Just realized my whole kitchen layout was wrong after a rush at a pop-up in Portland

We did a weekend pop-up last month and got slammed with a 50-top walk-in group. Our cold station was on the opposite side of the kitchen from the fryers, so the guy on salads was running back and forth all night. I saw him trip over a floor mat trying to carry a hotel pan. One side says you design for the menu, the other says you design for the worst rush. Which way do you plan your flow?

3 comments

3 Comments

eva_thompson102d ago

Always thought menu design came first, but watching a kitchen break down changes your mind. You gotta plan for the chaos or people get hurt over a floor mat. Flow for the rush, tweak for the menu later.

tylermurray1d ago

Yep, @abby_robinson58's penguin walk says it all.

abby_robinson581d ago

Ugh, been there. I once set up a station where the only trash can was behind the dish pit. Spent a whole service looking like a confused penguin waddling with dripping scraps. Eva_thompson10 is right, you plan for the rush. That means putting the fryer baskets near the fryer oil dump, not across a wet floor. It means the lowboy for dressings is right under the salad station, not three feet away. You fix the big flow problems first, then you adjust where the mint goes for the menu.