Kitchen Structure & Design

Kitchen Structure & Design Lesson 22.

Kitchen Structure & Design • Learning Outcome: • Learn the purpose and importance of a proper kitchen design. • Learn why a good kitchen design helps the system of cooking and serving. • Learn how to design a kitchen. • Learn why certain equipment cannot be placed near other equipment in the kitchen. • Learn why equipment and layout are important in Kitchen design

Kitchen Structure & Design • Kitchens must be designed so that they can be easily managed. • The management must have easy access to the areas under their control and have good visibility in the areas which have to be supervised. • Large operations should work on separate work floors, for reasons of efficiency and hygiene.

Kitchen Structure & Design • Product – raw materials to finished product. • Personnel – how people move within the kitchen; for example, staff working in dirty areas (areas of contamination) should not enter areas of finished product, or where blast chilling is taking place. • Containers/Equipment/Utensils – equipment should, where possible, be separated out, into specific process areas. • Refuse – refuse must be kept separated and should not pass into other areas in order to get to its storage destination.

Kitchen Structure & Design Each section should be subdivided into high risk and contaminated sections. High risk food is that which during the process is likely to be easily contaminated. Contaminated food is that which is contaminated on arrival before processing: unprepared vegetables, raw meat. Back tracking and cross over of materials and product must be avoided

Kitchen Structure & Design • Food preparation rooms should be planned to allow a ‘work flow’ whereby food is processed through the premises from the point of delivery to the point of sale or service with then minimum of obstruction. • The various processes should be separated as far as possible and food intended for sales should not cross paths with waste food or refuse. • Staff time is valuable and a design which reduces wasteful journeys is both efficient and cost-affective.

Kitchen Structure & Design The overall sequence of receiving, storing, preparing, holding, serving and clearing is achieved by: • Minimum movement. • Minimal back tracking. • Maximum use of space. • Maximum use of equipment with minimum expenditure or time and effort.

Kitchen Structure & Design • Approximately 4.2m (15 sq. ft) is required per person; too little space can cause staff to work in close proximity to stoves, steamers, cutting blades, mixers, etc., thus causing accidents. • A space of 1.37 (41/2 Ft) from equipment is desirable and aisles must be adequate to enable staff to move safely. • The working area must be suitably lit and ventilated with extractor fans to remove heat, fumes and smells.

Kitchen Structure & Design • The size and style of the menu and the ability of the staff will determine the number of the sections and layout that is necessary. • A straight line layout would be suitable for a snack bar whilst an island layout would be more suitable for a hotel restaurant.

Kitchen Structure & Design A good receiving needs to be designed for easy receipt of supplies with nearby storage facilities suitably sited for distribution of food to preparation and production areas. Hygiene must be considered so that kitchen equipment can be cleaned and all used equipment from the dining area can be cleared, cleaned and stored. Still room facilities may also be required.

Kitchen Structure & Design • The type, amount and size of equipment will depend on the type of menu being provided. • Not only should the equipment be suitably situated but the working weight is very important to enable the equipment to be used without excess fatigue • Wash hand facilities and storage of cleaning equipment should not be omitted from the plan.

Kitchen Structure & Design • The various preparation processes require different areas depending on what food is involved. • A vegetable preparation area means that water from the sinks and dirt from the vegetables are going to accumulate and therefore adequate facilities for drainage should be provided. • Pastry preparation on the other hand entails mainly dry processes. • Whatever the processes, there are certain basic rules that can be applied which not only make for easier working conditions but which help to ensure that the food hygiene regulations are complied with.

Kitchen Structure & Design • Actual work-top areas should be adequate in size for the preparation process and should be so designed that the food handler has all equipment and utensils close to hand. • Accommodation must be based on operational need. • The layout of the kitchen must focus on the working and stores area, and the equipment to be employed. • These areas must be designed and based on the specification of the operation.

Kitchen Structure & Design Because raw materials enter the cooking section from the main preparation areas ( vegetables, meat and fish, dry goods), this section will be designed with a view to continuing the flow movement through to the servery. To this end, roasting ovens for example, are best sited close to the meat preparation area, the steamer adjacent to the vegetable preparation area. Layout is not, however, just a question of equipment siting and selection, much depends on the type of management policy on the use of prepared foods and the operating cycle.

Kitchen Structure & Design • Island Design • In an island arrangement, equipment is placed back to back in the center of the cooking area. • There will need to be sufficient space to allow for this, including adequate gang ways around the equipment and space to place other items along the walls. • Straight Line • An alternative arrangement involves siting equipment along walls. This arrangement is possible where travel distances are reduced and normally occurs in smaller premises.

Kitchen Structure & Design Temperature No higher than 20 – 26C ( 68 – 79F ) is desirable for maximum working efficiency and comfort with 16 – 18C ( 61 – 64F ) in preparation areas. Noise Conversation should be possible within 4 m (13ft). Light. Minimum legal level in preparation areas is 20 lumens per sqftwith up to 38 lumens preferable in all areas. Ventilation. It is estimated by the health and safety executive (HSE) that 65% of commercial kitchens have poor ventilation resulting in health hazards

Kitchen Structure & Design Ventilation Legislation requires that adequate ventilation must be provided in commercial kitchens but this cannot be precisely defined in law. Air should be extracted from kitchen and subsidiary areas at a constant rate. The fresh air which replaces the extracted air should be provided through a separate air intake system. The air intake system should aim to replace all the air extracted from the kitchen. The canopy must overhang the cooking appliance on all sides with an overhang within the range of 150-600mm. The underside of the canopy should be positioned about 2m above the floor.

Kitchen Structure & Design Ventilation Canopies Filters should be installed within the canopy to remove grease from the air stream. Canopies must be designed to pull fumes away from the cooking oven towards the rear of the cooking unit. For any ventilation system to be effective the correct size of ductwork and fans must be used. The system must also be accessible and easy to clean and maintain.

Kitchen Structure & Design Maintenance Planning and equipping for a kitchen is an expensive investment, therefore to avoid any action by the Environmental Health Officer, efficient, regular cleaning and maintenance is essential. After service and any spillages cleaned up immediately. At night or during less busy times, general cleaning should be done.

Kitchen Structure & Design