Commercial Kitchen Equipment List: A Zone-by-Zone Checklist

How to use this list

The right list depends on what you cook, how many guests you serve and the size of your room. A noodle shop and a hotel banquet kitchen share the same five zones but not the same equipment, so write your menu first and tick only what each dish needs.

Names that are links lead to our page for the item, made to order or listed in the catalogue. Items without a link are general items to buy from a specialist supplier. Smallwares such as knives and pots are not listed.

Receiving and storage

Food arrives, is checked and goes straight to the right store: dry, chilled or frozen.

• Receiving table: a steady surface by the delivery door, where goods are checked against the order before they move on.
• Shelving and racks: keep dry goods and packed ingredients off the floor. Wall shelving has one to three tiers, and floor racks have three to six.
• Cabinets: closed storage for utensils, containers and supplies, floor-standing or wall-hung, with swing or sliding doors.
• Chillers and freezers: hold chilled and frozen food at temperature, close to receiving and preparation. The catalogue lists them under Refrigeration.
• Scale and trolleys: weigh deliveries and move them without carrying.

Preparation

Ingredients are washed, cut, portioned and mixed here, apart from cooked food.

• Work tables: the surface for cutting, portioning and assembling. Choose one to three layers and up to two upper shelves, then set your own length, width and height.
• Preparation sink: washes vegetables, meat and fish, apart from the hand-wash sink and the pot-wash sink. Choose one to four sinks, with an undershelf or an upper shelf if you want them.
• Hand-wash sink: a basin used only for washing hands, at the kitchen entrance and in each zone.
• Slicer and grinder: machines for volume preparation. The cooking category of the catalogue lists a meat grinder and a meat slicer.

Cooking

Group the cooking equipment in one line under one hood, so the heat, smoke and gas are handled together.

• Gas stove: the core of the line. Choose up to six burner positions one by one, with a griller, griddle, oven or fryer added where the menu needs one.
• Wok range: high-pressure burners in recessed wok rings for stir-frying, with one to three wok holes.
• Griddle, griller and fryer: a flat griddle, a lava-rock griller or a fryer, each on its own stand and built to your size.
• Deck oven: bakes bread, pastry and baked dishes, with one to three decks and three or six trays on each deck.
• Steamers and warmers: a steamer cooks rice in volume, and a warmer holds cooked food hot. The catalogue lists a gas rice steamer and a display warmer.

Ventilation and safety

Cooking releases heat, smoke, grease and gas. These items belong to the same layout as the cooking line, so plan them together.

• Range hood: the canopy over the cooking line that captures heat, smoke and grease: wall, island or slim, with baffle filters and lighting.
• Exhaust ducting and blower: carry what the hood captures to the outside through fully welded ducting, with an access door for maintenance.
• Fresh-air supply: replaces the air the exhaust removes, through ducting, a blower and room diffusers, so the kitchen is not starved of air.
• LPG gas line: tanks stand outside in a secured cage, and fully welded black-iron pipes carry gas to each appliance, with leak detection and an emergency auto-shutoff valve.
• Fire suppression: a wet chemical system integrated with the hood protects the cooking surface and the exhaust path, with detectors and a manual pull.
• Portable extinguishers and first-aid kit: keep them within reach, and ask the BFP what it expects.

Washing

Pots, trays and dishes are washed away from food, and clean items go straight back to storage.

• Pot-wash sink: two or three compartments to wash, rinse and sanitise pots and trays, with a pre-rinse spray faucet if you want one.
• Dish tables: a soiled table where dirty dishes are loaded and a clean table where washed dishes land, either side of the dishwasher.
• Dishwasher: the machine itself is not in our catalogue. Our dish tables sit beside it, with the machine on the left or on the right.
• Dish and drying racks: let washed pots, trays and plates drain and dry before they return to storage.
• Grease trap, bins and a store for cleaning chemicals: plan these with your plumber, and ask your local government unit what is needed.

Before you order: grade, size and finish

Our stainless-steel equipment is built to order in food-grade SS304 as standard, or laboratory-grade SS316 on request, in a brushed, mirror or satin finish, with seams welded and ground smooth. Most kitchens use SS304, and our SS304 vs SS316 guide explains when SS316 is worth considering.

Tables, sinks, stoves, hoods, cabinets, shelving and racks are all built to your exact dimensions, so measure your room, and the doors the equipment must pass through, before you give sizes. Our guide to planning a commercial kitchen layout shows how.

How Barro Industries can help

We design, fabricate, deliver and install commercial kitchens, and commission everything on site, including the exhaust, fresh-air, gas and fire suppression systems. If you have a menu and a room, send us a project brief and we will turn your list into a layout with you. See our commercial kitchen fit-outs and the catalogue.

We give a 6-month service warranty on our equipment and work, and full-kitchen projects include 12 months of preventive maintenance service (PMS) with KitchenShield™.

Frequently asked questions