KITCHEN LAYOUT & DESIGN It is important to ensure that the cooking space is designed scientifically to achieve maximum productivity and to attain this objective the kitchen, where the all important food is prepared and upon which all the revenue hinges, has to be properly designed and proper layout can provide efficient return. Kitchen planning must not be dictated by traditional thinking and pre-conceived notions of systems or organizations should give way to a clinical approach. Old style production has in some cases been replaced by new systems including cook freeze or cook chill. Industrial and institutional caterers seek to reduce equipment, commodities and method. The term layout means positioning of work centres and their arrangement with respect to equipment and services like drainage, fuel supply etc in the kitchen. Following four areas need to be looked into for proper planning of layout:- Management or administration of kitchens: The manager must possess the ability to view a kitchen in terms of its functional efficiency, as far as meeting the objective of the catering establishment. He may not be a specialist, but as an administrator he should be able to identify resources and constraints or limiting factors, and to make policy and other strategic decisions. Operation: The food service manager must play an active role in the planning of layouts, as the direction of the food preparation and service activities within the layout are solely their responsibility. Architecture: The expertise of an architect is vital to kitchen planning regarding construction features, timing of contracts and desirable building materials, in terms of providing the facility with structures and equipment that conform to prevailing standards laid down for the safety of users. Interaction: Present trends in kitchen layout are designed to lead a closer contact between actual points of food service and customers. This stimulates demand for quicker cooking appliances and conversely render some hot food holding equipment or hot storage redundant. Basis of Physical Layout The following factors must be considered when a catering establishment is planning a kitchen in the project stage. As we know that a kitchen plan or layout should be determined by the catering policy, even though a plan may often be limited by space available.
- 2 - The factors which can affect the layout plan are:- 1. Type of business 2. Type of customers 3. Possibility of expansions 4. Seasonal pressures 5. Number of covers (guests) to be offered 6. Cover turnover 7. Type of meal 8. Timings of meals (lunch or dinner service, or day service) 9. Facilities of equipment in still room 10. Floor space 11. To what extent will convenience foods be used? 12. Is allowance to be made for special functions? 13. Type of service proposed- self- service, cafeteria, waiter or waitress service) 14. Position of windows, ventilation, drainage, water service etc. Area Required Many elements make calculating kitchen areas controversial and even experts differ. Kitchen areas vary according to the type and number of meals provided. At the same time, information about the number alone is not sufficient to plan a kitchen or to calculate its area. Knowledge of peak load is essential and this must be either based on experience, or intelligent forecasting, in case of new establishment. Under certain circumstances, hotel and restaurant kitchens have been as much as 40% of total restaurant area. There are no hard and fast rules for calculating kitchen areas or space. However, as a suggestion rule of thumb is 0.56 sq. m or 06 sq. ft of floor area per person should be accommodated in the dinning room at the planning stage. This figure is arrived at by assuming that 50 per cent of the area allowed in assessing the size of the dinning room is 1.10sq.m (or 12sq.ft.) per person, which includes tables, passageways, etc. For example, if the floor area of the restaurant is 2000 sq.ft. then kitchen space should be approximately 1000 sq.ft. However, no firm rules as to area can thus be given, while a rough idea about the kitchen space normally required can be had from the following tables 1, 2 and 3. Those are for broad guidance only.
- 3 - Table 1: Approximate indication of kitchen requirements No. of Eating Members during Business Hours Kitchen Area Desirable per Person (in sq.ft.) 100 100-250 250-500 500 1000 Over 1000 5 9 4 6 4 5 3 4 2.5 3 Note: Area reduction may be made when convenience foods (frozen) are fully exploited. The lower figures relate to such simpler operations while the higher for complete catering. Table 2 : Possible Area ( in sq. ft) on a Daily Basis of Catering Capacity Total Meals per Day Restaurant Area Kitchen Area Total Catering Floor Space 100 250 500 1000 375 560 950 1500 150 215 300 500 525 775 1250 2000 Table 3 : Possible Area ( in sq.ft.) on a Daily Basis of Seating Capacity Seating Capacity Restaurant Area Kitchen Area Estimated Possible No. Of Meals Per Hour 50 75 100 125 200 700 1000 1250 1750 2750 300 400 500 750 1200 75 115 150 190 300 Out of a hotel kitchen area anything between 15 and 25 per cent may be required for storage depending upon the nature of operations and its form of supplies. The remaining space can be
devoted to food preparation, cooking and serving. In case of catering area, initial planning is not the concern of a single person, but involves a project team or committee which includes the - 4 - Chefs, hotelier and restaurateur. Their views have to be reconciled with site limitations and other members of the team such as consultants, kitchen engineer, all of whose activities are coordinated by the architect. Flow of Work A perfect kitchen is one in which the raw and cooked materials have minimum movement and only cover the same route once. When it is properly planned, they must be linked to comply as nearly as possible to the work flow as illustrated below:-
- 5 - A well planned layout largely depends on the following requirements which if properly provided for, establish good basic kitchen conditions:- 1. Incoming supplies and raw materials (checking and weighing) 2. Food storage 3. Cooking 4. Server arrangements 5. Pan wash arrangements 6. Crockery and cutlery wash up To obtain a continuous flow of goods section to section as illustrated, the design of each section must be considered carefully to ensure that paths do not cross and the staff do not back-track more than necessary. Key Steps for Designing a Kitchen The following are the main steps involved in designing a good kitchen:- 1. Determine a basic menu design or pattern. 2. Estimate menu items as per demand. 3. Consider food purchase policies. 4. Ascertain the size, number and type of equipment needed to process the menu style. 5. From the specification of the equipment compute the amount of space required. 6. Determine the equipment layout according to food flow and frequency of use. 7. Determine the peak food purchasing requirement. 8. Calculate and allocate floor space for refrigeration and dry store purposes.
9. Estimate the dinning room space by analyzing the peak patron loads and average seat turnover during these periods. 10. Allocate service area space within the kitchen by considering menu, peak load requirements, patron s needs and type of service offered. 11. Determine the number of employees needed and their distribution from study of hours of operation and peak production, and serving requirements. 12. Calculate the amount of space needed for work and traffic aisles by studying equipment layout and employee duties. Configurations of Commercial Kitchens - 6 - Depending on the availability of space the shapes of kitchens vary from square, rectangular, U- shaped, L-shaped, parallel to a single or straight line with dimensions varying according to the need of particular catering establishments. Details of such kitchens are given below:- Square Kitchen: (Fig 1) This shape is not very common as the amount of area in the centre is more and it requires much walking to reach from one wall to another. It is also difficult to use the central space effectively except for an aisle or for odd jobs. All plumbing, electricity and gas connections are best brought to wall ends rather than have the pipe and drains under the floors in the centre of the kitchen. Rectangular Kitchen: (Fig 2) This is a very common shape and is generally used in establishments where a lot activity takes place for most of the day. This shape is very common in hospitals, large restaurants and central kitchens.
- 7 - U-shaped Kitchen: (Fig 3) This is one of the most efficient types. Doors are located at the end of the U and the cooking/working area along the three sides of the room. The sink unit is placed in the end wall or inside the U, with a window over it. There is no chance of crisscrossing. L-shaped Kitchen: (Fig 4) This makes use of two adjoining walls at right angles. It is efficient design where floor space is limited. In figure arrangement has been shown for refrigerator, sink and cooking unit. It is very useful for small canteens, kiosks and tea and coffee shops.
-8 - Parallel Kitchen: (Fig 5) In this type, the sides of passages may be utilized while the central space acts as an aisle. AA shows tables which go into the walls when the service is not open. BB indicates extendable counters opening into the passage during service hours. This type is best suited for self service and for midday meals in schools. Straight Line Kitchen: (Fig 6) Sometimes it is called I-shaped kitchen. The extra storage is created on walls or under sinks in cabinets. It is useful in kiosks, tea shops or mobile vending units.
- 9 - Combined Shaped Kitchens: (Fig 7) Any of the above shapes can be combined and a different shape can be emerged during the process of expansion or renovation of catering facilities.
Environmental Conditions The following points should generally be considered as contributors to making the working conditions or the environment of the kitchen comfortable and convenient to work in :- Performance Lighting Colour Temperature and Humidity