Running a restaurant
requires dedication, persistence and a deep sense for aesthetics. But before
all that comes the planning part. How do you plan a restaurant?
Dining Space and the Kitchen Area Very
Important
Both the dining room
and kitchen are the most important physical spaces making up a restaurant. But does
that mean they should occupy similar square feet of area? The dining area is
where the guests come in. It’s not just good food they need, but also the right
ambience that makes them feel relaxed. It depends on what kind of restaurant
you run. So the focus should be on the area that your customers see, and that’s
certainly the dining area, not the kitchen.
The kitchen is
important too, since customer satisfaction would depend on the gastronomic
delicacies coming from there. But the focus for the kitchen is in the areas of
practicality, efficiency and regulatory compliance – it must be conducive to
producing food quickly, efficiently and hygienically. But aesthetics don’t play
a role there. If you’re expecting a great number of guests at a given time, you
may need more space in your kitchen. In that case, the area of your kitchen
needs to be reasonably large. Not only are you managing people in the kitchen,
but you also have equipment for which you need space.
The Kitchen to Dining Area Ratio
There is a standard
ratio for designing, or setting up space for, the kitchen and the dining area.
But that depends a lot on how much land you’ve had to build your restaurant.
The ratio could be altered accordingly. The ratio accepted as standard is 60 to
40 in favor of the dining room. Again, that varies depending on the kind of
restaurant you’re run.
· Fine food
requires twice or thrice the area of a banquet service kitchen.
· Fast-service
restaurants can have kitchens that are smaller and dining rooms that are much
larger. Only then can they make profit by welcoming more guests and securing
greater sales volumes.
· Fine
dining restaurants are not dependent on volume, but on the quality of
experience. They would not only need tastefully designed dining areas that ooze
exclusivity, but also larger kitchens to ensure that they not only make food
with the highest quality, but also arrange it the right way before presenting
to the guests. In such restaurants, the dining space can be lesser than usual.
As an experienced
chef, Peter Theodorou has expressed his opinion on various aspects of
restaurant design, apart from his culinary exploits. He believes the right
ratio of the dining space to the kitchen area depends on the practical
considerations of the restaurant. But the ratio certainly does make a
difference to the performance of the restaurant.
