The range is one of the most important parts of your commercial kitchen. If you’re building a brand new kitchen or are looking to upgrade your existing facility, you must carefully consider the type of menu you have and the cooking processes you need to employ to create every meal on your menu.
With your menu in mind, here are some of the things you should consider while selecting your commercial range from a company specializing in restaurant equipment sales in Delaware:
- Cooking volume: Exactly how much food does your restaurant or food prep facility cook on a daily basis? How many meals are you planning on cooking per day, and at what temperatures? This is important because you’ll need to consider between restaurant and heavy-duty ranges. Restaurant ranges are ideal for lower volumes, and heavy-duty ranges are ideal for higher volumes where shorter cook times are required.
- Space: An important consideration is going to be how much space you have available in your kitchen. You’ll find ranges anywhere from a foot to six feet in width. Consider also how much space you have for hoods. Are you going to have to do a more extensive remodel to be able to fit in your desired range size?
- Burners: Think about the number of burners you’re going to need, based on how many pots and pans you tend to have on a range at a given time. The more burners you have, the more you can cook at once.
- Pan orientation: Do you have a strong preference with regard to the orientation of your sheet pans? If so, this will determine the type of depth and configuration you’ll have with your oven base. There are some manufacturers of commercial appliances that will create ovens easily accommodating both orientations.
- Cooking method: What type of cooking method do you most frequently use in your kitchen? This will also have a big role in determining the configuration of the base and the top. For example, you might bake and roast more often than you sear or sauté. You might also do a lot of boiling or braising. Consider which items on your menu get ordered the most and what cooking methods are used to create them, and this will help you determine which type of range you should opt for.
- Oven use: What do you normally use the oven for? Is it primarily used as part of the preparation process, or just for finishing your food? This will help you determine whether you need to get a standard or convection base for your range.
- Fuel source; Do you use natural gas, propane or electric in your kitchen? This will have a big effect on the range you select.
These are just a few examples of some of the most important considerations that go into determining the commercial range you’ll purchase for your kitchen. Contact Commercial Equipment Service today to learn more about our restaurant equipment sales in Delaware. We look forward to helping you find the right appliance for your needs!