3 Tips for Organizing Your Restaurant's Refrigerator

Cooking in a commercial kitchen is stressful enough. A disorganized refrigerator will only make things worse. Furthermore, a well-organized refrigerator can minimize waste, save you money and make your customers happier. Below are three tips for organizing your restaurant’s refrigerator.

Organize foods based on the temperature at which they need to be cooked. Foods that don’t require cooking should be placed at the very top of your restaurant’s refrigerator. Store uncooked meats at the bottom; they need to be cooked to the highest temperature. According to The Kitchn, “When organized this way, any cross contamination that occurs won't be a problem because the food that's contaminated has to be cooked to a higher temperature than the food sitting above it that dripped down.” It’s a smart way to keep your customers safe!

Keep out foods that don’t need to be refrigerated. Chances are your restaurant’s refrigerator gets a bit crowded. A lot of foods actually don’t require refrigeration. Furthermore, some foods (like potatoes and onions) should NOT be refrigerated. Removing these food items from your refrigerator will help make room for things that must be refrigerated.

Move your refrigerator away from cooking equipment. Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine recommends placing cold storage units “as far as possible from heat sources.” Keeping your restaurant’s refrigerator away from ovens and grills will prevent it from working overtime, saving you power and money.

What other tips do you have for organizing your restaurant’s refrigerator? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Chat with us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. To learn more about commercial and industrial refrigeration, give East Coast Refrigeration a call at 631-249-4556 today.