A List Of Potential Equipment For A Fusion Generation Style Commercial Kitchen
Setting up any F&B business will require some investment in appropriate cooking and preparation equipment. Likewise, equiping a central kitchen with the right type of modern equipment is also important. Below are some equipment that can be found in a Fusion Generation kopitiam-style establishment.
Kitchen Range
If any of the stall cuisines require food to be cooked over an open flame, you will need a kitchen range. The range is the powerhouse of the kitchen, so it’s important to choose one that meets your cooking needs. Like residential ranges, commercial units can be either gas, electric or induction. A gas cooking range usually has four main components – the grate, the burner caps, the burner heads and the stovetop surface itself. Alternatively, electric ranges have smooth, elegant, easy-to-clean designs and come in one of three sub-categories – standard electric ranges that use coils to heat food, smooth-top electric ranges and electric induction ranges that employ magnetic coils beneath a ceramic glass top to generate heat.
Deep Fat Fryer
A deep fat fryer is a must have in most commercial kitchens especially if hot, crispy items demand high production. Deep frying is very fast and, when performed properly, destroys bacteria. A fryer is programmed with a timer for accuracy in cooking, better heat recovery to allow quicker production and oil filtration capabilities to extend the life of cooking oil. To create everything from French fries to fish and chips, a good quality commercial deep fryer is needed.
Salamander
A kitchen salamander, which is basically an oven, is typically used for finishing your food product or for desserts. Although it is dedicated to broiling, it can also be used for melting, browning, and caramelizing. The browning or melting process is generally very quick, as the goal is to serve quickly and efficiently. Commercial salamanders can either be gas, electric or infrared.
Western Induction Wok Range
Like the Chinese induction wok range, the Western induction wok range uses the high efficiency of induction to provide gas-like performance in a safe, flameless, easyto- use, electric appliance for western style cuisines. It has the power to heat to the true wok temperatures that commercial kitchens require. This induction wok range is built with the signature bowl burner design so you can immediately begin cooking with induction-ready pans. You can find a commercial induction wok that is made for both countertop and drop-in use.
Stock Pot Stove
Stock pot ranges are built to withstand the weight of heavy cookware like large stock pots while heating huge amounts of liquids, making them the perfect options for cooking up soups, boiling pasta, or creating sauces in your commercial kitchen. These products are small, but they have a high output that allows them to heat up large quantities of liquid quickly. You can can choose to have a gas or electric stock pot stove but if you don’t want an open flame, opt for an induction stock pot stove unit.
Combi Oven
Combination ovens can serve as the jack-of-all-equipmenttrades in a commercial kitchen. One combi oven can do the work of a convection oven, braising pan, steamer, holding cabinet, smoker and even a dehydrator. With the ability to cook different products using different cooking methods at the same time; a combination oven is a great choice for high volume food preparation.
Vacuum Packing Machine
A vacuum pack machine usually works to remove air or oxygen from a package prior to sealing. By removing the air, the shelf life of the food product is extended. There are single chamber or double chamber vacuum pack machines that come in either a table top size or standing models.
Blast Chiller
When it comes to maintaining food quality and hygiene, some businesses have turned to blast chillers and freezers. Leaving food out to cool before storing them comes with the risk of food contamination. Blast chillers or shock freezers typically cool down hot food to a temperature low enough to inhibit bacterial growth. These units are able to reduce temperature of cooked food from +70 °C (158 °F) to +3 °C (37 °F) or below within 90 minutes for safe storage and consumption.
Tilting Kettles
A tilting kettle is a great equipment to have for cooking large amounts of soups, stews, and sauces with less supervision than what a stock pot requires. Tilting kettles use a steamjacketed design to apply heat evenly to the food inside, eliminating the worry of food scorching to the bottom of the pot due to the concentrated heat there. There are two different heating methods available for tilting kettles – a self-contained kettle with a jacket that is factory-filled with distilled water and then heated to steam by either an electric or gas boiler, or an external boiler that uses direct steam to fill the jacket and heat the food.
Regeneration Ovens
When it comes to dealing with cooked and chilled food, these aspects depend on the quality of reheating, which is a decisive step before serving. Once chilled food is loaded into a regeneration oven, the unit will regenerate the food, then automatically switch to keep the food hot and retain it at the correct serving temperature until it is ready to be served. Regeneration ovens can cook, roast and reheat frozen convenience food while holding them all in the same cabinet. These ovens also allow food to be slow cooked or regenerated overnight and then held until service.
Pre Rinse Spray
Pre-rinse spray valves are designed to remove excess food and sauces of your dishware before placing them in a commercial dishwasher. These sprayers are hooked up to your sink’s water supply and helps prolong the life and quality of your dish machine, since food and other debris won’t be clogging it. By switching to a high-efficiency prerinse spray valve, a commercial or central kitchen can save huge costs in terms of energy and water usage.
Commercial Dishwasher
A commercial dishwashing machine can make life much easier in your wash-up area – dealing with large quantities of washware becomes a whole lot simpler. These commercial dishwashing machines come in various models e.g. a hoodtype or pass through commercial dishwashing machine that provides the perfect solution to your warewashing needs.
Food Waste Disposal System
Whether on the guest’s plate or in the kitchen during the preparation, food waste and leftovers cannot be avoided. It is important to dispose off this valuable raw material hygienically and efficiently by using a professional food waste disposal system. If there are space contraints in your central kitchen, opt for a compact waste disposal system that can transform food waste into biomass, which can then also be turned into electricity. There are pump-type-systems and vacuum-type food waste disposal systems that you can choose from, depending on the needs of your kitchen.
AT THE STALL
Table Top Induction Cooker
This is the live cooking option. The induction unit is safe to operate in small spaces and its fast heat up time without unecessary loss of heat compliments its attractive flat surface for a quick kitchen turnaround.
Front Cooking Station
If you are looking for a perfect solution for front cooking, then a front cooking station with a smart extraction and filtration system is ideal for bringing the drama and spectacle of the commercial kitchen to your dining customers. Depending on the needs of your kitchen, choose a front cooking station that offers various cooking modules. This way, you can have a deep fryer, griddle, pasta cooker and an induction hob all at the same time at your front cooking station. If you want to place this equipment in a closed space or room, a smart extraction and filtration system in a front cooking station will help ensure an optimum climate and frees you from stationary extractor hoods.
Soup Warmer
Whether you are serving chowder, chicken noodle, or chili, this soup warmer as the name suggests, keeps soups warm and ready to serve! A soup warmer is ideal for restaurants, commercial kitchens, buffets, caterings, parties, or any other event that requires a large amount of soup to be kept warm for hours. You can have a built-in soup warmer in your kitchen or a stand-alone model to suit your restaurant’s needs.
Noodle Boiler
Noodles are always cooked upon order and there is no time to wait for water to boil. A noodle boiler holds large amounts of water that can be heated up quickly for cooking and with noodle baskets that can be hooked and unhooked to the boiler for convenience. Similar to the soup warmer, you can choose to either have a built-in noodle boiler or free-standing unit.
Listed here are just a few types of cooking and preparation equipment but there are a number of other equipment that can be used in a Fusion Generation style ‘kopitiam’ concept. Your selection of equipment will largely depend on the type of cuisine that will be served at the stalls, your budget and the size of your central kitchen.
