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Executive Chef Shaun Venter of Amari Pattaya,
agrees, “Space should be used wisely. For example
line cooks should not have to take more than two
steps to reach anything which they might need
to use in the preparation of any of the dishes
being sent from their section during service time.
For this, the positioning of the hardware is very
important. If you put an under counter refrigerator
with shelves two meters away from the gas range
then the chef has to take three steps away from his
cooking station and bend down to reach into the
refrigerator to get out his mise-en-place. Now, if
we had an under counter refrigerator with drawers
directly opposite the gas range then all the chef
needs to do is turn around and slide open the
drawer to access his prep. It is also very important
that there is enough space to move around
between the gas range and refrigerator when in a
busy service. A kitchen that is too small or lacking
necessary equipment due to space concerns will
severely hinder production.”Ergonomics, smooth material and workflow
form the base of our design principles.
Warewashing is more about functional and
less about being aesthetically appealing.
As we cannot change the basic cooking
methods (or at least not so much in my
opinion), our R&D concentrates more on
how to make these cooking processes more
efficient and better. After-sales service is
a must for any warewashing company. We
have worldwide customers whom we need
to be able to service within four hours.
Rudolf Kitzbichler, Managing Director
Meiko Clean Solutions (SEA) Sdn BhdEquipment: Technological Evolutions
So once a concept is conceived, the kitchen
designers are to scour their resources and
identity what equipment are the most suitable
for the chefs to use. What do chefs think about
single function equipment versus multi-function
equipment? Let’s hear from Chef Abhijit Saha, “In
most cases, multi-purpose equipment are more
superior to single-function kitchen equipment
as they are space and efficiency multipliers.
Thermomix, combi-oven, gas burner range with
ovens, under-counter refrigerator and worktop
are some good examples of multipurpose
equipment.” MGM Macau’s Executive Chef
Geoffrey Simmons prioritises, “Concept, cost,
space and expected volume output all play a role
in making this decision. In principle, multipurpose
equipment would give greater flexibility. Quality is
more important for any long term requirements as
trials and novelties convenience allows reviewing
for greater investment.” Chef de Cuisine Raphael
Kinimo of The Ritz-Carlton, Macau on the other
hand says, “We need to be well-organised as a chef
cannot cook his food if he is not well-stocked. The
chef has to fully understand and design his menu
each time based on what existing equipment and
maximise productivity.”When I built my kitchen, I made sure to
have everything that we would need.
We have one 17-course menu. The only
supplemental stand alone equipment
that we have, is a refrigerator solely
used for storing our fish and seafood.
It is functional and I don’t feel that we
have to limit ourselves to the space. We
can do what we want even if we don’t
have the space. Be creative and find a
solution. I take it as a positive challenge.
Chef Rasmus Kofoed, GeraniumExecutive Chef Eric Neo of InterContinental
Singapore talks about this, “Chefs are always ready
to take up challenges and be flexible about the way
we work. If we are in a poorly designed kitchen, the
concept would then have to be worked out based
on size. Menus would also be planned based on
available equipment. As we have limited storage
space, we use a lot of stackable tubs and also order
minimum ingredients to ensure freshness.”*Photography courtesy of Claes Bech-Poulsen.