I recently came across an article by Fox entitled, “Successful Restaurant Kitchens Have 5 Indispensable Pieces of Cooking Equipment.” Indispensable is quite a strong word and shouldn’t be used lightly. Therefore, I quickly skimmed the article to see if in fact these five pieces of cooking equipment were indeed indispensable.

Fox is correct when they state that “the freshest food is only as good as the equipment that cooks it” and that if any restaurant wants to be successful, they must have functioning equipment in good condition.

The list starts with commercial ranges. The articles call it “the backbone of a working kitchen.” A commercial range allows restaurants to bake, broil, pan fry, steam, heat up, and cook food. Because it accomplishes so many different tasks such as baking bread, frying chicken or broiling seafood, it is a must for any kitchen. It saves the kitchen time, money, and space which are a must in the restaurant industry. With so many different varieties of commercial ranges such as; ranges with ovens, rangers without burners, ranges without ovens; a restaurant can pick the very best commercial range for them.

The list then goes on to name griddles and flat grills as a must have. Griddles are found at almost all diners and breakfast places. With so many different styles and varieties of griddles, restaurants can pick which one works best for them. The article cautions, “If your restaurant will lean on its griddle heavily during service, a thick griddle plate may work best, as they retain heat better and recover faster than thinner griddle plates.”

Charboilers and gas grills are listed third in this article’s list of five essential cooking equipment that any restaurant should own. Charboilers are “must haves” for any restaurant that has grilled food. Off the top of my head I can’t think of any restaurants that don’t offer some sort of grilled dish. Sure you can bake chicken or pan fry a burger, but why? We all know nothing is better than a juicy cheeseburger fresh off a grill.

Sure a cheeseburger is delicious, but you need to wash it down with some french fries. If you don’t have a fryer, you can’t do that. Furthermore, you can’t sell staples like fish and chips or chicken tenders without one. With so many choices, you can find the fryer that meets your need. The article advises, “For delicate or specialty foods-like doughnuts or funnel cakes- a flat-bottom fryer may be a better option.”

The last piece of equipment that’s needed for a successful restaurant, per Fox’s article; are convection ovens. Obviously. You can’t cook in the kitchen without an oven. I guess you could, but it would make it extremely difficult. Like other restaurant equipment, convection ovens come in numerous different sizes, speeds, and energy sources. Choose from one with multi-speed fans, programmable thermostats, or even steam injection. This way you can pick the oven that will complement your kitchen.

These five pieces of equipment make the chef’s lives easier, that way they can spend more time on perfecting their recipes, thinking of new recipes, and making sure their restaurant is as successful as it can be.

So what do you think? Do you believe these five pieces of equipment are “must-haves” at any restaurant or bakery? Do you think any other equipment should have been included? Why?