Stainless steel prep tables are a fixture in virtually every restaurant kitchen, providing a work area on which kitchen staff can prepare food. When you shop for these tables, you'll see them not only in several different sizes but also in varying designs. Some prep tables are enclosed below the surface, featuring shelves behind a pair of hinged doors. Others are open, much like conventional tables. While there are lots of advantages to enclosed prep tables, you shouldn't overlook the merits of open base prep tables. Here are three benefits of this table design.
Faster To Clean
Conscientious kitchen employees must thoroughly clean numerous areas of the kitchen regularly, including the prep tables. Doing so will remove bacteria from certain foods that could contaminate other foods and potentially make the establishment's patrons ill. For example, if your team is working with raw chicken, they'll need to completely clean the prep table before they use it for other ingredients. To fully clean a prep table, a kitchen employee should wipe down all of the surfaces. An enclosed table has a lot more surfaces to clean, given the doors on the front. Conversely, an open base table has less surface area, so the cleaning process is faster.
Lighter To Move
It's sometimes necessary to move prep tables around a restaurant kitchen. If the kitchen manager has their staff performing certain types of work, they may want to temporarily relocate some of the prep tables. If you anticipate your kitchen staff moving tables on occasion, an open base prep table can be a good choice because it's lighter. Tables with doors, as well as back and side panels, are significantly heavier than their open-base counterparts. The excess weight of the enclosed design can make it more difficult to move.
Quicker Shelf Access
Open base prep tables can vary in design, but many have at least one storage shelf beneath the tabletop. The open design means that your kitchen staff can quickly and easily access whatever is sitting on this shelf. When you have an enclosed prep table, people must open one or both of the table's doors before they can reach the shelf. This extra step might seem minimal, but when a kitchen staff member is doing it repeatedly throughout the day, it can take up a fair amount of time. Look for open-base stainless steel prep tables at a kitchen equipment supplier.
For more information about stainless steel restaurant equipment, contact a local company.