Our list of restaurant kitchen medium equipment is comprised of various multipurpose and specialty equipment selections that you may find in just about any restaurant kitchen design concept. Since many of the items in our category of restaurant kitchen medium equipment are either permanent fixtures, or utilize substantial amounts of power in a commercial kitchen design, we will typically include these in our design services to ensure adequate utility services are provided.
The options available in the restaurant kitchen medium equipment category is substantial, and many items require a significant investment; so it is advisable to get the input from an experienced restaurant consultant. Receiving the input from a professional who is fluent in all available equipment sizes and options will help you make the most of your highly valuable capital dollars.
Restaurant Kitchen Medium Equipment
With proper care and maintenance, all of the equipment in this category could literally provide decades of usable life!
Meat Grinder
Meat grinders come as freestanding machines as pictured on the left, or as attachments to a standing mixer. Depending on the volume of grinding to be done on a regular basis, it may be advisable to purchase a freestanding machine so the mixer can be used for other purposes. Both types of grinding equipment come with options for various grinding die sizes that range from fine grind for items like hot dogs, to very coarse grinds used to make things like country pate and sausages.
Food Blender
The bigger brother to the beverage blender, these blenders are used for everything from making finely pureed soups to salad dressings and sauces. Several models offer variable speed options and come equipped with high powered motors that prevent stalling when pureeing dense food items.
Beverage Blender
The classic beverage or bar blender is a standard in most kitchens. Pricing and durability varies greatly from model to model so it is important to outline the specific need for this type of blender before purchasing. Some basic models offer simply an on/off switch for standard bar use, whereas higher end models feature a more powerful motor and variable speed and pulsing options.
Immersion (stick) Blender
These blenders are used for pureeing very large quantities of food in pots, kettles or storage vessels. Affectionately known as “the boat motor” in many commercial kitchens, these blenders are very powerful, but do not puree as finely as will a beverage or food blender. They offer the versatility of bringing the blender to the food as opposed to pureeing large quantities in smaller batches. Some units also come with various attachment options such as longer “sticks” or beater attachments.
Food Processor
In this category of restaurant kitchen medium equipment, this item is many times simply referred to via the manufacturer’s iconic name Robot Coupe®, who by many consider it to be the standard barer in the industry. This food processor can be purchased with simply the mixing bowl, or also including a feeder attachment as pictured to the left. Used for pureeing everything from vegetables to making mayonnaise, this versatile piece of equipment is considered invaluable by many chefs. The feeder attachment also makes short work of slicing and grating products of various thickness and densities.
Buffalo Chopper
This chopper seems to be falling out of favor with many chef’s today since it provides only a rough chopped product. Classically used for more peasant style food preparations, the coarse consistency of the product being chopped can be used for things like clarification rafts of consomme and various force meat applications. This unit is preferable for many items since the chopping action of the blade does not generate the same amount of residual friction heat as does a food processor.
Food/Meat Slicer
Most often used for slicing deli meats and cheeses, this slicer can be an invaluable kitchen tool that can also be used quickly slice vegetables of varying lengths and thickness.These slicers are offered with various blade sizes and horsepower to accommodate a wide variety of uses. Some higher end models also offer automated slicing options so the operator does not need to manually push the sliding cradle.
Stand Mixer
These electric mixers have large bowls of varying capacities. Most common sizes used in commercial kitchens are 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 quart models. There are however a few manufacturers that make models between the sizes mentioned and in even larger capacities for specialty uses such as for bakery and bagel shops. Most models come with standard attachments such as a wire whisk, flat beater, dough hook, ingredient shoots and bowl dollies and are based on the model purchased. Depending on the purposes of your mixer, it may be advisable to purchase additional bowls and attachments so one staff member will not need to wait for another to complete their task before they can use the mixer.
Pasta Maker
Most commonly purchased as a small manual model, some manufacturer’s are making electric units that range from small batch production to large volume. Classic pasta machines typically only produce flat style pastas, whereas larger electric models offer a selection of various extruder dies that can produce any pasta shape imaginable.
Sausage Stuffer
This piece of specialty restaurant kitchen medium equipment is used for exactly what it is called. Various tube sizes are offered for the sausage stuffer to fill everything from hot dogs to bologna casings.