Area Required For various Kitchen
Many elements make calculating kitchen areas controversial and even experts differ. Kitchen areas vary according to the type and number of meals provided. At the same time, information about the number alone is not sufficient to plan a kitchen or to calculate its area. Knowledge of peak load is essential and this must be either based on experience, or intelligent forecasting, in case of a new establishment. Under certain circumstances, hotel and restaurant kitchens have been as much as 40% of the total restaurant area.
There are no hard and fast rules for calculating kitchen areas or space. However, as a suggestion ‘rule of thumb’ is 0.56 sq. m or 06 sq. ft of floor area per person should be accommodated in the dining room at the planning stage. This figure is arrived at by assuming that 50 percent of the area allowed in assessing the size of the dining room is 1.10sq.m (or 12sq.ft.) per person, which includes tables, passageways, etc. For example, if the floor area of the restaurant is 2000 sq.ft. then the kitchen space should be approximately 1000 sq.ft.
However, no firm rules as to area can thus be given, while a rough idea about the kitchen space normally required can be had from the following tables 1, 2 and 3. Those are for broad guidance only.
Table 1: Approximate indication of kitchen requirements
| No. of Eating Members during Business Hours
|
Kitchen Area Desirable per Person (in sq.ft.) |
| 100
100 – 250 250 – 500 500 – 1000 Over 1000 |
5 – 9
4 – 6 4 – 5 3 – 4 2.5 – 3
|
Note: Area reduction may be made when convenience foods (frozen) are fully exploited. The lower figures relate to such simpler operations while the higher for complete catering.
Table 2 : Possible Area ( in sq. ft) on a Daily Basis of Catering Capacity
Total Meals per Day
|
Restaurant Area |
Kitchen Area |
Total Catering Floor Space |
100
250 500 1000 |
375
560 950 1500 |
150
215 300 500 |
525
775 1250 2000
|
Table 3 : Possible Area ( in sq.ft.) on a Daily Basis of Seating Capacity
Seating Capacity |
Restaurant Area |
Kitchen Area |
Estimated Possible No.
Of Meals Per Hour
|
50
75 100 125 200 |
700
1000 1250 1750 2750 |
300
400 500 750 1200 |
75
115 150 190 300
|
Out of a hotel kitchen area anything between 15 and 25 per cent may be required for storage depending upon the nature of operations and its form of supplies. The remaining space can be devoted to food preparation, cooking and serving. In case of catering area, initial planning is not the concern of a single person, but involves a project team or committee which includes the
Chefs, hotelier and restaurateur. Their views have to be reconciled with site limitations and other members of the team such as consultants, kitchen engineer, all of whose activities are coordinated by the architect.