subject: Commercial Equipment vs. Domestic Equipment – What's the Right Choice for Your New Catering Business? [print this page] Commercial Equipment vsCommercial Equipment vs. Domestic Equipment What's the Right Choice for Your New Catering Business?
New businesses in the catering and hospitality industry often face a dilemma when it comes to choosing between commercial and domestic equipment for their establishments. On face value there may not appear to be much difference between the two other than the price - domestic items are typically a lot cheaper! With the strong impetus to save money it is not surprising then that many new business owners veer towards choosing domestic options over commercial. So does this make sense? Not so.
Whilst the differences between the two may not be obvious, if you dig deeper you will typically find that there are significant variations between domestic and commercial products. Domestic items are made with home usage in mind. They are designed to work effectively in an average sized household. In effect this means that they are ideal for light duty usage. Commercial items however are made with businesses in mind; as such they are built to a much higher specification. They are designed to cope with high volumes and heavy usage and will survive the wear and tear that comes with being used in a professional kitchen.
There are also health and safety issues to consider. Take refrigeration for example. The purpose of a refrigerator is to ensure that food stays fresh by being stored in a suitably cold environment. Each time a refrigerator door is opened, that cold environment is compromised. Within a home environment the refrigerator door is likely to be opened just a few times a day. As such for a domestic refrigerator a modestly powered compressor is more than adequate to cope with any loss of cold air that results from the door being opened. A professional kitchen however is completely different. The door of the refrigerator is likely to be opened far more frequently and moreover the kitchen itself is likely to be far hotter than a home kitchen. A domestic refrigerator in such an environment would just not be able to cope. A refrigerator with a much more powerful compressor is necessary to ensure that the internal temperature is brought down rapidly each time a door is opened. Commercial refrigerators will have such a compressor. Further they will also have better insulation and fans inside to enable cold air to spread evenly throughout the cabinet. Some may even have the ability to electronically record temperatures, which helps to ensure that food safety procedures are being followed.
So in a professional kitchen it makes much more sense to opt for commercial equipment rather than domestic. Remember however that there may be a lot of variation within a commercial equipment range. Thus if there are certain pieces of equipment that you will not use on a frequent basis you may be able to find something at the cheaper end of the scale. Talking to representatives from companies that specialize in catering equipment supplies will help in this regard. They will be able to guide you on the issues to consider when making choices and also help you to choose items that are appropriate for your individual needs. With their assistance you can make your new business a success.
