Grand designs: A blog by Electrolux

Steve Bowler, Design and Product Manager at Electrolux Professional, blogs on the need for investors to think smart when it comes to designing a best-in-class kitchen:

From hygiene and efficiency to energy saving measures, good design is vitally important to any kitchen and, if planned correctly, can help to save costs, reduce emissions and improve kitchen output. Kitchen equipment suppliers or design consultants who are members of the FCSI can prove to be a real ally in ensuring space is put to the best possible use.

Design optimisation could be as simple as keeping dirty functions within the kitchen separate from the clean functions, or ensuring that refuse does not have to be taken through food rooms for collection. Good layout, operating systems and production flow should ensure that the preparation and handling of high risk foods are segregated and it also should prevent bottlenecks where team members get in each other’s way - which can be a cause of accidents.

However there are more innovative concepts which can make the most of kitchen design too. An efficient kitchen design can offer a smaller kitchen footprint, which allows hotel restaurants to dedicate more front-of-house space for revenue-generating customers. For large scale and boutique hotels or restaurants, the ability to maximise front-of-house space is a huge benefit.

For example, the Electrolux Professional XP horizontal cooking range includes IcyHot, which offers full cooking power on top of a refrigeration-freezer base. The Electrolux Professional XP range can be tailored to meet exact customer needs, and any top appliance from the 900XP range can be mounted on the 1200mm IcyHot base. Busy chefs want their kitchen to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible, meaning ingredients need to be close to hand and as a result, refrigeration equipment in particular has moved closer and closer to the heart of the kitchen over time.

Another essential item for any busy restaurant or hotel kitchen is a grill or griddle. There are number of options here, from griddle tops on cooking suites to standalone Salamander cooking grills which can provide quick and easy grilling of burgers, baps, steaks or bread. Look for those with quick heat-up times so you are not standing around waiting for equipment to heat up before you can start grilling food.

The importance of kitchen design cannot be underestimated. By working closely with a kitchen equipment supplier or design consultant, you can rest assured that the equipment you purchase will produce quality meals efficiently and effectively, day in, day out.