# Commercial Kitchen Capacity



## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

Hi,

Im starting a food delivery business. I intent to hire chefs and prepare the food myself instead of delivering from a restaurant.

What is the maximum customers in a 3 hour period can a 150-200m2 commercial kitchen serve? (say ordinary meal of rice, meat and veggies on the side)

The equipment i intent to install is below:





  








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## capecodchef (Jan 19, 2014)

I'd estimate zero customers. You have no take out containers and one pot and pan. Makes it difficult even if you follow through with both a gas AND an electric oven/stove as you show on your list.

Seriously, your question would suggest you have zero chance at success in the endeavor.


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

CapeCodChef said:


> I'd estimate zero customers. You have no take out containers and one pot and pan. Makes it difficult even if you follow through with both a gas AND an electric oven/stove as you show on your list.
> 
> Seriously, your question would suggest you have zero chance at success in the endeavor.


The take out containers are part of the "delivery solution".

Im looking for the "kitchen solution".

I should also have explained the images indicate only what type of equipment and not the quantities of each.


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## capecodchef (Jan 19, 2014)

ok..fair enough....but some of the choices indicate a potentially fatal lack of knowledge and experience. For instance, why would you buy *display *refrigeration or warming cabinets for a commercial kitchen with no restaurant customers? Why a gas oven AND an electric? Just to name two.

Just curious, how did you come up with the number of 1,000 customers per day? That's a lot of demand for a startup.How will you acquire customers without a storefront? How many customers do you need to break even? How much capital will you have in the bank AFTER you open the very first day in business and how many months of operation will that money support before you are able to turn a profit? These are all basic questions that you should already have in your business plan.


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

CapeCodChef said:


> ok..fair enough....but some of the choices indicate a potentially fatal lack of knowledge and experience. For instance, why would you buy *display *refrigeration or warming cabinets for a commercial kitchen with no restaurant customers? Why a gas oven AND an electric? Just to name two.
> 
> Just curious, how did you come up with the number of 1,000 customers per day? That's a lot of demand for a startup.How will you acquire customers without a storefront? How many customers do you need to break even? How much capital will you have in the bank AFTER you open the very first day in business and how many months of operation will that money support before you are able to turn a profit? These are all basic questions that you should already have in your business plan.


You are right, i know basically nothing about food preparation. This is why i need help with the kitchen solution.

Your second paragraph is more my wheelhouse, i have everything, and i mean everything sorted out except for the kitchen solution.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Henock said:


> What is the maximum customers in a 3 hour period can a 150-200m2 commercial kitchen serve? (say ordinary meal of rice, meat and veggies on the side)


Cater style or à la minute style? Just one choice of meal? How many staff?


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## capecodchef (Jan 19, 2014)

Henock said:


> You are right, i know basically nothing about food preparation. This is why i need help with the kitchen solution.
> 
> *Your second paragraph is more my wheelhouse, i have everything, and i mean everything sorted out except for the kitchen solution.*


Just curious. You say it's all sorted out except the kitchen. How many trucks and delivery drivers will you have to deliver 1000 meals in one hour? And how many staff are you planning to have to RECIEVE the daily 1,000 daily orders, and by what method?


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

The reason you aren't getting concrete answers to your question is because it is nearly impossible to 

a) do what you are proposing

b) tell you how to begin to try and accomplish this over the internet

This isn't a math problem you can solve by plugging in square footage and 7 screen caps of equipment and spitting out number of customers servable. There are way too many variables for anyone to give you any kind of answer. This isn't Moneyball where you can just plug numbers into a program and get results. 

I don't even understand how you think you can DELIVER 1000 hot, freshly cooked meals (never mind cooking them in the first place) in a few hours. Wouldn't that take a fleet of trucks? Even if you had 10 delivery trucks (100 meals each) how would a person drive, stop, deliver food, take money, and drive, etc. 100 times in an hour? That's less than a minute per delivery?!?!? Including driving time...

I would think we are getting trolled if you didn't have menus and all that. 

Kitchens are generally set up for specific types of cooking (catering, a la carte restaurant, etc). To get anywhere close to that volume you'd need a tilt skillet, steam kettle, a large walk in, among many many other things. 

Where are you even going to store food for 1000 people? 

This. Does. Not. Compute. 

It's like going to a construction forum and asking how much wood to buy to make a house....


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

CapeCodChef said:


> Just curious. You say it's all sorted out except the kitchen. How many trucks and delivery drivers will you have to deliver 1000 meals in one hour? And how many staff are you planning to have to RECIEVE the daily 1,000 daily orders, and by what method?


All of that is sorted out believe me, i just need to know how im going to make the food.


Someday said:


> The reason you aren't getting concrete answers to your question is because it is nearly impossible to
> 
> a) do what you are proposing
> 
> ...


Believe me when i say the delivery is sorted.

I just need to know how to make that food.


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## capecodchef (Jan 19, 2014)

Henock said:


> All of that is sorted out *believe me*, i just need to know how im going to make the food.
> 
> *Believe me* when i say the delivery is sorted.
> 
> I just need to know how to make that food.


Believe me, your idea is never going to happen. Believe me, you will never be able to cook and hold 1,000 hot meals per day. Believe me, you will never deliver 1,000 hot meals in one hour. Believe me, if you don't respect our questions with your non-answers, we won't respect yours,

I'm out.


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

CapeCodChef said:


> Believe me, your idea is never going to happen. Believe me, you will never be able to cook and hold 1,000 hot meals per day. Believe me, you will never deliver 1,000 hot meals in one hour. Believe me, if you don't respect our questions with your non-answers, we won't respect yours,
> 
> I'm out.


Back in my high school days our entire hostel ate at the same time, all +200 of us. They very few cooks and one matron and the food wasn't that bad.

I didnt think 1000 was that outrageous. What about 500?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Henock said:


> I didnt think 1000 was that outrageous.


It can be done. It is logistically possible. It is very ambitious though and what experienced people are questioning is the soundness of the financial aspects behind such an undertaking.

I have worked plenty of events where the number of attendees numbered in the thousands. The person receiving the plate of food has no idea of the logistics and finances behind such an undertaking. There are people on this forum that do understand the logistics and finances behind such an undertaking.


> You know how advice is. You only want it if it agrees with what you wanted to do anyway.


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## capecodchef (Jan 19, 2014)

Henock said:


> Back in my high school days our entire hostel ate at the same time, all +200 of us. They very few cooks and one matron and the food wasn't that bad.
> 
> I didnt think 1000 was that outrageous. What about 500?


At the hostel, they didn't have to hold and transport the food off-site.


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

cheflayne said:


> It can be done. It is logistically possible. It is very ambitious though and what experienced people are questioning is the soundness of the financial aspects behind such an undertaking.
> 
> I have worked plenty of events where the number of attendees numbered in the thousands. The person receiving the plate of food has no idea of the logistics and finances behind such an undertaking. There are people on this forum that do understand the logistics and finances behind such an undertaking.


The finances are my expertise. I can play around with various things to make the business profitable.


CapeCodChef said:


> At the hostel, they didn't have to hold and transport the food off-site.


True, but they could still make it. That is my question, can it be made? If yes im pretty sure there is food that travels well i can market and i have the logistics expertise and experience to pull it off


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Henock said:


> The finances are my expertise. I can play around with various things to make the business profitable.


What type of things?


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

cheflayne said:


> What type of things?


Modes of delivery, type of advertising, employee remuneration scales, type (or brand) of equipment to buy that can get the job done, everything.

I also work top-down, as in the chef will be given what we call an "allowable" in the construction industry.

They wont just be making dishes and then we figure out the cost later, they will be given a cost that cant be exceeded before hand.

Like say the Category 1 Meal shouldn't cost more than US$1 to make. Dont care what it is, adjust it to fit the budget, then we find out if its sell-able and decide whether to put it on the menu or not.


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

A bologna sandwich on white bread with shitty yellow mustard damn near cost a dollar. 

Hire a chef and a restaurant consultant. You can't learn what you are seeking from the internet.


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

chefbuba said:


> A bologna sandwich on white bread with shitty yellow mustard damn near cost a dollar.
> 
> Hire a chef and a restaurant consultant. You can't learn what you are seeking from the internet.


Everything is overpriced there. Like i said, minimum wage here is US$1.20 while people there are fighting for US$15! Here thats a person with a degree, and not in liberal arts either, like in engineering or something.

A good scale is this, cabs here have a uniform price of 75 US cents. It i can go anywhere i want (as long as there's a taxi rank, otherwise its double).

So, yeah.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

The OP has another thread running asking many of the same questions and I gave him the same advice.

He shot it down there as well.

In fact he seems to be advice shopping (like @cheflayne noted above)

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/confused.gif big waste of key strokes.

mimi


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## henock (Apr 24, 2017)

flipflopgirl said:


> The OP has another thread running asking many of the same questions and I gave him the same advice.
> 
> He shot it down there as well.
> 
> ...


You just flip flopped on me. Wait a minute . . . . , your name!


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