15 Commercial Kitchen Storage Ideas: Best Food Storage Hacks

A restaurant kitchen is an important part of the area where all the ready food items are stored. In that case, kitchen design and decoration are crucial. Designing a restaurant kitchen requires sharp planning because numerous ingredients are available in the kitchen. For this reason, commercial kitchen storage ideas may be the best ones for keeping all the ingredients in a proper place. If you have appropriate kitchen ingredients storage planning then a small kitchen area may be the best place to keep massive ingredients.

Making anything requires planning. Proper planning and execution can change anything and bring an organization to a supreme level. Opening a restaurant requires advanced and dynamic planning. This planning includes restaurant opening costs, location rent, decoration, kitchen equipment, employee costs, POS system costs, and others.  

Commercial Kitchen Storage Ideas

For kitchen storage requires proper equipment ideas. The kitchen is a home for making and preparing food. All the ordered food is prepared from the kitchen. Different types of ingredients are in the kitchen. For this reason, kitchen decoration should be well decorated by maintaining a special strategy. However, let’s see what strategies should be applied to decor commercial kitchen storage.

1. Freeze Food Correctly for Perishable Products

Whenever storing food in refrigerators or freezers, always maintain a standard temperature. Set a freezer temperature for frozen foods at -23°C to -18°C. Therefore, during storing food following a first-in-first-out method is necessary. However, this freezer should be in an area where other frozen food is already stored. So, keep freezers in a suitable place so that it becomes convenient to collect food items.     

2. Non Perishable Products

In most cases, non-perishable products or ingredients are stored for a long time. For this reason, keep them on a shelf and also follow the FIFO and LIFO methods (last in first out). The kitchen shelf should be marked with color to make it easy to identify which product has come in last and which should come in first. So, decorate the shelf by following this process to avoid confusion for the kitchen chef and assistant chef.

3. Use the FIFO Method

We know that perishable items do not exist for a long time. In that case, keep them in a freezing area or freezer. You must ensure the FIFO and the LIFO method to keep such a perish item or ingredients. So that it can be easily brought from the shelf. 

In this connection, one thing is noticeable that must follow first in first out (FIFO). So that one food item doesn’t exist in a freezer for a long time. In this way, ingredients or food quality remains the same.

4. Use LIFO Method

Last in first out method (LIFO) is mostly used for kitchen inventory management. LIFO methods refer to recently purchased ingredients and use them first. This scenario is used for the perishable products or ingredients. However, you can mark the shelf that is for LIFO ingredients or perishable.

For storing such food, you may create a rack that will have easy access to the in and out ingredients handling process. In a big commercial kitchen, this type of shelf is used more in a day.

5. Maintain Refrigerated Storage

A refrigerator is used to keep the food cool. Mainly beverage and Icy items are stored in a refrigerator and other items are also kept in a refrigerator like meat, fish, and frozen fruits. So, whatever the ingredients are in a refrigerator keep it away from the stove or cooking area. To make a good fixture for a restaurant kitchen, you can see a design manual and decide which is the best place to keep a refrigerator.

6. Use Kitchen Equipment Shelving

A shelf is most necessary in the kitchen to keep different types of ingredients. Kitchen equipment shelving is common and essential for all types of kitchens like ghost kitchens, home-based catering service, and other full-service commercial restaurants as well. 

The shelf should be divided into different parts to keep various ingredients. So, design a shelf with an easy and systematic process so that collecting ingredients becomes easier.

7. Use Containers in the Kitchen

Container is another important thing in the kitchen. You may adopt a container in your kitchen to keep a particular amount of ingredients or different types of spicy. Therefore, to look at the container's beauty, you may wrap those using colorful wrapping papers. 

To understand which container is for which ingredients, you can write a name to easily identify. So, it is the best way to keep many ingredients in a small place. If you have a small space in the kitchen then, you may adopt a commercial kitchen storage idea. 

8. Use Suitable Restaurant Shelf

How flexible should a kitchen shelf be? Kitchen shelves should be flexible, durable, clean, and lightweight. So that it can carry easily from one place to another. Ensure that shelves are customizable and it can extend and minimize with a supportive stand. 

Keep it in a suitable area like a goodish step from a stove area. Choose a big shape of shelve according to your kitchen area and stand it in your kitchen before final use. So that you can understand its suitable location.

9. Food Pans in a Kitchen

The food pan is another important component of a commercial kitchen. It is used to clean, carry, and serve food. Different types of food pans (small, medium, and large) are required in the commercial kitchen to carry different types of food or ingredients. 

Where should the food pan be located? It depends on kitchen space and food serving area but it can be located on the stove, beside the stove, or on ingredients shelves. So that a kitchen cooks or kitchen staffs get that easily whenever they need.  

10. Use Food Storage

Food storage is a crucial food preserving or storage material in a kitchen. Where should you keep it in the kitchen? Depending on the food items or ingredients item, keep them in a refrigerator, kitchen cabinet, or shelves. 

It is noted that for storing food, make sure cooked food and raw food are separated. The food storage location may be a bit away from the stove or cooking area because the cooking area needs to be kept forward for chef privileges.

11. Holding Cabinets

A holding cabinet is a food serving material and food is stored in the cabinet. This type of cabinet is used for keeping food at a suitable temperature. So, which is the best location for Holding Cabinets in the kitchen? Food serving line or near a cooking station. Indeed ongoing ordered food is stored in such cabinets.

However, before designing or placing a kitchen cabinet, ensure it is flexible, temperature-consistent, easy to access food, and moveable or easy to carry. In that case, as a restaurant business owner, get suggestions from a professional kitchen designer and get a demo about different types of kitchen storage components. So that you can easily place them in a suitable location and save the kitchen area from unnecessary use.

12. Label in Every Shelves

Shelves are a crucial part of a kitchen. Different types of shelves may be in the kitchen but they should be decorative and easy to carry. Decorate different types of shelves by following a row and you can mark them to identify easily. In most cases, commercial kitchen space becomes larger and more equipment is there. 

For this reason, get help from a designer. They may have many kitchen design formats like how to place inventory shelves, where to place them, what it would look like, and other ideas. So, decorate them row by row or line by line according to the kitchen space.

13. Properly Label Ingredients

Keeping ingredients at a proper level and ensuring that all the ingredients are well organized. To locate or identify the ingredients, that can be marked with different colors. Therefore some stickers are also used for writing ingredients' names. Some other information can be added like ingredients purchase date, item name, and other information. It is noted that keep that label at the front part of the shelves so that anyone can identify it.   

14. Mobile Shelving

Mobile shelving is a compact type roller racking shelf. It is a moveable rake and different types of ingredients are stored there. What type of mobile shelf should I use? It depends on the kitchen area and mobile shelves become 32 x 36 dimensions and sometimes wider than that. Ensure the essential food items are stored easily on the shelves.

In most commercial kitchens, this type of shelf is used to store the food due to its massive privileges such as easy to move anywhere, shelf doors getting closed, different types of ingredients being stored, and others. So, choose the best mobile shelf for your commercial kitchen ingredients storage and keep your ingredients in a proper place.  

15. Polycarbonate Storage

Polycarbonate storage is made of polycarbonate plastic and it is another essential storage of a commercial kitchen. Most commercial or casual dining restaurants, fine dining restaurants, ghost kitchens, and other restaurants use polycarbonate storage to store different ingredients and food as well. 

Why is it used more? Because of its durability, flexible design, high heat resistance, and clean shape. Such storage boxes can be kept on different kinds of shelves and save kitchen space.

What Are Kitchen Appliance Storage Ideas?

The kitchen appliance storage idea is a crucial thing. This idea referred to how you would design and decorate your kitchen, where you would keep ingredients, kitchen equipment, and food serving components as well. Good planning can create sufficient space, and we'll manage a tiny kitchen station.

What is a kitchen storage station? A kitchen storage station is a location where a large number of restaurant or kitchen equipment are stored. However, some of the kitchen storage may go out of planning and it looks haphazard kitchen storage. In most cases, different types of commercial restaurants focus on different kitchen storage ideas such as

DIY Under-Kitchen Sink Storage Ideas

DIY stands for ‘’Do It Yourself’’. As a restaurant owner, you may show a design or kitchen storage idea. If you have smart planning then you may apply to decorate your restaurant kitchen. It is noted that Do It Yourself does not mean that you must design and decorate the kitchen. 

You may get help from a professional designer who designs kitchens using kitchen design software. Therefore, contact an organization that offers kitchen storage fitting services. So, apply the best policy and make your kitchen well-managed.

Kitchen Small Appliance Storage Ideas

Indeed, a kitchen space relies on restaurant shape, service, and customer appearance. For that reason, those are big-shaped restaurants that have a big space kitchen. In that case, they have a large number of equipment and inventory levels. 

For this reason, special ideas are required to store inventory shelves, food, ingredients, food serving components, and restaurant fire quenching materials. However, let’s see some of the crucial appliance storage ideas in a kitchen.

• Keep individual items on a Shelves
• Write the ingredient's name on the ingredients storage box or Polycarbonate food storage body.
• Use rail-type and moveable shelves.
• Use a mobile shelf to keep kitchen appliances.
• You may use a roller door to keep the equipment one by one.

Outdoor Kitchen Storage Ideas

If cooking food, preparing, and storing dining service outside for a specific reason which is called outside kitchen. Different types of equipment and food storage strategies are there to store food and kitchen pantries.

• Kitchen Island.
• Stainless steel boxes.
• Trex outdoor equipment.
• DIY outdoor fixture.
• Gas grill.
• Outdoor grill box.

Let’s see some essential outdoor kitchen equipment storage ideas.   

• Ensure a proper distance from the indoor kitchen.
• Set up the stove a bit away from the dining to be safe from smoke.
• Use a moveable mobile shelf to store food and equipment.
• Use bins in a goodish step from a dining zone.
• Nonperishable items can be used there.
• Use grilled safety components.

Final Thought

Planning is a standard order to organize anything. The commercial kitchen is a busy station. Different kinds of equipment are there. For this reason, kitchen space should be hassle-free. However, we have referred to some essential ideas like kitchen counter corner storage ideas, food storage hacks, under kitchen counter storage ideas, commercial kitchen storage ideas, commercial kitchen storage solutions, and others. So, apply the best kitchen storage ideas and make your restaurant well organized.