Catering businesses are investment-heavy. Whether you’re outfitting a new commercial kitchen or already have one, that investment can be compromised if your appliances have shortcomings.

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Power and capacity

Smaller, slower appliances multiply the labour that must be expended in using them. Remember that if you serve 500 customers in a 50 hour week, that doesn’t mean you need equipment to serve 10 per hour. Peak demand will be many times your average and all your equipment must keep up.

Overworked appliances require more maintenance, more repairs, and earlier replacement.

Catering is fuel hungry

You require lots of lighting, heat for cooking, refrigeration, and air-conditioning. It’s common-sense to be energy efficient, but there are also regulatory pressures to be environmentally friendly. For all the rugged charm of older appliances, modern ones are far more efficient. Look for their energy rating labels.

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Resale value

Good quality commercial catering equipment is a long-lasting asset. However, if your appliances do not meet current energy performance standards you could find your asset has become a liability when you want to sell.

Food safety

It’s a criminal offence to ‘render food injurious to health’ or fail to comply with statutory rules. The penalties range from unlimited fines to imprisonment. Catering suppliers such as https://washtechservices.co.uk/ can provide appropriate catering equipment in Leicester and elsewhere.

Warranties and insurance

Using domestic instead of commercial equipment invalidates your appliance guarantees and your business insurance. Overworked under-maintained appliances pose risks including frequent breakdown and fire.

Future proofing

If you have the bare minimum of equipment and capacity, how will you expand? If your equipment is old, how will you find spare parts?

Space

Modern kitchenware is often multifunctional and designed in modules. Integrating several appliances in a single “workstation” at different heights saves valuable space and labour.

Fashion

Kitchens visible to customers need to look good! Even if they don’t, food trends sometimes need particular types of equipment to prepare. Contemporary customers also expect their dietary needs such as nut allergies and lactose intolerance to be catered for. All these considerations affect your kitchen design.

Maintenance

Domestic users can cope with a broken appliance for a few days – they dine out! Commercial kitchens can’t. Maintenance contracts are essential to factor in at the outset.

Owning versus renting

Renting will reduce your initial outlay and often includes servicing, repairs, and regular upgrades.