We will use the term “prep areas” to refer to meal planning. After all, in most kitchens there are many more activities besides cooking. Here are some of the main sections of work that you can find.
Manufacturing:
The manufacturing area is where raw (or processed) foods begin their journey to their final destination: the diner’s plate. Sometimes referred to as pre-prep, this is where we shred the best cuts of beef, clean and fillet fish, carve chickens, open boxes of fresh produce, and decide what gets stored and what gets shipped to the other parts of the prep region. . In planning for each region, start with a flowchart to determine which features need to be included.
If the restaurant plans to handle its own meat cutting duties (and many do to save money), it will need space for a sink, heavy cutting board, portion scales, meat saws, grinders and slicers. Some of these items can be placed on mobile carts and shared with other places in the kitchen.
Preparation:
Within the preparation region, foods are sorted into individual servings or batches. The tenderloin that we trim in the manufacturing area is cut into steaks, the lettuce and tomatoes are diced for the salad assembly, the shrimp are battered or peeled. Ingredients are also mixed: meat pies, salad dressings, stews. Salad and vegetable preparation areas are found in almost every food service environment. They are busy places and your focus should be on efficiency. When designing the layout, remember the need for work tables, compartment sinks, refrigerators and mechanical equipment. Order some work tables with food and condiment wells that are chilled from below with ice, allowing easy access. One prep area with unique requirements is the pantry, a term that encompasses both food planning and decorating.
or trim.
The pantry region is the source of cold foods: cold appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, salads, spreads, sandwiches, etc. Obviously, refrigeration is of the utmost importance here, as is knife storage and space for small, handheld appliances: food mills, salad spinners, graters, portable mixers, blenders, juicers. Color-coded bowls, cutting boards, knives, scrub brushes, and even dish towels help prevent cross-contamination between various types of raw foods.
Manufacturing:
Yes, it’s finally time to do some cooking, inside the production area. This region is divided into hot food planning, generally known as a hot line, and cold food preparation, known as a pantry. Manufacturing
it can be the heart of the kitchen area, and all other places are meant to support it.
Tenure:
As its name suggests, the holding region can be where hot or cold foods are kept until needed. The waiting area assumes varying degrees of importance in various types of foodservice operations. Basically, the greater the amount of food produced, the more critical the need for storage space becomes. For catering and in cafeterias and hospitals, food must be prepared well in advance and stored at the correct temperature. In fast food restaurants, the demand is not so good but it is still there.
Assembly:
The final activity in the staging area is the assembly of each item in an order. At a fast food place, the work table is where the burgers are dressed and wrapped and the fries are bagged. In an a la carte restaurant, it might be the cook’s side of the walk-through window, where the steak and baked potato are put on the same plate and garnished. Again, in large-scale foodservice operations, large-scale assembly takes up much more space.
The menu and type of cuisine you make will determine the composition of your manufacturing region. Will you need a manufacturing region if yours is a fast food franchise that primarily uses pre-packaged convenience foods?
In contrast, cooking “from scratch” will likely require a lot of space for prep, baking, and storage. Batch cooking or preparing multiple servings at once will also affect space allocation. Finally, the number of meals served in a given time period should factor into your room planning. Your kitchen area needs to be able to operate at full capacity with plenty of space for everyone to function efficiently. For a hotel with banquet facilities and an intimate 75-seat bistro, this means very different things.
