029A well-designed kitchen provides enough
space for mise-en-place plus service and
lets us communicate easily with one
another. It should also allow us to move
around easily and the chef should be able
to oversee the whole situation of the
kitchen at one glance.
Chef-owner Julien Royer,OdetteErgonomics & Geographics:
The Thought Process Behind The Designs
Directive that is given to the food production facilities
and the architectural designs are the very basis that
is improved upon. Kuek Wei Jun, the assistant project
director of Foodservice Consultants Singapore Pte Ltd
educates on the topic, “Once we are contracted, before
we even review the designs, we need to understand
where the property is located at because we need to
understand the supply chain and the menu offerings/
concepts. Take for example: a hotel in Singapore versus
a hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal. We also have to know
what type of ingredients they plan to order as both
factors affect the design in terms of storage capacity.
In Singapore, the produce is able to come in fresh
meaning less waiting time; whereas in Kathmandu,
fresh produce is in limited supply. The situation is such
that a lot of things need to be either air-freighted or
transported through India. That means the hotel in
Kathmandu needs a large refrigerator storage space,
compared to the Singaporean hotel.” He moves on to
the next point, “One of the things that I always look
out for is the flow in food preparation. It has to be a
one way traffic - you can’t backtrack as that’s a taboo
in food hygiene. We make amendments on the plan to
provide a better hygienic flow. The amended proposal
is then submitted to the clients for input. Only once the
proposed flow is approved, then the design is elaborated
on.” Robert Mang, FCSI (Foodservice Consultants
Society International) comments, “Different nations
mean different cuisines. Say for example, the work flow
of a Chinese kitchen is totally different from a Western
kitchen. When it comes to a hotel that also serves
Muslim meals, then the requirement of kitchen design
is also different.”Design is one thing, but a kitchen needs to be
functional. Ideal kitchens are designed for the
economy of movement. Think of the movement
between your workspace, sink and garbage as
a triangle, and keep them within close distance
of each. If there is a breaking point in your
movement from these locations, it makes for
less than efficient prepare and cooking. Large
space is not everything, you just have to make
good use of the space available to you. This
means being able to control the clutter and the
functionality of your kitchen.
Chef Sebastien Lefort
At-Sunrice GlobalChef AcademyAn effective space is
when there are no dead
corners and the space is
fully maximised.
Key consideration
points are the
type of cuisine,
the space
(limitations)
and the needs
of the kitchen
team. At The
Black Swan, we
need proper and
sufficient storage
for our premium
selection of different
meat cuts.
Chef Daniel Sia
The Lo & Behold GroupCom
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