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Trends
Presentation kitchens
Display and open kitchens are rapidly gaining prominence,
not only because they offer a way to express the concept of a restaurant, but
they also attract guests' interest towards the process of cooking. By Praveen
K Singh
 Often
the idea of an open kitchen or display kitchen is categorised as a trend in
kitchen design. In fact, it is a trend in restaurant concepts. And by 'restaurants',
we mean almost every location where customers gather to select and enjoy food;
therefore traditional restaurants, food courts, canteens at institutions and
healthcare dining facilities for ambulatory patients, staff, visitors and guests
are all included in the definition.
So what inspires the decision to use an open or display kitchen? In most cases,
the concept is backed by the demand for fresh preparation by customers who today
are far more perceptive and demanding than ever before.
Says M Ram Vittal Rao, hotel consultant, who has designed the largest number
of interactive display kitchens in the country, "I can certainly say that
an enormous proportion of the kitchens we craft today include an open or display
area. In most cases, a major part of the kitchen is in view of ordering and
dining customers. 60 to 80 per cent of the food which is in the process of preparation
or at least in the final stages occurs in full view of customers, so as to reinforce
freshness and to enhance customers' appetites."
Proper designing
 Are
reductions in space and foodservice equipment budgets a trend? By the looks
of it, they certainly are, and they occur because of necessity arising from
overall project budgets.
"Today, a growing percentage of project budgets must
be devoted to what customers see, feel and experience. As a result, what happens
behind the walls of a kitchen must be reduced to the absolute minimum,"
cites Rao.
Another reason to explain display and open kitchens gaining prominence is that
they offer a way to express the concept of a restaurant in an area where budget
is more likely to be in concert with identified needs. "But then, there
is that ugly, misapplied term - value engineering. There are extremely qualified
value engineering consultants in the world but, in my experience, when value
engineering enters a project it would be better categorised as 'slash and burn'
or 'reduce the budget at all cost' and then quality is no longer a part of the
project," rationalises Rao.
This is a tragedy because, almost without exception, it results in an inadequate
production facility with inappropriate equipment - a situation that comes back
to haunt the owner/operator in a very short span of time and throughout the
life of the affected kitchen.
Nonetheless, value engineering is a fact and we might even call it a trend.
Space is being cut and budgets are being reduced. The only choice therefore
is to live with it and make the most of it, using our ingenuity to counter the
'trend'.
So, what are the trends? "In a world which follows the concept of what
you see is what you get, open or display kitchens and the movement of production
into customers' view is a way of reinforcing freshness and inducing patrons
to dine differently, thereby having an exclusive experience," remarks Arun
K Agarwal of Hibiscus Consultants.
Space planning
"Getting into the nuances of space planning, a 40 to 60 seater restaurant
will need 800 to 1200 sq ft if it is a fast food operation or 1000 to 1500 sq
ft if it is a fine dining," says Rao.
He elaborates that, in the case of fine dining, however, the space specified
above is devoid of area for the buffet counter for which another 150 sq ft of
space would have to be added. Moreover, should the fine dining restaurant have
a display kitchen, particularly serving Indian cuisine, then 120 to 150 sq ft
additional space would be required. Rao continues, "A bar which would just
dispense would need about 80 to 100 sq ft space in addition to the space which
has been mentioned above for the restaurant. Therefore in total, a fine dining
restaurant of 40 seats with a buffet counter, display kitchen and a bar would
amount to an area of approximately 1450 sq ft."
According to directives of the hotels and restaurants association, in restaurants
where a bar becomes a part of the restaurant, a separate ladies and gents wash
room and toilet facilities must also be provided.
The road ahead
Presentation kitchens that have been created over the last few years and those
that are on the drawing boards or mostly computer screens as of now, are as
wonderful as they have ever been. "Food is the theatre, for which the audience
is seated and waiting, so bring on chefs," announces Rao.
| It remains a fact that the design process has an
established sequence of events that must be completed for the best results.
Each stage in the process builds on work completed in the previous stages
- it is a cumulative effort.
"Master planning is the first step in the process,
where one establishes what the project should consist of, or if it should
exist at all. The main objectives of this phase are justification of the
project and exploration of potential design solutions," describes
Rao.
Programming: Once one has determined that
the project is at least worth exploring, a narrative should be developed
that will describe the scope of the project as well as its various 'components',
such as the individual areas within a single facility, or facilities that
comprise a greater complex. This narrative will often include required
adjacencies (areas that must be located next to each other), desired sizing,
and any special requirements or considerations. The program communicates
the owner's desires and requirements to the design team in written form.
Concept Design: This is often the first
time that the effort includes any form of graphic communication. The conceptual
design is the first attempt to translate the written programme into graphic
form. It will typically consist of 'bubble diagrams', which identify the
anticipated location and size of each area in the program. It may also
consist of renderings that highlight the exterior, entry, or other key
design elements of the project.
Schematic Design: This phase in the design
process builds on the concept phase through the development of block/schematic
drawings, geared to identify elements such as walls, counters, and key
pieces of furniture or equipment. These drawings focus on defining the
footprint of the space, but do not contain a great deal of detail within
these 'blocks'.
Design Development: At the end of this stage,
the general floor plan is typically locked in and the detail within each
space must be defined and developed. While a bar's locations and dimensions
might have been identified in the Schematic Phase, it is in Design Development
where the individual pieces of equipment are selected and incorporated
into the design. At the end of this phase, it should be expected that
all walls, furniture, fixtures, and equipment will have been included
in the drawings and clearly identified. While it is not necessary to know
the manufacturer of an individual piece of equipment in the bar, it is
important to know what equipment is required, as well as the required
dimensions and configuration.
Construction Documents: Also called 'working
drawings', this stage consists primarily of the mechanical, electrical,
and plumbing (MEP) coordination required to make the building function.
The "systems" within a building are very similar to those which
exist in the body when you think about it - Structural (skeleton), Mechanical
(breathing), Electrical (basis of cell communication and activity), plumbing,
etc. This phase requires a significant amount of coordination between
a large number of disciplines. It is an extremely important aspect of
the design process, as a mistake at this stage can be very costly.
Specifications: Once the construction documents
are completed, written specifications are developed to convey all information
to the construction team. These specifications include details on the
manufacturer, model number, and any required options for everything from
the door hardware to the paint, and the flooring materials to the foodservice
equipment. These specifications are then used by the construction team
to gather pricing from general contractors and their sub-contractors.
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