen. Therefore, there will be different kitchen layout models. Here are some common models:
1. Island Kitchen Model
In the island kitchen model, the kitchen is located at the central position of the restaurant. Storage and preparation areas are arranged around the central kitchen area.
This island kitchen model allows all kitchen staff to move easily, and the time to move between areas to the central kitchen is minimized. Therefore, this is the kitchen layout model most commonly applied by restaurants.
Suitable for:
- All types of restaurants, large or small, due to the open space and convenience for movement and cleaning.
2. Zoned Kitchen Model
The zoned kitchen is a type of kitchen where each area is responsible for different stages and arranged according to the restaurant's purposes.
Typically, the ingredient preparation and cutting area will be in one place. The cooking area in another, and the utensil area in a separate location.
Suitable for:
- Restaurants serving both cooked and uncooked dishes (e.g., salads, soups...). This way, the kitchen can also handle the tasks of a bar, and staff in each section can focus on their work without distractions.
3. One-Way Conveyor Kitchen Model
The concept of the one-way conveyor model is to set up cooking areas as a continuous chain to create similar dishes but going through similar steps.
Suitable for:
- Typically, this model is applied to fast food restaurants or restaurants with simple menus.
In summary, there is no right or wrong kitchen model, only the one that best fits your restaurant.
Ultimately, the restaurant kitchen space must ensure the safety and optimize the productivity of all kitchen staff. Therefore, designing the restaurant kitchen to ensure good coordination between kitchen and non-kitchen processes, reducing waste, and increasing profitability – is the important task of any manager or restaurant owner.
Wishing you all success in restaurant business,
Warm regards,
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