Poor kitchen design, bad equipment

I am a UK chef and a consultant, it worries me that so many chefs have to work in badly designed kitchens with unreliable equipment and hot working conditions any comments please and what in your opinion is the best kitchen you have worked in and why.
paul.neaves@ntlworld.com

[kuan]

One time all the lights in the kitchen went out and we were expected to keep working. When I look back upon that experience I feel like going right back there and putting the owner on his behind. Cooking by the light of the flambe sounds really cool but in reality it was dangerous.

I see too many mature chefs hunched over because they didn't know better early on in their careers. I've seen many a young chef succumb to the bottle because of the pressures associated with the industry. Exposure to hood noise can eventually cause loss of hearing and few kitchens even keep MSDS sheets at hand in case of emergencies, or if they do, they're outdated. It's only been recently that kitchens have become air conditioned. The hottest kitchen I've ever worked in had an ambient temperature of at least 100 degrees F during the Summer. That's just ridiculous. Another owner I know felt that the he could not justify the cost of anti-fatigue mats. I'll let other chime in.

Kuan

[Suzanne]

The "best [I've] ever worked in" is a relative term. Even at a true, 4-star place here in NYC, we didn't have a grill and so had to mark our "grilled" salmon in cast-iron grill pans, and finish it at service in the oven. And when the AC went out, as it will invariably do on the first really hot day of the spring, people almost fainted during service.

The most beautiful kitchens I've ever seen were at The Inn at Little Washington and Alain Ducasse New York (you can look up articles about them in Food Arts. But I haven't worked in them.

To me, the best kitchen is the one in which everyone can do their jobs with the least pain, stress, and fatigue (physical and mental). This requires a lot of planning and coordination on the part of the chef/menu maker, owner/financier, designer, and general contractor. It means that everyone needs to agree on the menu items -- and therefore the equipment, space, and facilities needed to make them -- before much else happens. (Talk about "the best of all possible worlds!) I don't mean get every piece of equipment on the market; just think really carefully about what your concept is, and what your menu might be, in order to provide for what you might need.

And most important, make sure that the dishwashers can be comfortable. They are the most important staff in the whole place!

[Nicko]

This topic is being moved to the Inside Scoop.

i have work as a chef for 35 years and never worked in the perfect kitchen,only a few months ago i work for a year in a kitchen with no fan whats so ever, and when i complained about the heat was told to stop moaning.I feel the uk is very poor in looking after chefs,you know work 70-80 hours a week and they wonder why you get grumpy or when some of owners mates decide to eat at 10 when you stop at 9.30 Its the people that work in our trade make the job bearable
another question:How many of you have work for a really good boss?
joe

[ October 07, 2001: Message edited by: bikky ]

[chiffonade]

Having worked both as a pastry chef and co-owner and chef of a restaurant, I think pastry chefs have the best kitchen working experience.

Even in what might be considered a cramped kitchen during service, a pastry chef can effectively complete his or her duties with the least amount of heartache. Having the entire kitchen to yourself in the early morning is unbeatable.

Our restaurant kitchen could be considered cramped by most standards, but it was more functional than larger but poorer designed kitchens I've cooked in.

The situation I'm in now - is horrendous. It's a huge kitchen and I have to race from one end to the other to do my job. Good thing it's temporary.

[friedparsley]

I'll say this, the kitchen I'm in now has far to much space between the stoves and the line. It probably doubles the amount of space I have to walk in a day. The dish station is a mess. The way it's set up is the pot sink is before the dish sink. I know it's hard to picture but you have to carry the dirty plates past the pot sink to get them to the dishwasher.(about four feet) The worst thing is they wash all of the dishes by hand in the pot sink and then run them through the dishwasher!
I have yet to work in a kitchen that's perfect. However, I could take something from just about every kitchen that I liked. Number one would be a pasta cooker. It's like a big deep fryer that has water instead of oil. I really miss that thing. I think the most important thing is floor mats. Some people skimp on the floor mats, but I think you should have the most comfortable ones you can find. One more thing, I think equipment should be on wheels. I know it costs a little more, but it's so much easier to clean. In the long run it's going to save a fortune, because properly cleaned equipment lasts longer.

[pollyg]

Gimme lots of bench space, a walk in cool room, a freezer with shelves ( not a chest freezer) and everything only ten steps apart and i'll be happy. My last kitchen got pretty close, but nothing is ever perfect. the kitchen i'm in now is just stupid. you have to walk about 7 metres to get to any of the different things or stations you might want.