The main challenge in a café is not the complexity of the food — it is speed. Guests expect their coffee and snack within minutes. That means the kitchen must be organised so that every process runs without unnecessary movement.

Key functional zones

• 1
  Bar stationCoffee machine, milk cooler, hot water boiler, glass storage. Positioned close to the customer for fast service.
• 2
  Cold prepUndercounter refrigerator with stainless-steel top — salad, sandwich and dessert preparation. This zone is often directly behind the bar station.
• 3
  Thermal processingConvection or combi oven — hot dishes, pasteurisation, frozen products. A compact counter-top model saves floor space.
• 4
  DishwashingSmall undercounter dishwasher + handwashing point. Positioned so that dirty dishes never cross the prep zone.

Equipment a café cannot do without

The working rhythm in a pizzeria is intense and cyclical: dough → prep → oven → service. If any step is not correctly positioned, the whole chain slows down. There is also a unique challenge — the pizza oven generates significant heat that affects all adjacent zones.

Key functional zones

• 1
  Dough preparationDough mixer, dough storage containers, proofing chamber or rack. Often located away from the main work zone — dough is prepared less frequently but in larger batches.
• 2
  Pizza prep stationPizza prep table with GN topping containers on top, marble or granite surface for rolling. This is the main work zone — the chef spends the majority of their time here.
• 3
  Oven zonePizza oven (wood, gas or electric) with a ventilation hood directly above. Adequate space must be left for operation from the front and sides.
• 4
  Dispatch zonePizza cutting table, box storage (for delivery), heat lamp for finished pizzas. Positioned at the exit towards the dining room or delivery area.

Equipment a pizzeria cannot do without

In a patisserie the priority is not speed but precision and product quality preservation. Chocolate, creams, sponges and egg whites are all highly sensitive to incorrect temperature. This influences both the choice of equipment and the organisation of the space.

Key functional zones

• 1
  Dough and mass preparationPlanetary mixer, weighing surface, ingredient storage. This zone should be cool and well-ventilated — ideal temperature +18–20°C.
• 2
  Baking zonePatisserie oven (convection or deck oven with steam), proofing chamber, baking tray rack. Located separately — heat must not affect the cold zones.
• 3
  Cold decoration zoneRefrigerator for chocolate and cream storage, marble work surface (naturally cool), blast chiller. This is the most important zone in a patisserie — precise +16–18°C temperature maintenance.
• 4
  Display and storage zonePatisserie display case with precise temperature control, finished-product refrigerator. Located at the exit towards the retail space.

Equipment a patisserie cannot do without

The main challenge in a large restaurant is coordination. Multiple chefs, multiple stations, multiple dishes at once — and everything must reach the guest at the right temperature at the right moment. This demands not only a strong equipment lineup but also intelligent spatial organisation.

The station system — the backbone of a large restaurant

A large restaurant kitchen is organised around stations — each chef has their own work zone with all the necessary equipment and products. This minimises movement and maximises speed.

Equipment a large restaurant cannot do without

The biggest difference between a canteen and a restaurant is volume and regularity. A canteen does not serve dishes on demand — it produces large quantities at set times. Food preparation starts earlier, volume forecasting is more precise, and cleaning is more demanding — hygiene in large kitchens is a more complex task.

Key functional zones

• 1
  Goods receiving and storageLarge cold room or multiple separate refrigerators (meat, vegetables, dairy), dry storage. In a canteen this zone is considerably larger than in a café.
• 2
  Large-volume preparationIndustrial vegetable cutter, large planetary mixer, large work surfaces. This zone operates in the morning before the cooking cycle.
• 3
  Large-volume cookingLarge-capacity tilting pans with stirring, large combi ovens, multiple-burner hobs. Ventilation here is critical.
• 4
  Holding and service lineHeated counters, bain-marie, heated display cases. Located at the exit to the dining hall — service on a conveyor principle.
• 5
  Large-scale dishwashingTunnel or conveyor dishwasher, plastic tray washing, large floor drains. In a canteen this zone is often as large as the cooking zone.

Equipment a canteen cannot do without

Regardless of format — café or canteen, pizzeria or patisserie — there are universal principles that BHS applies to every project:

• Workflow determines everything else. Before choosing equipment or measuring the space, define the sequence in which products move through the kitchen. This sequence determines zone placement, which in turn determines equipment positioning.
• Hot and cold must never intersect. Regardless of the room size, hot and cold zones must be separated — both physically and thermally. The opposite situation raises energy consumption and reduces equipment lifespan.
• Ventilation must be planned alongside the equipment. Each kitchen format has different ventilation requirements. Inadequate ventilation is the most common inspection violation and one of the main causes of poor working conditions.
• The dishwashing zone is always separate. Dirty dishes must never cross the cooking or prep zone. This principle applies to a three-table café just as strictly as to a 300-seat restaurant.
• Regulatory compliance must be planned from the start. EU Regulation 852/2004 on food hygiene and Latvian national regulations set concrete requirements — separate sinks, handwashing points, temperature documentation. These are far easier to incorporate into a design than to retrofit into a finished kitchen.