Back of House and Kitchen Design in Hospitality Projects: A Guide to Improve Efficiency and Avoid Costly Mistakes

In many of our client meetings, we get asked what the cost is of back of house and kitchen design and installation in a new project. The initial answer depends on the size of the kitchen, the equipment specs, the MEP requirements and the equipment quality level you want to pay for. However, after 30 years in the business, we have found that back of house planning and design is often an afterthought when all other areas have been set in stone and so we often end up having to re-design and retrofit a space that is either not suitable for the business, re-design the lay out to a more user friendly and ergonomic design or re-spec the equipment BOQ based on a much lower budget. The answer to the question has now become more along the lines of “a new back of house design is less costly than a retro fit and rectifying errors previously made.” Therefore, it is wise to involve an F&B consultant from the very start of the project to avoid these costly mistakes.

In hospitality projects, the kitchen and back of house spaces are pivotal to operations, efficiency, and guest satisfaction. These areas must seamlessly integrate design principles with operational functionality to ensure compliance with regulations, optimize workflows, and meet modern sustainability standards. This article delves into the critical aspects of designing back of house areas in new hospitality projects, with a focus on master planning, zoning, MEP design, AI technology, staff circulation, and more.

Master Planning for Kitchen and Back of House Areas

Master planning is the cornerstone of designing the back of house in hospitality projects. It involves developing a cohesive plan that aligns these spaces with the facility's overall layout and operational goals. Effective master planning begins with understanding the scale and scope of operations, including the volume of meals, peak times, staffing levels and the circulation of employees and deliveries. Key considerations include:

• Zoning: Dividing spaces into functional zones for goods receiving, food prep, cooking, cleaning, and storing in order to minimize cross-contamination and maximize efficiency. Correct zoning also takes into account the staff flow back of house that will ensure that corridors are wide enough for the number of employees in the building while also taking into account the transport of goods at the same time.

• HACCP Compliance: Ensuring the design supports Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) guidelines to maintain food safety standards.

• Futureproofing: Allowing flexibility for future retrofitting or expansion as operational demands evolve. It is wise to keep extra provisions for additional power supply or gas connectivity that can be activated at a later stage when required.

Zoning for Optimal Workflow

Zoning is critical in creating efficient workflows and reducing bottlenecks. A well-zoned back of house ensures that activities such as food preparation, cooking, dishwashing, and storage occur in designated areas with minimal overlap.

1. Back of House Zoning:

   • Receiving and Storage Zones: Dedicated areas for receiving raw materials and storing ingredients in cold, dry, or frozen conditions. Always ensure that meat, poultry, fish / seafood, dairy and fruit and vegetables are stored in different cold rooms. Separate storing area for trolleys and other transport means will also be required.

   • De-Boxing: cardboard boxes, plastic wrapping, pallets, etc.. should all be removed from deliveries before they are stored in working areas. This process takes place away from the clean working spaces and storage facilities.

   • Sanitation: raw fruits and vegetables must be sanitized at the delivery bay to ensure no cross contamination can take place during transport and storage to clean areas.

   • Waste Removal: appropriate space must be allocated for waste to be stored in a chilled environment until ready for collection. This area must be separate from any goods receiving to avoid cross contamination

2.  Kitchen Zoning:

   • Preparation Zones: Clearly defined spaces for washing, cutting, and assembling ingredients.

   • Cooking Zones: Placement of stoves, ovens, and other equipment near preparation zones for efficiency.

   • Cleaning Zones: Areas for dishwashing and waste management, positioned away from food prep areas to maintain hygiene but with easy and direct access for efficiency and to avoid cross contamination in corridors.

MEP Design: An Integral Component

Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) design plays a crucial role in the functionality of kitchens. Proper MEP design ensures the seamless integration of utility systems with operational needs.

• Ventilation: Adequate exhaust and ventilation systems are essential in kitchens to remove grease, smoke, and odours. Especially the removal of odours and smoke is essential in the Middle East.

• Electrical Systems: Planning for high-capacity electrical loads, especially for industrial kitchen appliances and large cooling rooms, is vital.

• LPG Systems: gas connectivity to the kitchen to be considered if the building management approves. Gas storage tanks will ideally be situated away from the kitchen, outside of the building. Gas cooking comes in handy when there are limitations with electricity supply. It is also important to remember that certain cooking techniques work much better with gas, such as Asian wok dishes or gas grills in grill concepts.

• Live Fire: The use of charcoal or wood for grilling or wood fired pizza ovens will have a direct impact on the kitchen ventilation.

• Water Supply and Drainage: Kitchens require robust plumbing systems for water supply, drainage, and grease management.

• Energy Efficiency: Incorporating energy-efficient appliances and systems reduces utility costs and environmental impact.

Enhancing Staff Circulation

Efficient staff circulation within kitchens is crucial to maintaining smooth operations. Poorly designed layouts can lead to bottlenecks, delays, and increased labour fatigue.

• Ergonomic Layouts: Workstations and equipment placement should minimize unnecessary movement and allow staff to perform tasks efficiently and without any potential health hazards.

• One-Way Traffic Flow: For kitchens, a one-way flow from raw material storage to food prep, cooking, and serving reduces cross-contamination risks.

Storage Requirements for Kitchens and Back of House

Storage is a fundamental aspect often underestimated during the design process. Adequate storage prevents operational inefficiencies and ensures compliance with HACCP regulations.

• Cold and Dry Storage: Kitchens require separate cold rooms, freezers, and dry storage areas for different types of ingredients.

• Chemical Storage: Kitchens and Back of House need safe storage areas for cleaning agents and chemicals.

• Beverage Storage: the front of house department will need separate access to beverages during operation and it is best to keep this separate from any food and dry storage to avoid confusion

• Flour storage: for kitchens with a large bakery / pastry section, it may be wise to invest in a humidity-controlled flour storage to keep the quality of the flour optimal for a better end product (especially in tropical countries this can be an issue)

HACCP Regulations and Hygiene Standards

Adhering to HACCP regulations is non-negotiable in hospitality projects. Kitchen designs must facilitate cleanliness and minimize contamination risks.

• Smooth Surfaces: Use of non-porous, easy-to-clean materials for work surfaces and walls. Today’s technology offers options of anti-micro bacterial panels and epoxy flooring that is high on the list of keeping food areas hygienic and clean.

  

  
  

• Seamless Transitions: Avoiding gaps and crevices where food particles or dirt can accumulate.

• Sanitation Stations: Including hand-washing and sanitizing stations in strategic locations. Not to forget that changing rooms should be used for employees to change into their uniforms and shower facilities should be present for personal hygiene.

• Adequate Lighting: Often forgotten during the design but nonetheless important to consider in the kitchen and back of house design process. The standard for minimum lighting requirement in working areas is 50 Lumens per square foot and 500 Lux.

Horizontal and Vertical Transport Systems

Transport systems ensure the smooth movement of goods, and waste across different levels of a hospitality facility.

• Dumbwaiters and Elevators: Ideal for transporting food, dishes, deliveries between floors without disrupting guest areas.

• Conveyor Belts: Used in larger kitchens for streamlined movement of ingredients or dishes along assembly lines.

• Golf Carts, Trolleys, Hot Holding Boxes, Cooling Boxes: Whether goods are transported horizontally or vertically over a distance, always ensure they are transported safely, swiftly and hygienically to avoid cross contamination, temperature fluctuations and potential accidents that may lead to wastage and spoilage.

  
  

Environmental Sustainability

Modern hospitality projects emphasize environmental sustainability, incorporating eco-friendly practices into kitchen and back of house design.

• Energy-Efficient Equipment: Use energy-saving appliances to reduce energy consumption. If the master planning allows, you may want to allocate space either on rooftops or on the ground, for solar panels that can power some (or all) of the kitchen electricity equipment.

• Water Recycling Systems: Installing systems to recycle water for non-potable uses like irrigation or toilet flushing. In certain circumstances, it may be worth to invest in a desalination plant, water filter plant, and bottling line to bottle your own drinking water. This helps with eliminating a lot of plastic on the premises, it is more cost effective in the long term and for hotel resorts in remote locations, your guests can re-fill their bottles in designated water stations at no cost to them, adding to the overall guest experience.

• Waste Management: Implementing composting systems for organic waste and recycling programs for packaging materials such as cardboard, glass, cans and plastic. Machinery such as carton balers and glass crushers are not only good for recycling, but they also save a lot of space in terms of storing waste. If the opportunity presents itself, a collaboration with local farms to donate organic waste will help them with the environmental sustainability and contributing to the community.

Retrofitting in Existing Facilities

For hospitality projects involving renovations, retrofitting kitchens and back of house areas requires creative solutions to work within existing constraints.

• Space Optimization: Look at repurposing underutilized spaces to accommodate modern equipment, consider double story storage where the height allows it, look at clustering certain facilities by upgrading machinery, allocate space based on your actual requirements and future expectations.

• Utility Upgrades: Enhancing MEP systems to support increased loads without significant structural changes, bearing in mind that a lot of equipment today is much more energy efficient than let’s say 15 years ago. The use of AI technology can also help with curbing excessive energy consumption.

• Compliance Adjustments: Updating layouts to meet current HACCP and sustainability standards; HACCP regulations don’t tend to undergo drastic changes however the technology to measure certain metrics in the HACCP process, has moved much more towards digital software and AI. It is wise to consider implementation of such technology to create a much safer, more hygienic and consistent working environment for employees and get much more accurate data on a daily basis.

Future Trends in Back of House and Kitchen Design

The future of kitchen and back of house design in hospitality lies in adopting advanced technologies and practices.

• Automation: Integrating automated dishwashers, robotic cooking stations, food packaging machines and cutting machinery to enhance efficiency and consistency across the board.

• Smart Monitoring: Using IoT-enabled sensors to monitor energy usage, equipment performance, and inventory levels in real-time. The use of Wifi, Bluetooth and the introduction of AI is now used more frequently to control refrigeration, ovens, ventilation and much more.

• Green Building Certifications: Designing spaces to achieve certifications like LEED or BREEAM for environmental and energy sustainability.

• Hydroponic Farming: Larger production kitchens can opt to incorporate a hydroponic farm in their design back of house.

Summary

Designing kitchens and back of house in hospitality projects is a complex yet rewarding challenge. Master planning, zoning, MEP design, staff circulation, storage requirements, HACCP compliance, AI technology, and sustainability must all be carefully considered to create spaces that are functional, safe, and environmentally friendly while still being profitable. By prioritizing these factors, hospitality operators can ensure that these critical areas contribute to seamless operations, a consistent product output, and therefore exceptional guest experiences.

Whether building from scratch or retrofitting an existing facility, a thoughtful approach to kitchen and back of house design lays the foundation for a successful business in the competitive hospitality industry.

• RBnH Solutions is an established food and beverage consultant, based in the UAE, with on the ground experience in 5 continents. Are you looking for an F&B consultant to advise you on back of house and kitchen design, operational, concept, or commercial challenges, give us a call for an initial discussion how we can contribute to the success of your business.