There is so much equipment used in catering now as it food becomes more popular and technical with different cooking techniques coming from all over the world. If the catering company provides for large events as well as smaller groups they would have to have the right equipment to meet the requirements. The equipment the company would need depends on the type of food they would be serving and the venues they serve it in, they would need to think practically when it comes to out door venues for example it may be an idea for the company to have a canopy or something similar in case of rain.

Catering companies need to think about storage for their goods as well as what they are going to cook and serve the food on. So the kitchen they use has to be an adequate size to hold fridge and freezer, cooker and still have space to prepare the food properly and hygienically.

To help with this problem in smaller kitchens it is possible for you to buy cookers that can double as a work surface when not being used as a cooker, these may be slightly more expensive but will save space in the kitchen and mean you have more space in which to work preparing and displaying the food. There are essentials that catering kitchens may have, some of these are:

• Signage – It sometimes helps to have signs around the kitchen area to remind people of certain health and safety obligations. For example if there is a bin that is only used for food waste there are signs you can place above these bins so there is no confusion and you can also have signs stating the safe use for knives showing images of the safe ways of using knives and what not to do. One of the most useful signs you can have is the chopping board sign which states the different colour boards that are used for certain products for example red boards are used for raw meat, brown for vegetables and yellow for cooked meat.
• Storage – This is one of the most important pieces of equipment to any one that owns a catering company. This is because if your food is not stored correctly it can cause bacteria and in turn could make your customers ill. These storage standards do not stop at the kitchen how the food is transported is also of high importance. There are industrial fridges and freezers available that can hold large amounts of food at the precise temperature it requires. If the catering company was going to transport the food to the venue they would need to ensure the van is at an adequate temperature for the food they are transporting.

There is so much equipment now catering companies would need to research which pieces of equipment would be best suited to the type of work they do, and safety should always be the main issue.