# Kitchen rental



## Rikki Cushwa (Mar 18, 2019)

I work for a winery and we do not have a commercial kitchen, so therefore we have to rent a space off site to cook/prepare food then bring it back to the winery to reheat. I have worked in a kitchen before, but not as a chef or line cook. I'm not a professional chef, but have been cooking since I was 13. I am a servsafe manager, and we have a catering license. I have a proposed menu for the first couple months and it is pretty fool proof. I'm just having a hard time trying to figure out logistics. 

Basically I'm starting this whole operation from scratch. I have never made an inventory/par list and I have never ordered food storage containers before and just don't really know where to start or what sizes I will need. Is there any advice you would give a first time chef, or any information on how to order correct amounts of food, how to store the food items, and how to properly transfer the items from one location to another?

Any advice is welcome!


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## jcakes (Feb 18, 2007)

are you offering lunch and dinner at the winery on a regular basis or just for scheduled events? What kind of storage do you have at the winery? You'll need hot holding cambros, hotel pans, lexans ...


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## Rikki Cushwa (Mar 18, 2019)

basically just lite fare (hummus plate, pretzels, and paninis) I will also be doing appetizers for private club parties. we have 1 deep freezer, one tall freezer, one large fridge and 2 small fridges. No walk-ins.


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## jcakes (Feb 18, 2007)

Having light fare makes it a bit easier; the ordering will have to be a trial by fire of sorts. You need to look at how much traffic there is in the winery at lunch (for the panini sandwiches - how large are they, how much filling is there, how many different types). You'll need to get different types of food storage containers based on whether you're storing sliced meats, cheeses, lettuce, etc and how often they are filled is something you have to predict until you have hard numbers to work with. If you were doing some guess-timating when you put the menu together, use that as a preliminary order guide. Don't forget about the side stuff, plate garnishes, etc. Your servsafe book will have guides about how to store things (RTE on top, raw under, that kind of stuff.) Depending on the size of your fridge(s) you might be able to get a sheet pan rack in it. Do you have a restaurant supply near you? They would be a good source of info and product for you - it's easier to buy something you see in your hand than from a picture online.


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