Commercial Kitchens: Are Shelves a Sufficient Storage Solution?

By Stana Peete

For restaurants, coffee shops, and caf�'s that have commercial kitchens which are the main source of their business, it means that all the stock is stored in that kitchen. Obviously, the commercial kitchen has a lot of cabinets which is used to store anything from catering equipment to food supplies. If the kitchen has cabinets, is it necessary to add shelves too?

Shelves can be an alternative storage solution for the commercial kitchen. The beauty of shelving is that you can make the shelves as long or as short as you want. You can add one level of shelves or multiple levels. It all depends on you and the space you have on the walls above the cabinets. They are also ideal because they don't particularly take much overhead space above the work surfaces that the cabinets provide. In addition, because they don't have doors, you won't accidentally bump your head on the doors if you forget to close it while you're caught up with the preparation of a dish.

Overhead cabinets can be cumbersome and more costly to install whereas shelves can be installed relatively quickly and cost efficiently. Therefore, you can add many of them on all the walls you have available in the commercial kitchen. If you have budget constraints then this is a great storage solution. It will also create a neat kitchen and all the kitchen staff will know exactly where all the catering equipment is stored. If you want to be more organised, add labels on the shelves where each catering equipment or food supply needs to be stored. This will prevent kitchen staff from placing the items wherever there is an empty space.

The beauty of shelving is that you can place the catering equipment that you use daily on them. It provides for quick and easy access as well as storage once you're done with the catering equipment. Items such as blenders, food mixers, toasters, and other processing equipment can be stored for easy access. You could also store the food supplies that you use on a daily basis up there too, such as cooking oil, sugar, salt and spices.

Having the catering equipment and food supplies on display and within reach can make your commercial kitchen more efficient when it comes to preparing the dishes for customers. This can cut down on the preparation time and make customers happy. Customers will appreciate the prompt service, especially if they are famished.

CaterWeb stocks a full range of commercial kitchen products and we even offer free demonstrations as well as hands on training if necessary. Visit our website to access our online store or alternatively we welcome you to visit our new showroom.

Please call us at 0861 CATERWEB or e-mail your inquiry to  sales@caterweb.co.za so we may assist with your catering equipment requirements!