The importance of thought and consideration in designing kitchens

It seems like a stupid title, correct? Then why do so many of us rush to make mistakes before considering the whole picture? I was just yesterday going over plans for a kitchen at a boutique hotel slated to open this September here in Toronto. It is a fascinating project with a unique concept, certainly for Canada. The boutique has no dining room, only a small lounge and all guests are on full board, meaning three meals a day, plus some snacks. These meals are to be served in their rooms. Now, I knew that the meals were cooked fresh off site and delivered twice daily to the boutique, but I never stopped to consider the cuisine requirements carefully. It was only when we met with the caterer that I began to see the error of my ways. I have been very much involved in many kitchen designs, all of them for medium to large hotels by European standards. All of them needed all of the ‘usual’ kitchen departments, the main cooking area, the garde-manger (cold kitchen), the butchery, vegetable preparation, the bakery and sweet shop, the saucery, the dishwash areas, storage. During the course of my collaborations with professional designers, I had always had to ‘dampen’ their enthusiasm for going overboard on too much equipment, overkill of you will. Executive chefs tend to like overkill - more toys. Here in Toronto, as lead consultant to this fine project, I found myself trying to make sure that nothing would be lacking in the small area allocated to the kitchen. I was imagining combi-steamers, bain-marie hot holding stations, heated dish out counters, a cold station for salads not far removed from the type you see at Subway restaurants, and other equipment. I had fallen into the same habit as those designers I had worked with, and let my imagination run amok. While sitting with the caterer and learning about the various menus that would be delivered at mealtimes and ready to serve to the guests, I realised with a shock that I was guilty of ‘overkill’ myself. I felt a little like I did way back at school when the teacher distributed an exam with the instructions to read the questions and then answer them. Everyone, myself included, waded into the questions, feverishly writing down answers. Meanwhile one nerd at the back of the class got up and declared “Completed”. Of course the last question on the exam sheet read: ‘Do not answer any of the questions but stand up and state “completed”. We had not read all the questions as instructed, just as I had not considered all angles of necessity for the kitchen. Upon my return to my office I immediately sat down and completely revised my kitchen ‘project advice’ to update the designer on our actual needs, not those I initially presented, and here is why. Given that the facility is small (around 30 rooms), the maximum meals to be served at each meal time would be thirty meals if the place was fully occupied. Even with the considerable variety of menus the chances of having more than say eight different meals would be slim. The meals will arrive fully cooked and prepared twice daily. So even if the main courses, soups and perhaps other hot dishes needed a little warming, what equipment would be needed to take care of this number of dishes? Not a great deal! A small combi oven, a commercial grade microwave, an electrical range (no gas available) and a two unit hot holding bain marie plus a small cold prep unit would be more than sufficient. Of course there would be need for the small commercial dishwasher with hood, and perhaps the same hood could accommodate the combi, but the costs for the kitchen are way down, and the limited area allocated looks much more free and ergonomically suitable. In the past I have saved up to $150,000 (£114,000) and more in costs on new kitchens by holding back the expansive and creative impulses of designers, yet here I was doing the same on a smaller scale. When designing new kitchens, whatever the size, there is an absolute need for operational food and beverage professionals to be involved. This is not only to be able to control the expenses of new equipment but also to find the most ergonomically suitable design for those working in the area, along with strict adherence to hygiene laws. Sure, you need the expertise of the professional designers to draw up the plans, draw up the procurement lists for bidding, the specifications for the contractors and the advice on equipment up dates. You may also need their advice on placement of equipment, but make sure that this also is in sync with the demands of the team that will operate the facility long after all the designers and consultants are gone. It is critically important to get the plans and equipment right. Overkill and people will be falling over equipment, underkill and drastic delays will bring unhappy guests. This is the reason that there is room around the project planning table for all.