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Equipments are tools to profit making in the food business. Better equipments produce better quality of food. Having a heavy duty char-boiler can guarantee you rounds of delicious BBQs in just minutes. Having your kitchen properly outfitted will get you the benefits of lowering maintenance and repair cost, increase production rate and produce food made with unique recipes that will differentiate you from your competitors. With this said, it’s properly not a good idea to sacrifice the quality of the equipments with price. However, doing thorough research is a must before committing to buy any of the equipments as they will stay with the business for quite some time. Feel free to use this article as a guideline when shopping for equipments for your restaurant business.

Product Equipment

Production equipments are also called cooking equipments. They are the core of the kitchen. It does not matter what type of restaurant you’re opening, you will need to cook, and produce food with these equipments. However, if you are buying a facility that already has a kitchen, it may already have much of the equipment you need. You can modify what’s already there to meet your needs and add or subtract any pieces.

If you are building your cook-line from scratch, budget anywhere from $30, 000 to $45, 000 for your heavy production equipments. You may rely on your kitchen designer’s expertise on the spec and function of the equipments, but it’s probably smart to consult the chef and conduct research with him, because in the end, no one knows more than how you cook your food than your head chef. Your designer will always suggest the more versatile and cost effective equipments while your chef may want something more unique that caters to his taste.

In general, the cook-line consists of the following equipments: range, convection oven, fryer, grill, broiler, steamer, steam kettle, condiment stand a type I hood. Across from the cook-line is the dish-up area where you will normally find the sandwich prep table, microwaves, toaster, hand wash, sinks, and plates. Somewhere near the cook-line, you will probably find the mixer, slicer, preparation sinks, portion scale, food cutter, baker’s bins and tables, meat grinder, refrigerator and freezer. This part of the kitchen is called the preparation area.

Figure on spending another $1200 or $2700 for small production items like pots and pans, tongs, spoons, ladles, potholders, spatulas, can openers, and other miscellaneous items.

For bigger restaurants that serve 70 or more, a service area is usually planned. This is where the kitchen helper or server will put final touches on the plate and serve side orders like salad, soup, sandwiches, and so forth. To help the server prepare for the side orders, the following equipments are handy: prep and steam table, toaster, heat lamps, microwave oven, utensil racks, roll warmers, and sandwich tables. The beverage station should include a coffee maker, an ice machine, a beverage stand, a soda system, an ice cream cabinet, and a water station. You’ll end up spending from about $11, 000 to $20, 000 to equip the service area.

Dishwashing Equipment

Most restaurant owners prefer to lease dishwashers from vendors just like how they would lease a soda machine from Coke or Pepsi. The vendor will then be responsible of providing the sanitizing detergents to ensure that the machine will work properly to the health department’s standard. When the health inspector conducts his periodical inspection, he checks the chlorine and other detergent levels. To lease a low temp dishwasher, it cost about $120 – $350 per month, depending on type, size and function of the machine. There are also high temperature dishwashers which require vapor exhaust hood, also known as type II hood over them. It’s costly to build the type II hood in the beginning, (about $2, 000), but high temp washers will bring you the benefits of requiring less amount of detergent and maintenance than the low temp ones. They also make the dishes nice and hot. To purchase dishwashers on your own will cost you somewhere around $4, 000 to $12, 000. Installing the equipment, complete with landing area, dish table, garbage disposal, and three compartment sink, will run you anywhere from $5, 000 to $25, 000.

Receiving and Storage Equipment

The largest and most costly piece of equipment in the receiving and storage area is the walk-in refrigerator/freezer, which will cost between $8, 000 and $20, 000. Having walk-ins is handy, since they are important in helping to keep your food fresh. Instead of arranging for three or more deliveries per week, you may now, arrange for two. Your food will be easily organized and accounted for when they are put on the shelves inside of the walk-ins, which makes calculating inventory much easier.

Bar Equipment

Having a bar is just like having another kitchen, which in business terms, equal to another profit generating unit. You have the option of buying a standard bar with refrigerator underneath form an equipment dealer, or you may have one custom made. Either way, plan to spend $5, 000 to $9, 000 on the bar itself.

To equip a functional bar, the following equipments should be considered: cash register, a three compartment sink with drain boards, an ice bin, an ice machine, a soda dispensing system, a beer dispensing system, wine cooler, glasses, a glasses washer, mixer, blenders, ice crushers, bottle openers, and miscellaneous tools. Altogether, the bar equipment will cost between $12, 000 to $22, 000.

One of the most important pieces of equipment for the bar is the soda dispensing system. There are 2 types of automatic beverage dispensers available: one for mixes and one for liquors. To start out, a seven valve dispensing system that can calibrate the amount of mix served should be sufficient. It costs about $150 – $350 to lease this piece of equipment and leasing makes it easier to upgrade the equipment if needed.

Another way to go about it is to pour liquor by hand, which is quite popular at some bars. To help with portion control, prepour plastic spouts can be attached to each open bottle. This prevents over pouring by dispensing a measured amount of liquor into a drink. Bar equipment manufacturers usually sell these spouts for 28 and up apiece.

Many Industry professionals, when asked this question, would assume the co-packer only gets involved at the end of a projects life cycle and although that can be true for some jobs its becoming more important for companies to approach the co-packer at a much earlier stage, and sometimes even before they’ve begun the manufacturing process.

Contract packers have always been an integral part of the supply chain, ensuring products make their way to the shelf in both the timescale required, within budget and in the condition retailers expect, but what if you get to the point where you’ve manufactured a product, have retailers lined up and then can’t find a suitable co-packer to oversee the final stages of your project.

It sounds impossible to think that you’d get to this stage and not be able to find a suitable supplier, but many things can influence the end of the supply chain. One thing nearly all co-packers have in common is the increase in demand for their services during the lead up to the holiday periods such as Christmas and Easter. Brand owners and project managers are generally aware of this trend and can use their knowledge and skills to ensure their supplier has the capacity to handle their project but placing additional work load on an already stretched work force can sometimes cause issues that can normally be avoided. Obviously it’s not always possible to plan so far in advance that everything runs like clockwork such as when demand for a product outweighs manufacture and this is where having a partnership with your supplier really comes into its own. By working in partnership with suppliers and not simply seeing them as a means to an end, you encourage more trust in the relationship and this often results in a sustainable partnership that can react to market conditions much more flexibly and result in significant achievements for all concerned.

Another problem than can arise as a result of last minute planning is the difficulty in actually finding a supplier who is set up to handle the job with the necessary equipment, systems and work force in place. Most co-packers will specialise in certain sectors whether it be pharmaceuticals, toiletries, confectionery etc, and will have the appropriate equipment and certifications in order to work those sectors, so doing your homework prior to approaching these suppliers can be time saving and result in a smooth running project. Generally if you have a partnership with an existing supplier they would be open to discussing procurement options for equipment to tender for most contracts but this again is something which takes time and should be considered in great detail and from the outset.

The diverse nature of the packaging industry as a whole tends to mean that most projects have a bespoke time frame and keeping within those constraints is specific to that individual job. Working with co-packers from the early concept stage can ensure that all parties are aware of their responsibilities and the time frame their expected to work towards giving everyone the chance to plan ahead and ensure your project gets completed in the most efficient and manageable way.

Auditing is the process of evaluation based on a set of standards in quality as declared by national standards organizations. Academic and public service institutions and business establishments are among the entities that are audited. When their quality is assured, they receive certification for it; this is called accreditation. An accredited institution is publicly revealing its good quality, encouraging others to avail of its services.

Quality audit is supported by a set of standards that institutions must attain. For example, medical institutions must hold good standards when it comes to public health and wellness and be staffed by competent medical practitioners, including medical technicians who all value the same ideals. The hospital or clinic must also maintain the infrastructure suitable for people recovering their health. Hence, the hospital possesses adequate equipment and firm and solid infrastructure. “Adequate equipment” includes safety features like fire extinguishers, smoke-detecting sprinklers, and emergency exits accessible for both patients and staff.

Energy audit is quality audit geared toward energy conservation in a building. This can apply to any business or public service establishment. Hospitals, factories, and residential buildings are covered here; a home must support the family it shelters with sufficient and efficient electricity. The electric supply that powers the institution is measured and evaluated as well as the equipment involved.

Benchmarking is also called the simple audit, screening audit, or walkthrough audit because this process involves simple observations of the infrastructure and facilities of an establishment. The operating personnel are briefly interviewed; the facility utility bills are reviewed; and the auditor walks through the establishment. Benchmarking is sometimes called a preliminary audit because a more extensive auditing process may follow.

In the preliminary audit stage, other aspects of the infrastructure and its energy consumption are also assessed. If its quality matches the standards, the establishment may achieve ESD 20:20 Certification. This may apply both to business and public and private infrastructure, including residential buildings.