The kitchen is the beating heart of many establishments in the food and hotel sector. The dishes that are prepared there, as well as their preparation time, play a crucial role as they shape the overall customer experience. The organization of a professional kitchen therefore plays a crucial role. If planned strategically, cooking allows the team to work efficiently and to consistently produce high-quality dishes. But how can you improve your arrangements while adhering to safety and health standards? What are the crucial aspects of a professional kitchen? Whether you're building a new professional kitchen from scratch or are (literally) feeling cramped due to your current kitchen layout and considering a renovation, find out what to consider in order to aim for optimal productivity.
Ergonomics is a discipline that aims to optimize working conditions and to model work around the individual. This thus makes it possible to guarantee the most secure and productive interaction between humans and work equipment. And in a professional kitchen, ergonomics plays a key role. Indeed, the layout and layout of the kitchen must be perfectly adapted to various elements such as:
The space available plays a crucial role in choosing the layout of your kitchen. This is why, the layout of a professional kitchen must serve to optimize the circulation inside it. To do this, it is important that the optimization of equipment and layout do not clutter up the space, in order to maintain the required distances between each workstation. In addition, kitchen circulation should allow easy communication between employees and easy access to kitchen extensions (refrigerators, sinks, etc.).
Safety and hygiene standards are essential to ensure the safety of staff and customers. The first thing to consider is fire prevention. Be sure to equip professional premises with fire extinguishers, emergency exits, as well as devices to capture fat and evacuate smoke.
In terms of hygiene, it is imperative to avoid placing the sink next to the reserve to prevent cross-contamination (the transfer of microorganisms or bacteria from a contaminated food or object to a healthy food). It is also necessary to apply the TACT cleaning method to comply with strict hygiene standards. The concept of “walking forward” in professional cooking establishes the direction of traffic that must be respected. Finished products ready to be served or delivered should never come into contact with products that could contaminate them. Finished products should never cross trash cans, the sink, or raw materials. The storage space for finished products should be close to the restaurant room or the point where orders are collected. In fact, raw materials must be stored near the workshop, in a cold room or a refrigerated cabinet, and should never intersect with a so-called dirty activity.
It is important to choose coatings for professional kitchens taking into account safety and hygiene. The floor must be anti-slip, and the walls and ceilings must be covered with a rot-proof and easily washable coating, both in the kitchen and in cold rooms.
A significant amount of cleaning is required in a commercial kitchen to ensure the safety of the dishes served and the hygiene of the dishes used. We recommend the establishment of specific cleaning areas for food and dishes. For optimal performance, therefore, be sure to provide sanitary facilities such as a sink, a drainer, a glass washer and a dishwasher for optimal performance.In addition, be sure to separate these installations from the cooking station to avoid projections. For professional cleaning products, store them in a dedicated area (cabinet or cabinet) and separate from the food storage area.
A variety of items are stored in your establishment's kitchen, including:
A storage area dedicated to each of these categories is therefore essential in your professional kitchen.For example: a refrigerator to keep perishable foods fresh, a cellar for dry products and cupboards for dishes and utensils. Indeed, foodstuffs must also meet various standards. For this, it is necessary to store fresh food in a cold room which must be at an appropriate temperature according to the foods stored. So that food is never in direct contact with the ground, it is important to separate this space from the kitchen and to equip it with food racks.
A professional kitchen may require several preparation areas, depending on the meals served. The preparation space thus integrates a worktop, cutting tools and storage containers.By locating the preparation areas near the refrigerator, this allows your kitchen staff to quickly and safely store fresh or raw ingredients until they are use.As for worktop furnishings, choose stainless steel to withstand heat and allow easy cleaning. Finally, be sure to place the connections in such a way as to ensure the safety of users.
Unless your restaurant specializes in raw dishes, your kitchen requires various cooking equipment to prepare the meals offered on your menu. Most restaurants are equipped with gas stoves and industrial fryers, as well as other specific cooking appliances. Just like for the preparation station, the preferred material remains stainless steel.
The dressing area of a professional kitchen allows the assembly of dishes and their delivery to service personnel or delivery professionals. To optimize this station, be sure to equip it with heat lamps to keep the dishes hot.
Each kitchen requires a specific space for the reception or departure of refrigerated transport. Even if the parking lot and delivery entrance don't directly lead to your kitchen or storage areas, be sure to locate them nearby anyway. This will allow you to minimize losses or waste during unloading.
In Europe, and in particular in France, there are several standards relating to the safety and health of workers that your establishment must respect.
In France, The decree of June 25, 1980 explicitly defines fire safety standards. Among these, the obligation to:
In addition to this regulation, we also find the AFNOR NF EN 16 282 standard which covers all the elements related to the ventilation of professional kitchens. Section 7 of this standard provides details on the installation and use of fixed fire-fighting systems.
The decree of June 25, 1980 establishes certain obligations in terms of the electrical installation of equipment and household appliances. These obligations are complemented by:
They provide, among other things, details on:
Finally, there are several imposed and common rules in Europe (especially in France and Belgium) concerning hygiene. Among these, we find these obligations:
You can find the hygiene obligations in these three regulations:
