We take a detailed look at the three essential stages of food preparation in commercial kitchens - storage, creation and clean-up.

The commercial kitchen is the heartbeat of any successful restaurant in the world of garden centres, farm shops and beyond. The kitchen costs plenty of money to furnish, consumes an enormous amount of energy and requires significant care and attention from those who use it.

The equipment in those kitchens will be used to titanic proportions, often over shortened periods of enormous activity - breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. With this in mind, garden centre operators need to understand what it is that is required to get the most out of their kitchen.

"When it comes to warewashing equipment, the focus of every manufacturer is firmly on ease-of-use, energy consumption and high quality wash results from the smallest possible footprint," says Bob Wood, director of DC Warewashing and Icemaking Systems.

Wood's opinion applies equally to refrigerators, freezers, ovens, fryers and combis, and these should be the four focal points for any operator looking to purchase equipment for their kitchen: can my staff use it easily? How much will it cost to run? Will it work to a consistently high standard? Can I fit it in my kitchen?

But there are further considerations for garden centres to bear in mind, such as the maintenance and care that is required to ensure that these expensive pieces of equipment are used and maintained properly, or the systems of support that your supplier will provide in the event of an emergency.

TOP WAREWASHING TIP FOR SAVING ENERGY:

"Fitting a steam heat recovery system to any passthrough or hood-type dishwasher can save up to 25% on energy costs," says Bob Wood, director of DC Warewashing and Icemaking Systems. "It also improves the working environment by removing and utilising nearly all of the steam created during the wash cycle and does not require an extraction canopy."

Read full article in Garden Centre & Farm Shop Catering magazine Autumn/Sept issue ...