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Comments attributed to Alistair Farquhar, Director National Key Accounts UK & Ireland, Welbilt

Designing an efficient kitchen has never been more important. Across hospitality, operators are facing rising costs in almost every area, from energy and water to labour and raw ingredients. Capital expenditure is under more scrutiny than ever, and kitchens have to work harder to justify every pound spent. Everybody wants a premium product, but for budget pricing, regardless of the brand, is there is more focus on cost than ever before. Therefore, being able to bring added value to operators is paramount.

One of the biggest hurdles to navigate is that kitchens are getting smaller. Gone are the days of large kitchens with plenty of spare space. With property costs and business rates continuing to rise, space is now at a premium. That makes efficiency critical. Background work at the start is important – a lot depends on the output of the kitchen, how many covers you are doing, what your menu looks like, what the goal of the business is. Ultimately your menu and business style will dictate what pieces of equipment you need.

A very common mistake I see when I walk into kitchens is over-specification. Sometimes the equipment is overspec; it is more than what the operator actually needs. They are buying pieces of equipment they are realistically never going to use. I often compare it to buying a smartphone and only using 10% of the features. Operators think they need the most expensive, all-singing, all-dancing piece of kit, when in reality, for what they want to achieve, they would get just as good results from fewer pieces of equipment or more basic bits of kit.

At the same time, many operators underestimate the real cost of fitting out a kitchen. They might have a figure in mind because they have been online and priced up some equipment, but that is rarely the full picture. People don’t always factor in essentials like extraction, canopies, cold rooms, dishwashers and hand wash stations. That is before you even start talking about cooking equipment and refrigeration. One of the biggest things people underestimate is the cost of what they are trying to achieve.

The answer is not a one-size-fits-all checklist, but a consultative approach. We spend a lot of time talking to operators about what they actually want to achieve. Do they need speed of service? Are they short on space? Are they trying to reduce labour dependency? We need to be honest and upfront with customers about what is realistic. Sometimes that means saying you don’t need three fryers, or you don’t need the most advanced model on the market.

Our FitKitchen concept brings together different combinations of equipment, based on a business’s requirements. We can put together a mock-up of the kitchen at our facility in Sheffield, which allows operators to see how they would use the space and how the equipment works together.

If you get the design right, you can still achieve maximum output, but at a potentially lower price. In the current climate, where margins are tight and mistakes are expensive, thoughtful, efficient kitchen design is fundamental to running a sustainable and profitable operation.