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Canteens serve a lot of meals in a short window, often to people with specific needs.
School kitchens, care homes, hospitals, universities and workplace canteens all cook in volume and serve at set times. Reliable hot holding, easy cleaning and hygiene are the priorities. This guide covers the kit that makes that easier.
A mobile servery lets you cook in the kitchen, wheel food to the serving point and keep it at a safe temperature until the last person is served. Hot food on display must be held at 63°C or above.
Wet heat bain maries keep sauces and vegetables moist; dry heat suits roast potatoes and pastry. Check the units take the Gastronorm sizes your kitchen uses.
| Stage | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Cold storage | Upright fridges, freezers |
| Prep | Veg prep machines, food processors, planetary mixers, stainless tables |
| Cooking in volume | Combi ovens, convection ovens, range cookers |
| Hot holding | Mobile serveries, hot cupboards, bain maries |
| Drinks | Autofill water boilers |
| Wash-up | Pass through dishwashers, dishwasher sinks, trolleys |
Care homes wash bedding, towels and residents' clothes every day. Commercial washing machines and dryers are built for many more cycles than domestic machines and finish them faster.
Many commercial machines offer high temperature and disinfection programmes, which can help with infection control. Check the programmes on each model and follow your own infection control policy.
Typically upright fridges and freezers, ovens for cooking in volume, prep machines, a mobile servery or hot cupboards for service, a pass through dishwasher and hand wash sinks.
A hot cupboard on wheels with a heated bain marie top. It lets you move hot food to the serving point and keep it hot during service.
Most care homes use commercial washing machines and tumble dryers sized to their daily linen, often with high temperature programmes.
Not always, but combi ovens are popular in canteens because they cook large batches, keep food moist and regenerate chilled meals.
