There may be several businesses that are lucrative options these days, but you should not leave out the fun. Owning a restaurant, for many business owners, is both stressful and enjoyable. There is fun in cooking and eating, but the effort it takes to start operating and keep a steady operation is tiresome. From managing finance to marketing your restaurant, it would be a challenge.
However, as they say, people have to start somewhere. Running a business is not all breezy, anyway. There will always be issues that arise, whether it is an internal conflict among your staff or the procurement of commercial kitchen equipment in Singapore. Among these and what is about to come, it is crucial to remember that you have to solve a problem step-by-step.
It is not enough that you have all the means to start a restaurant business. What you also need is passion. Of course, running a restaurant is not a one-man show. There will be several people who will help you run your business smoothly.
Assigning everyone in your team with autonomous roles will guarantee that daily operations will be successful. With them, you get to socialise since you are hiring different types of people with unique backgrounds. It would be fun to know people who have the same passion as you have, and even help you achieve a greater goal along the way.
Getting the support of a team is not the only aspect that makes running a restaurant fun, but you also get to be your boss. The word boss is full of many definitions, but one thing you can be sure of is that you get to do things your way. While it may sound that it is a huge responsibility, there is comfort in knowing that you invested in the right combi oven in Singapore or hired a skilful person for the deserving position.
These are only a few reasons why it is fun to own a restaurant, but are you prepared to know the investments you need to make to bring your restaurant to success? Here, in this article, you will learn about the struggles you will face when you are about to choose and buy your restaurant’s kitchen equipment.
Taking it step-by-step, you will learn what is usually the equipment that is in a commercial kitchen—they are divided into four categories. With that, the next step is to trust one supplier who can provide you with what you need according to the categories. However, you might be wondering if it is good to only trust one supplier. Well, that will be discussed later in this article, and it is probably the essence of this article. If you want to know more about starting with kitchen equipment investments, keep reading!
Why Is It Hard to Choose and Buy Kitchen Equipment?
You can expect the process of opening a restaurant will involve fixating on what equipment your kitchen should have. Of course, there is also external pressure of making the right investment from competitors and, sometimes family members, without them considering that you are a first-timer in this industry. You might be feeling this now, but allow these reasons to translate what you and other restaurant owners are feeling.
Buyers do not understand TCO
If you want to know how much a piece of equipment will cost over its entire lifecycle, you must calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). An ice maker from Singapore, for instance, will consume energy and water to operate. These are cost factors that buyers forget to analyse and include in the purchase price. As a result, they end up regretting their purchase and shelling more money because they make another equipment purchase.
Too many warranties and maintenance agreements
Restaurant owners get stressed daily, especially when they are starting. Hence, they no longer have the time to read the warranty and maintenance agreements of their new piece of commercial kitchen equipment. These agreements are essential if you want to make the most out of your purchase. Do not make the same mistake as them in the beginning!
Ignoring the multifunctionality of an equipment
Technology has done major improvements for the food industry. It has helped make kitchen equipment more efficient by adding two or more functions in one! However, it is difficult for buyers to accept its efficient functions, such as denying how a combi oven can cook with steam, hot air, or a combination of both. What happens is that they spend more, and their kitchen gets cramped. It might be one of your worries, and it might be preventing you from having a spacious kitchen. Well, having more space is always a great choice.
You might be experiencing these problems with your selection and purchase of kitchen equipment. It is a daunting time, but you must always go back to the idea of taking it step-by-step. Now that you can identify what makes it hard to choose equipment, identifying the pieces of equipment you need would be the next step.
The Four Categories of Kitchen Equipment
There are four categories of kitchen equipment. Each category fulfils a function and, in a commercial kitchen, you would want to have one or two of each category. In that way, you would cover all the essentials and must-haves in your kitchen to function at full capacity!
Here are the categories:
Food production equipment
Whether you have a simple home kitchen or a commercial kitchen, food production equipment is a must. The equipment under this category involves the following:
- Cooking ranges
Ranges can run with electricity or LPG. They carry out a wide array of functions of cooking food, such as frying cooking, grilling, boiling, and baking. When buying one, you should go for the restaurant range. With these, you can rely on its economic factor.
- Burners
If you want to bake, boil, and cook while using LPG or liquid petroleum gas, you would want a burner. Some types are for induction and hot plates, which run on electricity as well. You can get them with a mesh top, open-top, or flat top.
- Ovens
A commercial kitchen would not be complete without ovens. Their purpose is to bake, cook, roast, and make food brown. They can run on electricity or LPG. If you plan to open a patisserie, you would want to invest in oven bakery equipment in Singapore.
Maintenance
From the name itself, maintenance kitchen equipment is for maintaining what it is in your kitchen. Maintenance equipment would not take a lot of space, but it does not mean you would compromise on the quality of the equipment.
Dishwashers are one of them. Your kitchen staff would be busy cooking and serving food during rush hours of lunch and dinner. You would want to provide them with clean utensils, bowls, and plates when they need them. A reliable dishwasher could do that!
A food heater or dish warmer would also be a good addition to your kitchen. It would allow you to serve fresh foods for your customers!
Food storage
Of course, you would not want to forget about refrigerators, freezers, heat or cold food storage, among other things. These are essential in keeping your ingredients fresh and clean from dirty elements in the kitchen. Freezers and refrigerators are vital in ensuring that food will last longer.
Miscellaneous kitchen equipment
In a commercial kitchen, fast preparation time is possible when you have miscellaneous kitchen tools to help your cooks. They can use this to cut vegetables faster, cut meat in a short time, or even crack and remove hard nuts.
Shredders and knives would fall under this category. Besides, you cannot imagine a kitchen without a knife. Without these slicers, food preparation would take hours—the opposite reason why people eat in restaurants.
Why Trust Only One Kitchen Equipment Supplier?
While there are several suppliers out there, you would only need one trustworthy kitchen equipment supplier in Singapore to help you start with your business venture. From heavy-duty to miscellaneous equipment, procuring them from one go-to shop would make the process easier for you. Here are some reasons why:
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They dedicate time to know you
The relationship between a supplier and a client does not immediately end when you entrust them with the manufacture of the equipment you need. When you trust one supplier, they will dedicate time to understand what you need in your business. For instance, your business unexpectedly grew to rise because of your creme brulee, so you might want to have a more innovative combi oven. Trust that your current supplier can give it to you!
One contact person
Every quality issue of commercial kitchen equipment must be accounted for by your supplier. However, if one or two of your equipment is acting up, you would not want to be scrambling for calling cards to tell your suppliers to come and fix your equipment. It would be more time-saving if you have one contact person for multiple quality issues!
Seamless maintenance scheduling
Did your supplier include a year of maintenance service for your equipment purchase? If so, you can avoid downtime in the kitchen with the help of your supplier. They would help you schedule your maintenance without having to affect your operations. You can trust that they would be reasonably flexible. Remember that delaying maintenance can cause costly damage to your equipment.
In-depth knowledge and expertise in product types
You might be in an endless debate with yourself about the suitable type of equipment you should buy. While you must have read every pros and con of investing in a combi oven, you might be forgetting that different brands can offer more or less of what you have learned in your research.
Time is money, so you should know which unit to buy before your opening day. Fortunately, if you sought one supplier, you could immediately know the equipment type that would suit your kitchen needs. They have in-depth knowledge of their equipment, so you tell them what you need in equipment, and they would immediately know the right one for you!
Ethical and regulatory compliance
The government requires all businesses to comply with the laws and regulations of production. It means that the products a supplier is selling are not made with slave or child labour, and the production was done in safe working conditions, among others. Hence, it would be hard to get different suppliers because you would be checking on their backgrounds and interviewing them if they comply with these laws. This long process can be avoided if you trust one complying supplier from the start!
How to Talk With Suppliers
The selection process of finding a kitchen equipment supplier in Singapore would be a long one, and you must have the patience to go through every prospective provider. If you want to ensure that your decision-making process would be swift, you should already know how to talk to them and get all the information you need to include them in your list of choices. Here are some tips:
Let them tell you their company history
If you want to know about their years of experience, ask them about their company history. It would provide you with information about how they made it in the industry.
What are your products?
Of course, every company has a special product. In terms of equipment, you would want to know how their ice maker or combi oven became their famous products.
Ask them to explain their agreements
Warranties and maintenance agreements are a bore to read, but they are essential. Your supplier can orient you to what is included in them, so ask them to explain it to you!
Trusting Simplex as Your Kitchen Equipment Supplier
One of the toughest, and probably the most stressful part of sourcing your restaurant needs is looking for one reliable supplier. Do not fall head over heels to a supplier because they gave you a remarkable product sample because it does not mean they can live up to those promises of quality cooking.
If you want a supplier who would go through your selection process, you should go for Simplex! They have the quality cooking and bakery equipment in Singapore, excellent communication skills, and in-depth knowledge of their equipment.
Contact them on their website to learn more about what they can offer you today!
