What actually
goes in.
Specified against the menu, not ordered from a catalogue. Get it wrong and you either cannot cook at volume, or you have paid for a machine that sits unused for two years.
Extraction is not equipment.
It is the budget.
In a shell fit-out, canopy, ductwork to roof level, make-up air and the fire suppression system over the cooking line frequently cost more than every appliance in the kitchen combined.
- The duct has to reach roof level and terminate where the authority accepts it
- The landlord must consent to a flue running through the building
- In the UK, external ductwork often needs planning permission
- Odour control may be required, and it is not cheap
- Fire suppression over the line is a permit condition, not an option
- Make-up air is routinely forgotten, and without it the extraction underperforms
More candidate sites are killed by the extraction route than by rent. We check it before anything else, and it is the main reason we point first-time owners at a commissary bay where it already exists.
Eight groups, in the order they matter.
Everything here is specified after the menu is fixed, because the menu determines the line and the line determines the utilities.
Cooking line
Sized to peak ticketsRanges and burners, fryers, griddle or char-grill, combi or convection oven, and a tandoor or specialist item where the menu genuinely needs one.
Why it matters. Specify against your busiest hour, not against menu length. A long menu on a short line produces long ticket times, which the platforms measure and rank you on.
Refrigeration
The quiet cost driverWalk-in or reach-in cold and freezer storage, plus undercounter prep fridges on the line itself.
Why it matters. Undersized cold storage forces small, frequent deliveries at worse prices and raises food cost permanently. It is the least glamorous line and one of the most important.
Prep & dry storage
What makes multi-brand possibleStainless benches, shelving, dry store and clearly zoned prep areas.
Why it matters. Prep space is the constraint that decides how many brands one kitchen can carry. A cramped kitchen can cook one menu well and four menus badly.
Sinks & warewashing
Specified by the authorityThree-compartment wash sink, a separate hand wash basin, a mop or utility sink, plus a dishwasher and pot sink.
Why it matters. Sink configuration is set by the health authority, not by preference, and it is one of the first things an inspector checks. Undersized warewashing stops service mid-peak.
Grease interceptor
A permit conditionSized and sited to the authority's requirement, with a scheduled collection contract.
Why it matters. Retrofitting one after the fact is expensive and disruptive. In a commissary it already exists, which is another reason that route is faster.
Holding & packing station
Where ratings are wonHot holding cabinets, heat sealers, labelling, and a dedicated packing bench with the rider handover point beside it.
Why it matters. This decides whether food arrives intact and hot, which is what customers actually rate. It is routinely under-specified because it is not glamorous, and it damages reviews more than the cooking does.
Technology
One screen, not four tabletsPOS, kitchen display screens, and an order aggregator that pulls every delivery platform into a single queue.
Why it matters. Without an aggregator, three platforms means three tablets and manual re-typing. That is where wrong orders come from, and wrong orders are refunds and one-star reviews.
Safety & compliance kit
Non-negotiableFire suppression over the line, extinguishers, probe thermometers, temperature logging, first aid, and pest control provision.
Why it matters. This is what the inspection looks at. It is also what your insurance depends on, and it is never the place to save money.
The gate nobody checks until it is too late.
A shell that looks cheap often is not, because upgrading an incoming supply is a utility company job on a utility company timetable.
| Service | What has to be true | If it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Gas supply | Meter and pipework sized for the total input rating of the cooking line | Supply upgrade, quoted after survey, on the utility's timeline |
| Electrical | Three-phase where the equipment needs it, with enough spare capacity for refrigeration and extraction running together | New supply or a reduced equipment specification |
| Water & hot water | Flow and heater capacity for warewashing at peak | Additional heating plant, and space to put it |
| Drainage | Falls and capacity to take kitchen waste, with the interceptor sited correctly | Drainage works, which are disruptive and rarely cheap |
| Ventilation route | A viable path to roof level with landlord consent | The site is not usable. This is the most common reason we reject one |
| Waste & grease | Space for bins, and a collection contract the landlord permits | Permit refusal, or a nuisance complaint after opening |
| Rider access | Somewhere riders can wait and collect without blocking the street | Complaints, and platforms deprioritising the site |
New, used or financed.
Equipment is the one place in this venture where a used market genuinely works, and the one place where finance genuinely does not.
Buy new
Warranty, current efficiency, and a clean paper trail for inspection. Right for the cooking line and refrigeration, where a failure stops service.
Buy used
A real market exists in both countries because kitchens close often and stainless does not wear out. Sensible for benches, shelving and some refrigeration. We would not buy a used fryer or a used suppression system.
Lease or finance
Attractive on paper and difficult in practice. Equipment finance needs local business credit history that a newly formed foreign-owned company does not have. Expect a large deposit, a personal guarantee, or refusal.
Take over a fitted site
Occasionally a closed kitchen can be taken on with extraction and services intact. The best value available, and worth actively looking for — but survey it properly before you assume anything works.
Same conclusion as our transport venture, for the same reason. Build your budget assuming you buy the equipment outright. If finance is offered on acceptable terms, treat it as an improvement rather than an assumption.
Get an equipment specification for your menu
Give us the cuisine and the volume you are aiming at, and we will build the line, the utility requirement and the budget line by line.