Commercial Kitchen Maintenance Tips

When a commercial kitchen is running smoothly, it's a thing of beauty. However, there's a lot of work that goes on to turn a kitchen into a well-oiled machine. A major part of that is proper maintenance. The following tips will help keep your kitchen at peak performance.

Refer to Your Owner's Manuals – Everything in your kitchen, from the deep fryer to the PVC strip curtains & doors, has an owner's manual. Those manuals are your best resource for the proper care and maintenance of your kitchen equipment. Follow the manual's guidelines to help ensure everything stays in optimal condition.

Fill Out and Return Those Warranty Cards – Most major kitchen equipment comes with warranties that often include free parts and labor. It's worth the few minutes it takes to fill the warranty cards out and mail them or even to just go online and fill them out there, if that's an option. It doesn't make sense to invest in a piece of equipment, only to ignore the warranty that goes with it.

Clean, Clean, Clean – Food scraps, dirt, and grime all build up on a daily basis, so you need to clean your equipment on a daily basis. Simply keeping everything clean will help avoid this buildup, which is a leading cause of equipment failure and malfunction. For equipment that has deep cleaning requirements, be sure to meet those as recommended by the manufacturer.

Regularly Inspect Kitchen Equipment – The smallest of things can eventually lead to catastrophic failure, so taking the time to walk through your kitchen and inspect everything is well worth it. Catching and correcting something small, such as a loose fitting, can save untold amounts of money in bigger repairs down the line. Additionally, replacing worn parts will extend the life of your equipment.

Energy-Efficiency Tips for Your Charbroiler

You might be surprised to discover there are several ways you can save both energy and money when operating a charbroiler. Here's how:

Make Sure Your Charbroiler Is in Good Repair – Over time, metal fatigue and corrosion can develop, causing your charbroiler to perform inefficiently. Make sure to inspect your charbroiler on a regular basis and perform maintenance as needed, including replacing commercial charbroiler parts as needed. This will go a long way toward extending your charbroiler's life as well as maintaining energy efficiency.

Clean Properly – Raising the heat to scorch off debris not only is a waste of energy but can also damage your gas valves. Instead, use proper tools and preventative measures to keep your charbroiler clean. Make sure to keep the burner box free of ash to ensure proper heat transfer. Additionally, radiants should be removed daily and scrubbed with wire brushes.

Use Only What You Need – Eliminate stand-by times and significantly reduce energy costs by only using part of your charbroiler. Turn the unit off entirely during slow times. A charbroiler consistently uses more energy than six fryers combined, so turning it off for three extra hours a day can reduce your energy costs by over $600 a year. When preheating, do not exceed manufacturer's recommended preheat times. With underfired charbroilers, you can even reduce preheat time by 15 to 20 minutes.

Use Your Griddle – Whenever possible, use your griddle. Because griddles have thermostats, you can lower the temperature, reducing the amount of energy consumed. If your griddle has grooves, you can still have grill marks on your food the same as a commercial charbroiler.

Properly Ventilate – Charbroilers radiate an average of 25 percent of the heat they use. Make sure the kitchen is properly ventilated to avoid higher cooling costs.

Keep these tips in mind for a more cost-effective, energy-efficient charbroiler.