THE RESTAURANT

Tables

The flow. The flow. This is your mantra when designing any part of the restaurant. But first, what type is your restaurant: casual; more formal; a quick lunch place; a big spend restaurant? How much per head do you expect to make? These are crucial questions to ask as they determine your type of table, the space in between, the comfort or otherwise of your chair for a longer or quick meal, where you place your bar and any service stations.

Do you go for round, square or rectangular tables seating two, four, six and eight? Tables with legs or pedestals? Interchangeable round tops? Get accurate measurements of tables and chairs from a variety of manufacturers and place markers or string around the restaurant before committing yourself to buying the furniture. It may not fit in and give you maximum seating with plenty of flow. And it may be too bulky a look, making your restaurant look like a furniture show room.

• 76 cm square table seats two.
• 1 metre square table seats four.
• 1 metre round table seats four.
• 1.52 metre round table seats eight.
• 137 × 76 cm rectangular table seats four.

If you have a designer it may be possible to have a graphic design or a scale model to play around with.

Do you choose tables that don’t require a tablecloth or ones that do? Put under-padding under tablecloths for extra luxury and to safeguard the surface.

Stay flexible

The more flexible your seating, the more individual requirements for parties you will be able to offer. The whole restaurant may be booked by a single party and you need to know how many you can seat comfortably and with reasonable staff access to each seat.

Obviously round tables can create problems with large parties as they can’t be joined together. But you can buy tables with differing lift-off top sizes and shapes so that you are able to be as flexible as possible.

Flow paths must be maintained from kitchen to tables and from bar to tables. How accessible are the toilets?

Tables by the kitchen door are to be avoided at all costs. That swinging door nearby, a constant flow of staff and noise just aren’t acceptable. Not for nothing is this table known in the trade as Siberia. Instead, use this inhospitable space for a service station which houses napkins, cutlery, bread, condiments, candle holders and other items of use for staff to minimise their entry into the kitchen. This can be waist high with several shelves or a simple wooden table.

Chairs

Ah, the vexed question of chairs. The more formal the dining, the longer the customer will stay. The last thing you want to do is to have shifting, uncomfortable customers so a good upholstered chair is essential.

Beware high backs, arm rests and bulky design if you have a small restaurant as they will be taking up valuable space, and look like a furniture warehouse. They must be practical too if the whole restaurant is taken over for a party and must fit the space.

Avoid making a costly mistake by choosing chairs for their aesthetic qualities. They may look elegant and smart but are they up to the job of comfortably and securely holding the increasing girth of the nation? Can they withstand the wear and tear of a busy restaurant? They must be of excellent quality unless you wish to foot the bill for having them repaired or, worse still, disintregate with a customer still seated on one.

Points to consider:

• Either ask a manufacturer to come up with a design to suit your restaurant or choose chairs from a range of designs on the market.
• Customers do rock backwards on their chairs so choose a robust chair with splayed legs and a strong frame.
• Take a few sample chairs home with you to sit on over several days in your office and your dining room and use constantly to find the most comfortable one.
• Choose chairs that can stack so that you can store them without taking up too much room should the necessity arise or if you have little storage.
• For a more casual, quick turnaround restaurant you still need a chair that is reasonably comfortable and not one that catches you in the backs of the thighs, causing a lot of shifting.
• Most modern ones are wood or a mixture of metal and wood and can make a lot of noise on a wooden floor. Ask the advice of the salesman or manufacturer about how this can be overcome as it can be very distracting for other diners and cause wear and tear on staff’s nerves.
• Fixed seating like banquettes are increasingly popular but they are inflexible. Benches in casual restaurants are also gaining in popularity thanks to our increasingly laid-back society.
• As a guide, a chair seat is usually 46 cm from the ground, its depth from the front edge of the seat to the back of the chair also 46 cm. The height from the ground to the top of the back is 1 metre.

Flooring, walls and ceilings

Wooden flooring is the chosen flooring for new and revamped restaurants. It looks smart, clean, light and is easy to maintain. The drawbacks are high volume noise levels when chairs are scraped on the floor when diners sit or leave. There is no cushioning of noise – voices, plates, cutlery, music – that could be soaked up by carpeting.

However, carpeting stains, absorbs smell, needs more cleaning and doesn’t have the longevity of wooden flooring. It can also deaden noise and therefore lessen the character of a bustling, buzzing place. But, if you have several levels of floor space, you could have some carpet and some wood which accentuates atmosphere.

Wallpaper is out, painted walls are in. Absorbent materials for the ceiling well help enormously in controlling noise. Beware of too low a ceiling which will add to heat and noise. Lighting and electrical points must be designed before decoration.

Consider having heating installed under the floor before laying flooring and ventilation (and air-conditioning too if this is your choice) for reducing smoke and cooking smells before tackling the ceiling.

Toilets

Toilets are often the least concern of many restaurateurs, preferring to spend their money on other aspects of the business. But the British are a finickety lot and are aghast at poorly maintained, shoddy loos and often will cross a restaurant off their list of where to eat out if this is the case.

However, a new breed of toilets is thankfully making its mark in corporate restaurants, other restaurateurs taking note. Smart stand-alone bowls, mixer taps (and not before time!), innovative glass panels, good-sized mirrors, ventilation and subdued, flattering lighting are just some decent design features. It shows a respect for the customer even if the customer doesn’t reciprocate in quite the same way.

Some points:

• Make sure that the signage to toilets is clear.
• Designate staff to keep the toilets clean during opening hours. Nothing is more depressing than to enter toilets strewn with used paper towels, dirty sinks, loo paper on cubicle floors and overflowing bins. Have a weekly rota of staff to carry out checks before each service.
• Design the toilets for easy maintenance.
• Make sure before service that there is plenty of toilet paper in each cubicle.
• If the toilets are small don’t install a hand dryer which will heat up the room to uncomfortable levels. Put in paper towels instead or an extending towel roller. Hand dryers add to the noise level too and their efficiency is questionable. How often do you see fellow loo users wiping their hands on their clothes after using a dryer? It’s almost the norm.
• Make sure all toilet cubicle locks work and are maintained.
• If the toilets are close to tables, make sure there is a door to the area that is self-closing. And doesn’t squeak.
• Do the toilets smell sweet? If not, why not?
• Sadly, good toileteries – smart hand soaps, liquid soaps, tissue boxes, cotton wool for makeup removal – disappear. Go for toileteries that are attached to walls, or don’t offer anything except soap and towels unless you are in the luxury class and take into budgetary consideration these ‘disappearances’.
• Do avoid ‘funny, ha ha’ names like Tou Louse (geddit?) as seen in an arty French eatery, Little Boys and Little Girls rooms and the like.
• Keep toilets simple yet smart. But you could go a tad mad with the décor. Add a bit of colour if your restaurant has muted shades.

Lighting

In the showtime analogy of your restaurant offering a sense of theatre, showmanship and pleasure, lighting is one of the most important factors to get right. It adds atmosphere, a warming colour and tone and makes the food even more appealing.

Some tips:

• Use dimmers to create instant atmosphere and mood but don’t make the restaurant too dark so that reading the menu, a wine list or paying the bill can become a trial rather than a pleasure (the first two at least).
• Light fixtures can be as decorative or unobtrusive as suits the décor.
• Avoid overhead lighting. It is very harsh. Small inset ceiling lighting can and does work if designed with skill.
• Side and uplighting is more flattering than overhead lighting, the women (and even some men) of this world thanking you for this thoughtful, kind lighting.
• Table lamps can work in some instances but beware of looking like a lighting showroom with too many table lamps squashed into a small area.
• Don’t destroy the atmosphere of too bright lighting in halls or coming from the kitchen. Each time the kitchen door opens it lets out a ray of (perhaps) fluorescent light which can kill the mood.
• Exterior lighting needs to be welcoming. Light up the mandatory menu frame by the door so that the menu can be easily read by passing trade.

Dressing a table

Table spacing is of great importance, especially in a more formal restaurant. However, a fast, casual restaurant’s tables that are close together are more accepted and can add atmosphere.

Table linen

Tablecloths and napkins are expensive to hire and launder. When done in-house without care they can look penny pinching if they are not starched or ironed properly. Cloths suit certain restaurants and not others: a bistro, café or wine bar may not need any. Factor the cost into the day to day expenses of running your restaurant to see if hiring linen is feasible – or not. Get several quotes. Hire companies will also supply glass cloths and hand towels for the toilets.

White or cream is best for showing off food, glasses and flowers and convey a freshness and cleanliness to the restaurant. Dark cloths add a gloom and don’t help the food. The materials for dark tablecloths are usually of an inferior type to crisp white or cream linen.

Of course, if your friendly neighbourhood restaurant is better suited to red and white check tablecloths to entice people in and to convey a pleasingly cheap and cheerful place, then follow your instincts. Or you may wish to go down the continental route with paper tablecloths. Or paper tablecloths over a cloth.

Napkins should be simply folded in half. Gone are the days of showing off your staff’s origami skills. They have better things to do with their time and skills. Nor should they be picked up and draped over the customer’s lap. This is unwarranted affectation and usually an embarrassment to the customer.

Flowers

If dressing your tables with flowers there is no need for an entire bouquet as a single stemmed rose in a simple, clear glass vase will add class and colour. Tall flower arrangements should be avoided as customers may not be able to see one another – not what people come to restaurants for.

Cutlery

When buying cutlery, try it out to see how comfortable it is in your hands. Go for a simple, unfussy design which will not become dated. Buy quality as it won’t tarnish. Staff have enough to do without resorting to removing stains from cutlery before setting tables. There is no need for an armed phalanx of cutlery to be placed on the table. Cutlery for one course will do, with added cutlery depending on subsequent ordered courses. Simple is best.

Glasses

Do avoid the temptation of buying glasses for their looks alone as the shape and thinness of a glass can have a marked effect on wine. Thick Paris goblets are a big no-no. They may last forever but don’t do anything for wine. Go instead for a plain, clear glass with a good-sized bowl that tapers towards the rim so that customers can swirl the wine around to release the aromas and flavours.

Avoid overly huge balloon glasses which may denote largesse but will easily break and cause your staff to have nervous breakdowns washing and drying them.

Always wash glasses immediately then rinse in hot water and dry. Before setting on tables or putting on shelves re-wipe them with a clean cloth to remove any lurking tinge of detergent, a sure-fire way of ruining wine.

Water glasses and other glasses should be in the same design as wine glasses for continuity and style.

Other items

Ashtrays and condiments should preferably be simply designed to avoid ‘walking’. The more covetable the items, the more you will have to replace them. If using the currently trendy salt and pepper mills make sure they are of decent quality, i.e. they do their job properly, or they will need to be replaced at a cost to profits.

Candles are here to stay. Just make them user-friendly, i.e. not tall, precarious ones that can be knocked over or get in the way of service.

Marketing on tables should be considered, depending on your type of restaurant. Have menus, cards, special deals, promotions, events on takeaway cards with some on tables (don’t clutter or oversell) and others at strategic points around the restaurant.

THE KITCHEN

The hub of the restaurant has to work efficiently. Restaurants can fail on the basis of a poorly designed kitchen so it is important to consult with a professional if you are new to the restaurant business.

Ask a commercial kitchen equipment company for their advice. You may be taking over a premises that already has some equipment and adding other equipment to upgrade the kitchen.

Or you may be starting from scratch. Do involve the chef, partners in the business, the builder, plumber, carpenter and architect in these crucial discussions, be it an upgrade or a whole new kitchen.

A restaurant kitchen is divided into:

• prepping area;
• cooking area;
• washing up area;
• and service.

Storage takes place in all four areas.

A smaller kitchen operation may have to compromise on space while larger kitchens will have the following prepping areas to function at speed:

• vegetables;
• fish;
• poultry;
• meat;
• desserts.

Kitchen needs

The first consideration is what you expect the kitchen to achieve. What kind of food will you be putting on the menu? The menu will dictate what kind of equipment you need and where it should be placed for efficiency and practicality. What can the kitchen handle?

It’s not how much a kitchen costs but what you do with it. What is your budget? Will future chefs the proprietor takes on be able to adapt to the kitchen set up by the current chef? Basics like good knives, a solid cooker, large refrigerator and good storage space are prerequisites, so chefs must – and do – adapt.

Consult the Yellow Pages for catering companies that supply the large equipment, pots and pans, clothing, knives. Your library will have London and other large towns’ Yellow Pages (or go on the web) for large specialist companies. Or ask a restaurateur or two for personal recommendations.

Kitchen flow

After deciding on the type of food to emerge the kitchen flow is the next consideration: flow for deliveries to storage spaces, flow of prepared food to service, flow to the dining room and dirty dishes from the dining room, plus flow of waiting staff vs kitchen staff in the kitchen. Rarely should they physically meet in the kitchen.

For example, if waiting staff are responsible for the bread, the butter and other peripherals, these must be accessible at some point in the kitchen or service station in the restaurant where they won’t stop chefs in their tracks.

Kitchen legislation

Your local environmental health officer should be consulted prior to work on the kitchen to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to abide by legislation. See Chapters 3 and 5 for the role of the EHO, information on ventilation, refuse, water, drainage, pest control, Food Safety Acts, disabled access and safety in the kitchen.

Kitchen equipment

The basic kitchen requirements:

• A double oven with four or six gas burners and a solid top (a solid piece of metal that covers the whole stove, the burner underneath spreading heat all around for keeping items warm or for cooking when turned up).
• A grill or salamander (high level grill).
• A deep fat-fryer.
• A large commercial fridge or walk-in fridge.
• A freezer.
• Double sink.
• Hand basin.
• Sink, preferably near the cooking area.
• Washing up area with commercial dishwasher and storage shelving.
• Hot plate with infra-red lamps if space and money allows (I found it invaluable in my restaurant kitchen) for plating up and situated where waiting staff can easily access it.
• A cool work surface for cold food, pastry and salad prep away from ovens.
• Work surfaces for prepping food and surfaces for food processors, for example.
• Hanging pot and pan racks to increase storage space, preferably by stoves.
• Good, accessible storage for cooking equipment, glasses, cutlery, serving dishes, plates etc. Time and motion studies should be worked out: plates near the plating area, coffee cups by the coffee prep area for example.
• Rack for food orders placed in order taken.
• Good lighting and decent air flow.
• A telephone.

If using a microwave, make a space for it. Other equipment to consider: a steamer, a griddle, a convection oven for pastry, a professional ice cream maker, other refrigeration and freezers.

Other spaces are required for:

• Cool vegetable and fruit produce storage area away from heat.
• Dry goods storage away from heat.
• Non-food storage for linen.
• Non-food storage for cleaning materials, buckets, mops, light bulbs, toilet paper, refuse bags, vacuum cleaner.
• Alcohol storage.
• Rubbish.
• Office for paperwork. Don’t underestimate the amount of paperwork! If no space is available try to find a permanent spot to store it and process the paperwork in the restaurant when closed.
• Storage for staff belongings.

Buying equipment

Look for good, solid equipment on castors for easy cleaning and consider second-hand equipment for cutting down the cost of the kitchen. But buy sensibly, not just because it’s a bargain. It may not be a few months down the line.

The restaurant you are taking over may have suitable equipment included in the price. If so, make sure all is in working order, establish who services the equipment, get any attached paperwork from the seller of the business and insist that it is cleaned thoroughly before you take over the property.

If buying from specialists, ask for training to be given on the equipment to kitchen staff who should be familiar with most if not all of it, if humanly possible.

Checklist of cooking equipment to fill those shelves:

• heavy duty cast iron frying pans;
• sauté pans, shallow pans, Dutch ovens (for braising, sauteing or stews);
• pancake pan;
• steamer;
• cast iron casseroles with lids;
• fish pan;
• heavy based stock pots;
• heavy based saucepans for sauces etc;
• knives for many uses – only buy good quality, they will last a lifetime (see Tips on page 89);
• chopping boards (see EHO guidelines);
• plastic lidded containers for food storage and labels;
• mixing bowls of all sizes;
• measuring jugs;
• kitchen scales;
• whisks;
• ladles;
• large spoons;
• slotted spoons;
• kitchen scissors;
• sieves and colanders;
• chinois (fine sieve);
• graters;
• terrines, ramekin dishes;
• roasting and baking trays;
• pastry brushes;
• spatulas;
• lemon squeezer;
• nutmeg grater;
• fish slice;
• pepper and salt mill;
• apple corer;
• funnel;
• corkscrew;
• lemon zester;
• mandoline;
• cheese grater;
• and anything else that is suited to your menu.

Knives

the basics:

• large chopping knife;
• sharpening steel or electric/water sharpener;
• palette knife;
• carving knife;
• chef’s knife – 15 cm;
• medium knife – 20-25 cm;
• filleting knife (for fish);
• several paring knives (like a vegetable knife);
• potato peeler;
• meat cleaver;
• ham shcer with supple blade;
• boning knife;
• salmon knife;
• bread knife;
• cheese knife;
• cooking fork.

CHINA AND TABLEWARE

Depending on the style of the restaurant, the choices are bone china, which may be chosen by a no expense-spared restaurant, or earthenware, the most popular due to its strength and affordability. Stoneware, a natural ceramic durable finish which is more costly than earthenware, may suit a variety of small, casual restaurants.

White or cream tableware shows off food to best advantage and also blends in with every conceivable decor. Patterned china can become dated and tiresome if the design is too busy and it may also be difficult to replace long-term. Your best bet is therefore plain china. But don’t see this as limiting, as shapes, sizes and a coloured rim can all add a bit of class and dash if this is what you are seeking.

Do, however, look for durability and rolled edges that can withstand lots of handling and washing. Is the make dishwasher-proof and is there a guarantee from manufacturers that the chosen china will be around for many years to replace broken, chipped or ‘gone-walking’ items?

If you are choosing super-sized plates, large soup bowls or rectangular shaped plates, do bear in mind the strength of your waiting staff’s wrists and the extra miles they may have to walk if only two plates can be carried at one time. Will those varied, angular designs be more prone to chipping? Will fewer be able to fit into your dishwasher at one time, thereby bumping up the cost of cleaning if more washes are made?

A rule of thumb re amounts of china to invest in per restaurant cover:

• 4 small plates;
• 4 medium sized plates;
• 2 large plates;
• 2 soup plates or bowls;
• 2 cups and saucers;
• 4 serving dishes (if plating main courses and serving vegetables or salads separately);
• 1½ butter dishes, milk jugs, sugar bowls, tea and coffee pots.

But before investing in china and taking that rule of thumb as gospel consider:

• the type of menu on offer;
• the maximum and average seating capacity;
• the rush hour turn-over;
• the washing up facilities and turn-over.

Underplates

For more upmarket restaurants, underplates are still used for improving presentation (or ostentation, depending on your point of view) and for carrying soup plates or bowls. They are also used to ease the carrying of hot items and for carrying cutlery alongside the dish being transferred from one place to another.

Doilies are past their sell-by date but a napkin, paper or otherwise, can help the non-slipping of bowls to get to their destination on an underplate.

Presentation plates are common in Michelin star restaurants and other similarly expensive restaurants to add an extra plushness to the meal. They are often gold-rimmed, strikingly patterned plates which are then whisked away before the customer can even add a fingerprint. The choice is yours but they don’t do anything for me and, I suspect, they make the average diner a little uncomfortable and question why they exist at all.

Cutlery

Thankfully, the banks of cutlery that can be so off-putting for diners unused to many courses have been mainly phased out, most restaurateurs preferring to keep it simple. No need to buy soup spoons for example, as dessert and soup spoons can perform the same task. Some may, however, disagree. Fork and knife sizes can be the same size so there is no need to buy differing sizes. But you may still need a butter knife which should preferably be small to balance on a side plate. It can double up as a cheese knife too.

In today’s eating out society, forget pastry forks, sugar tongs, grapefruit spoons, asparagus holders, curved point cheese knives. They belong, thankfully, in the dainty past.

Stainless steel or silver plate? Which will you choose? Before deciding look at plain patterns and cutlery that will last and not stain. Get a guarantee from the manufacturer re the life span, clean it well and store your cutlery with care to help to prolong its life.

Plainly designed cutlery, like china, will not date and will clean more easily and be more hygienic. But do choose it after selecting your china. It has to complement the china and add to the style of the restaurant.

Stainless steel is available in a variety of grades and is finished by different degrees of polishing: high polish, dull polish and a light matt.

Silver plate has two grades: standard for general use and restaurant thicker grade.

SERVICE

As mentioned previously, it is important to get service right, with flow from the kitchen to the restaurant and vice versa. When waiting staff come in with the order or leave with the food it is preferable that they do so with as little disturbance as possible. So the collection point should be as near to the door as can be achieved.

Where plates and other dirty items will be cleared to also needs to be thought about to achieve a smooth running kitchen and restaurant.

Possible solutions:

• Arrange the orders in order of receipt on the check rack and remove when the order has left.
• Plated food should be placed on the hot plate under the infra-red lights prior to being taken to the restaurant, so that it can keep warm before staff arrive to deliver the completed dish.
• Position stacks of plates on a warmer or in a warming oven in proximity to ovens for plating up – or on a shelf above the warming plate.
• Cold food should be removed from refrigeration in good time for it to come close to, or be at, room temperature so that the food actually tastes how it should rather than diminished by the cold.
• Cheese is especially poorly served if not brought to room temperature before service.
• Position the washing up area and plate clearing so that little overlap goes on and it doesn’t encroach on the cooking and prepping area.
• From a hygiene point of view it is important that these areas are separate and are designed so that they are kept out of the way of cooking staff.