Commercial kitchens continue to shrink in size

Catering equipment manufacturers are continuing to keep the development focus on improving their offerings of compact appliances for small commercial kitchens with a busy throughput.

Operators are reporting that they face rising rents per square footage for commercial space. With that in mind front of house areas need to be maximised so that the optimum number of paying customers can be seated, this normally means space is taken away from back of house and kitchen areas leaving a much smaller footprint for essential equipment.

Hobart have already launched their Bonnet Compact Kitchen range which enables operators to store and prepare foods using many different methods, all in just 2.4 metres of space. Other manufacturers are also now taking on the challenge, with Manitowoc being the latest to offer up its E2S accelerated cooking oven. Measuring just 620 mm x 365mm x 595mm the E2S can fit onto a standard 600mm deep work surface and offers fantastic cavity to footprint ratio for busy kitchens that are short on space.

We’re going to start seeing offerings from a number of manufacturers going forward as this is a trend that is set to continue, as it’s unlikely we’re going to see rents going down anytime soon particularly in our major cities.