Guide to Space Saving Foodservice Equipment

Opening a new restaurant or catering operation can be a challenge under any circumstances. A National Restaurant Association report, “Restaurant Industry 2030: Actionable Insights for the Future,” predicts that the challenges operators will face over the next decade include staffing issues along with rising rents, wages, and other operating costs.

In addition, the report predicts the typical restaurant footprint will be smaller while space utilization will be more flexible. In other words, operators will need to be able to do more in less space.

But rather than having kitchen staff fall over each other in a kitchen crowded with bulky, single-use ovens and other appliances, compact, multi-functional equipment is allowing for a greater amount of food to be prepared more efficiently while taking up a smaller amount of space.

Small commercial kitchen solutions

When it comes to outfitting a small commercial kitchen, certain pieces of equipment have long been a requirement. Those include a range, an oven, a grill, and a deep fryer, along with ventilation systems and cooling units.

Many small spaces, though, simply can’t accommodate all that hardware. That’s why Alto-Shaam has developed a variety of solutions for small restaurant kitchens, perfect for compact spaces.

Ventless Kitchen Equipment

One of the largest issues in commercial kitchen organization is ventilation. Even if an operator has the massive amount of capital needed to install a dedicated hood system, they may not have space.

To help address that challenge, Alto-Shaam’s Converge® and Vector® multi-cook ovens are ideal for tight spaces, providing flexibility, variety, and ventless operation with up to four individually controlled oven chambers. These versatile pieces of equipment are the perfect solution for operations of all sizes. Each chamber has its own independent temperature, fan speed, and cook time control, allowing operators to cook different food items at their ideal settings with no flavor transfer. With exclusive Structured Air Technology®, multi-cook ovens can cook more food more often with optimized, focused heat.

For those who need to prepare some dishes in advance, Alto-Shaam’s Cook & Hold ovens and Cook & Hold Smoker ovens utilize Halo Heat® technology to provide better food quality and higher yields. Heat evenly surrounds food without the use of extremely hot elements, added humidity, or fans that typically degrade food quality.

When you pair Alto-Shaam’s Prodigi™ combi oven with an optional Ventech™ condensation hood, you have multiple cooking methods in a single appliance without the need for expensive oven hoods or costly hood installations. Prodigi ovens can steam, bake, braise, fry, roast, and more in a single unit—freeing up space for other equipment.

Stacking Configurations

For twice the cooking power in the space typically occupied by a single piece of equipment, Alto-Shaam’s stacking kits let operators stack an oven over another oven or a holding solution for a highly functional compact commercial kitchen. The Prodigi 7-20 Pro stacked over the Vector F Series multi-cook oven, for example, can function as five ovens simultaneously – each with its own independent temperature, fan speed and cook time control.

Under-the-Counter Options

And many of Alto-Shaam’s products, including Cook & Hold ovens, Cook & Hold Smoker ovens, heated holding cabinets, and warming drawers will fit under a counter for squeezing the most out of every square inch of space. In addition, the QC3-3 blast chiller fits under the counter as well, making it perfect for limited volume chilling when and where it’s needed.

Alto-Shaam Helps You Save Space

The foodservice business is changing rapidly, and it can be difficult for an operator to keep up. That’s why we’re here to help.

Alto-Shaam offers a variety of space-saving solutions for foodservice operations of all sizes. To learn more, explore our full line of commercial kitchen equipment.