Staff Canteen Kitchen & Interior Design Guide
The hospitality industry is facing an unprecedented challenge: staff shortages.
Recruiting and training new employees is both time-consuming and costly, while the decline in EU workers has exacerbated the problem. Retaining existing staff has become crucial for business survival, one often-overlooked solution lies in employee well-being: the staff canteen.
The staff canteen may not be a unique or new offering, but it does allow employers to look after employee’s health, happiness, and emotional wellbeing.
Staff canteen design plays just an important role in creating an atmosphere as the quality of food does. By creating an environment for staff whilst they are away from home, you are encouraging and offering a space to have a well-deserved break keeping the morale and productivity at a high.
Investing in food services and refreshment stations gives employees a chance to re-fuel and re-energise throughout their shift. In-house staff restaurants, cafeterias or canteens, are seen as more than just a perk to the job, but an investment into company’s culture!
Design & Layout Considerations
The key to office canteen design is to determine the number of people expected to hit the canteen floor and establish peak service times.
Understanding the capacity and flow will help when it comes to planning the menu and options you want available. From there, it will help to identify what percentage of food offerings will be hot, ambient or cold. Whether it will be self-service, grab-and-go or whether staff will be required.
Once all the basics are covered, the canteen kitchen design is formed around comfortably handling your maximum output of people efficiently!
Depending on budget, having a bespoke servery for your staff canteen can be an attractive solution in presenting food to your staff. As well as being able to feed a large amount of people quickly!
Hot and cold servery counters can feature multi drop-in units, deli-wells, ceran tops and even hot cupboards. Serveries can often be the most ergonomic and aesthetic front-of-house option. In the design, we will make sure that there is an efficient system for dealing with used crockery, trays, and food packaging.
To further enhance the dining experience, display and multi-deck refrigeration units offer a tempting selection of grab-and-go options, reducing congestion and improving traffic flow during peak times.
Hygiene Considerations
Having high levels of hygiene is important for both staff dining in the canteen and the staff operating the canteen!
There are several design features that can be incorporated into your staff canteen design to make sure it is truly hygienic.
One of the biggest causes of poor hygiene within a commercial kitchen is food and dirt traps between and behind equipment. To overcome this, you should consider creating a fully seamless kitchen. Seamless food preparation areas, integrated cook suites, and one-piece countertops are just a few design elements that can help achieve this.
For a deeper dive into commercial kitchen hygiene, check out our dedicated blog post here.
Interior Design Aspects
Staff canteens can not only be a used for food consumption, but can also be a place to hold informal meetings, temporary workstations and general team catch ups.
Different floorings and levels can help to create zones which break up one large open space into smaller zones. The benefit of this means you do not need to insert walls which will reduce the light flowing throughout the space! Pods and booth spaces can be used to create a more private setting for both eating and informal meetings when in an open space, again, without the need for walls and major construction costs.
Having a mixture of soft, bistro and lounge seating helps to remove the school like feeling around canteens. It is also important to remove uncomfortable long tables and benches which can make the space feel cold. You could have a dedicated area with unconventional furniture like bean bags!
Strategic use of colour and lighting can dramatically impact the mood and functionality of each zone. For instance, bright lights energize communal areas, while softer lighting promotes relaxation in lounge spaces.
Finally, introducing greenery, whether indoor plants or outdoor views, fosters a connection to nature and enhances overall well-being.
Catering Equipment Solutions
Investing in energy-efficient appliances is one of the ways that will help to minimise running costs of your staff restaurant .
Whilst also helping to make the commercial kitchen more environmentally friendly! By switching to efficient catering equipment, you can save up to 70% on your energy usage. Giving you more money to invest in your staff and back into your operation.
Induction
Induction creates a better working environment because temperatures and noise within the kitchen are lowered. Reduced energy consumption is also achieved as the appliance needs no preheating and the hobs are only on when the pan is in contact with the cooking surface. This helps to drastically reduce running costs by 70% and cleaning by 90% as the equipment only needs soapy water rather than chemicals which can be a major cause of damage to equipment.
Combi Ovens
Having a combi oven in your kitchen will allow you to cater for more covers, even when you can’t expand your kitchen footprint. They provide you with more flexible cooking, and convenience and consolidate your equipment. If you are on the hunt for a new Combi Oven, we can help you through the entire process. We can even help when it gets around to servicing your equipment with fully trained engineers on most manufacturers’ equipment.
Multi-Use Equipment
The Rational two pan iVario gives you the flexibility for a combination of frying, deep-frying, sous vide, boiling and confit. The iVario also allows you to pressure cook or slow cook food, which is ideal for overnight savings in labour and time. Multi-use equipment enables you to cook various items on your menu without specific equipment that takes up space and only used occasionally.
Hot Holding
The EVEREO from Unox is the first hot fridge that features the latest in catering equipment technology. The EVEREO can hold dishes above the temperature where bacteria thrive, whilst maintaining the quality, texture, and taste, all guaranteeing safety and support to busy kitchens. It also offers the option to hold pre-prepared dishes, preserving it for up to 72 hours. Their most compact unit capable of holding up to 240 portions.
Beverage Systems
Self-service beverage systems on countertops encourage staff to stay hydrated throughout the day! The FRIIA from Marco combines the hot water technology from the MIX with cold water and sparking water systems. It is easy to install and only has an additional tank containing an aluminium block for the cold and sparkling water. It’s also up to 23% more energy efficient than other manufactures on the market.
Start You Staff Canteen Design Journey Today!
A well-designed staff canteen is more than just a place to eat; it’s a strategic investment in employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention. By prioritizing employee well-being and creating a welcoming, functional space, hospitality businesses can address the critical challenge of staff shortages.
A carefully planned canteen, incorporating factors such as capacity, hygiene, and atmosphere, can significantly enhance employee morale and contribute to a positive company culture. When you put effort into refurbishing or creating a staff canteen where employees can take a step away from their work, they will return refreshed and reward the company with better work and increased productivity! It’s time to recognize the staff canteen as a vital component of successful hospitality operations.
If you require any further assistance with your staff canteen design, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
