Storage Ideas for Restaurants

Storage is something that every business has to deal with and this is no different for a restaurant. Having all your products stored neatly and conveniently can make the difference in making your business more efficient and productive. Your restaurant requires fine attention to detail because it deals with food on a daily basis.

Food needs to be stored at the correct temperature and in proper containers. It needs to be stored in order of date acquired and expiration dates. Perishables must be checked every day to ensure that only fresh foods are in stock. Therefore, you should have appropriate storage units placed strategically throughout your restaurant and have systems that ensure that the foods are used before their best before dates.

• Labelled Containers

Find plastic containers with a lid that can be sealed tightly. Then label each container according to what it will be used for and have a section that can be changed according to the date. For example, on the rice container you will label it ‘Rice’ and that container will only be refilled with rice. Add the expiration date of that batch on the container. This will give you a guideline as to by when the rice is to be used. Or the container that you use to store potatoes, label it ‘Potatoes’ and, this time, you can add the date when you received it. In this case, you will have a guideline as to how old the potatoes are. Make sure you label the dates labels specifically.

You can do the same for perishable foods that are stored in the fridge. If you know what is in the container and when it needs to be used by, you will always be on top of things. You will ensure that all the foods in your commercial kitchen are fresh and ready for your customers.

• Steel Shelves

The main benefit of steel shelves is that they are sturdy and strong. They are built to last a long time and to hold a lot of items on those shelves. The steel shelves will allow you to neatly pack the containers onto the shelves so that you can easily see all the food labels at a glance. This will allow the chef to go directly to the shelve and container they require, thus saving time. It will also give you a quicker way to check the food stock at the end of the day and remove any foods that are expired. Stock taking is now much more convenient and less of a chore.

• Crockery Racks

It can be a cumbersome task to store crockery. Crockery racks allow you to neatly stack crockery on the various shelving racks so that it is ready to use. Certain crockery racks also have wheels that give you the freedom of movement. If the dishes have just been washed you can place them on the crockery racks and wheel it over to the cabinets to pack them away.

• Meat Trays

Storing meat safely and categorised is very important. You don’t want cross contamination to occur. Having meat trays specifically for this purpose only, gives you better control. The meat is stored only in the allocated trays. It would also be to your benefit to label these trays too. That way you can keep track of the contents at all times.

Storage solutions for your foods and catering equipment in your commercial kitchen can make your staff’s lives so much easier. And this will be reflected in your improved level service because your restaurant will become more efficient. There will be no more wasted time in figuring out when foods were received and when it’s due to expire.