The chapters are organized roughly according to the steps a person
would take to open a
restaurant or foodservice business. Chapter 1 discusses everything you’d need to select a site
for the business and covers how to determine whether to lease or purchase the space.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 delve into how to design the space. This means analyzing how much
room you’ll need for each task and the area(s) in which the tasks are performed and how
those areas will be expected to work together. Chapter 2 focuses on front-of-house details,
Chapter 3 on the commercial kitchen, and Chapter 4 contains a little bit of both. In Chapter
4, we’ve also updated information about space planning for customers and employees who
have physical disabilities.
Chapters 5 and 6 take the reader into the world of utility use and utility bills, no small
part of a commercial foodservice business. These chapters have been extensively updated
with an eye to conservation practices, energy efficiency, the future of alteative power
sources, green business practices, and so on—although the basics are also still in place,
from how to read electric and gas meters and decipher the bills, to guidelines for most efficient
use of steam equipment.
Chapter 7 continues the discussion of how to create a particular atmosphere for a restaurant
with choices of lighting, sound control, and temperature control. In Chapter 8, we’re at
the back of the house again, for an expanded look at keeping employees safe and comfortable
on the job. Food safety and food handling practices, as well as a new focus on waste
management, are found in this chapter.
In Chapter 9, we begin the Equipment portion of Design and Equipment for Restaurants
and Foodservice with a thorough discussion of how to purchase commercial appliances to outfit
a foodservice kitchen. From how to write equipment specifications, to the option of leasing
rather than buying, to warranty and service programs and methods of installation, it’s all here.
The seven chapters that follow it (10 through 16) divide major appliances into categories by
type and delve into more detailed information about how to select and maintain each type.
Both gas and electric appliances are discussed. Where appropriate, specialty versions of the
equipment also are introduced and described: soft-serve ice cream machines, smoker-cookers,
pasta cookers, panini grills, waste pulpers, and more.
Chapter 17 rounds up the smaller, but nonetheless vital, types of equipment necessary
for ease and speed of food preparation. The commercial versions of these handy countertop
appliances—food processors, toasters, slicers, mixers, warmers, and coffee makers—are
much sturdier and more powerful than those made for home use, and this chapter explains
their selection, safe use, and maintenance. Chapter 18 continues the nuts-and-bolts focus
with a closer look at the most common hand tools found in every commercial kitchen, along
with knives, equipment for measuring volume and temperature, cookware, and serving and
holding containers.
The final two chapters of the book cover two topics that involve both front and back of
the house, because they are both decorative and labor-intensive. After reading Chapter 19,
you’ll be better able to select plateware, glassware, and flatware after leaing about how
they’re made, including common shortcuts in the manufacturing processes that affect both
price and quality. You’ll also know how to clean and store these items properly. Chapter 20
takes the same premise and applies it to linens and table coverings, with information about
how fabrics are made and how to use and care for them, including advice for using a linen
rental company and/or designing an on-premise laundry room.
restaurant or foodservice business. Chapter 1 discusses everything you’d need to select a site
for the business and covers how to determine whether to lease or purchase the space.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 delve into how to design the space. This means analyzing how much
room you’ll need for each task and the area(s) in which the tasks are performed and how
those areas will be expected to work together. Chapter 2 focuses on front-of-house details,
Chapter 3 on the commercial kitchen, and Chapter 4 contains a little bit of both. In Chapter
4, we’ve also updated information about space planning for customers and employees who
have physical disabilities.
Chapters 5 and 6 take the reader into the world of utility use and utility bills, no small
part of a commercial foodservice business. These chapters have been extensively updated
with an eye to conservation practices, energy efficiency, the future of alteative power
sources, green business practices, and so on—although the basics are also still in place,
from how to read electric and gas meters and decipher the bills, to guidelines for most efficient
use of steam equipment.
Chapter 7 continues the discussion of how to create a particular atmosphere for a restaurant
with choices of lighting, sound control, and temperature control. In Chapter 8, we’re at
the back of the house again, for an expanded look at keeping employees safe and comfortable
on the job. Food safety and food handling practices, as well as a new focus on waste
management, are found in this chapter.
In Chapter 9, we begin the Equipment portion of Design and Equipment for Restaurants
and Foodservice with a thorough discussion of how to purchase commercial appliances to outfit
a foodservice kitchen. From how to write equipment specifications, to the option of leasing
rather than buying, to warranty and service programs and methods of installation, it’s all here.
The seven chapters that follow it (10 through 16) divide major appliances into categories by
type and delve into more detailed information about how to select and maintain each type.
Both gas and electric appliances are discussed. Where appropriate, specialty versions of the
equipment also are introduced and described: soft-serve ice cream machines, smoker-cookers,
pasta cookers, panini grills, waste pulpers, and more.
Chapter 17 rounds up the smaller, but nonetheless vital, types of equipment necessary
for ease and speed of food preparation. The commercial versions of these handy countertop
appliances—food processors, toasters, slicers, mixers, warmers, and coffee makers—are
much sturdier and more powerful than those made for home use, and this chapter explains
their selection, safe use, and maintenance. Chapter 18 continues the nuts-and-bolts focus
with a closer look at the most common hand tools found in every commercial kitchen, along
with knives, equipment for measuring volume and temperature, cookware, and serving and
holding containers.
The final two chapters of the book cover two topics that involve both front and back of
the house, because they are both decorative and labor-intensive. After reading Chapter 19,
you’ll be better able to select plateware, glassware, and flatware after leaing about how
they’re made, including common shortcuts in the manufacturing processes that affect both
price and quality. You’ll also know how to clean and store these items properly. Chapter 20
takes the same premise and applies it to linens and table coverings, with information about
how fabrics are made and how to use and care for them, including advice for using a linen
rental company and/or designing an on-premise laundry room.