Basic principles of design and layout

The underlying principles of design and layout are essentially the same for all food services. Food and
supplies are received and stored. Food is prepared, cooked, and served. Space and facilities must be
provided for these functions. To accomplish this most effectively, the following principles should be
observed:

1. Provide Continuous Flow of Materials. Materials such as food and supplies should proceed from
the receiving entrance to the point of service or use in a continuous flow, without backtracking.
Some of these, of course, will be placed in storerooms or refrigerators en route to await further
use. These storage areas should be arranged in the line of material flow.
In large food services and in commissaries, food production may be arranged in work centers for
specialized production such as preparation, baking, or salad making, or with cooking equipment
such as rangers, steam kettles, steam cookers, and ovens grouped in batteries. These work
centers are usually arranged at right angles to the general material flow, which includes the
lateral movement in and out of these centers but which enables the materials to progress in a
general forward direction toward the point of service.
2. Have All Operations on the Same Floor Level. Ideally, all operations of the food service should
be on the same floor level. While this is not possible in some cases, such as in hotels and
hospitals where food must be conveyed to different floors, vertical transportation involves many
problems. In addition to cost, there are the difficulties of supervision and of getting hot and cold
food to patrons at proper temperatures.
3. Minimize the Distance between the Cooking and the Point of Service. The distance between
the location of the prepared food to the point where the farthest patron has to be served
should be kept to a minimum. In a cafeteria or counter restaurant, the serving counter usually
adjoins the kitchen. In a table-service restaurant the serving distance depends largely on the
shape of the dining area and its relation to the kitchen. For example, in a long narrow street-
front restaurant where the kitchen is in the rear, the serving distances to the front of the dining
area are great. A rectangular dining area where the long side of the room adjoins the kitchen
affords shorter serving distances.
4. Arrange Compact Work Centers in the Production Area. The most effective arrangements of
work areas in the production department or kitchen for food preparation, cooking, baking, salad
making, and so on, are those where the worker is provided with all the necessary facilities
within reach. In the large, old-fashioned kitchen, it was necessary for the cook to walk
considerable distances during the day. In modern kitchens the refrigerator and principal cooking
appliances are arranged within easy reach of the cook. Modular storage and preparation
equipment is now available in which these facilities are combined in a single unit, thus reducing
the necessary walking to a minimum.
5. Design for Efficient Traffic Flow, Delivery, and Pickup. Traffic in the kitchen and dining areas
should be so arranged that moving lines of workers, patrons, or materials do not cross one
another. With this free flow of traffic, pickup and delivery operations should be arranged in
sequence. To illustrate, waitresses carrying soiled dishes may deliver them at the dishwashing
 area and, while proceeding in the same circular direction, pick up orders of cooked food to be
delivered to customers. Or patrons in a cafeteria leaving the line can carry their trays to tables
and upon completing their meals can carry trays and soiled dishes to a window or conveyor
without crossing the line of incoming patrons.
6. Provide Working Conditions That Make for Productivity. A food service should be designed so
that work can be done without undue fatigue or discomfort that would lower the productivity of
the workers. Productivity has to do with such factors as temperature; humidity; ventilation;
illumination; wall, ceiling, and floor color; noise levels; aisle space; and the design of facilities in
accord with the laws of motion economy. This involves what has been called human
engineering, that is, concern for the human element involved.
7. Design for Sanitation and Safety. The food service should be designed and equipment selected
so that the highest standards of sanitation and safety can be maintained. Involved are such
things as the elimination of openings and crevices that may harbor vermin or allow entrance of
rodents; floor drains; and the installation of appliances that can be readily taken apart for
cleaning and that are approved by the National Sanitary Foundation.
Planning a food service

In planning a new food service the main points to keep in mind are:

1. Plan well in advance.

Make plans in advance of actual construction

It is well to plan in advance, as the preparation of plan, designs, and specifications requires
considerable time before actual construction and installation can begin. The planning should be
unhurried since the design and layout will have much to do with recurring costs of operation. Once
utility lines are installed and concrete is poured, changes are difficult and costly.

Utilize competent counsel

Competent architects and consulting engineers should be employed to design the structure and
functional facilities. No matter how qualified these experts may be, however, they cannot be
expected to know all of the technical details of food service operation. Even though operations may
feel that they know precisely what they want, they will profit by engaging an experienced food
service consultant. The consultant should be engaged at the outset of the planning so that the
person can work with the owner and architect to design the layout and equipment that will operate
most effectively. Needless to say, the consultant should have no pecuniary interest in the
equipment to be installed but should work on a fee basis. The consultant will study the menu
requirements, the capabilities of the staff, and the types of patrons to be served. The designer must
understand just what the management wishes to establish as the public image of the food service so
that the design will interpret this objective to potential patrons. By all means, the designer should
consult with the staff members who are to operate the food service when it is completed.

Determine optimum location

Here the use of word optimum means the best location under the circumstances. In the case of
commercial restaurants, the location could best be chosen on the basis of a marketing survey. Such
a survey would reveal the customer potential, both as to numbers and types; the pedestrian and
auto traffic flow; competitive conditions; and other pertinent factors.

The location of an industrial cafeteria should be within easy walking distance of the majority of
the employees. Studies have shown that employees will generally not walk more than a thousand
feet from their work areas to a food service.
 In schools and colleges, food service may be located in the various dormitory buildings or in a
central location on the campus.

For any food service, facilities for the delivery of food and supplies must be available.
Consideration should also be given to such environmental factors as space, light, freedom from
disagreeable odors, noxious fumes, and noise. If, in addition, there is a pleasant view from the
dining room windows, the appeal of the food will be enhanced.

Allow adequate space

Space must be provided in the food service for such functions a s receiving and storage; food
preparation and cooking; service; dining; ware washing; public and employees’ rest rooms; locker
rooms; offices; cloak rooms; phone booths; water heaters; refrigeration compressors; air
conditioning and ventilating apparatus; switchboards; and gas, electric, and water meters.

In this day of the automobile, consideration must be given to parking space. Adequate parking
facilities are a must in any restaurant that seeks to attract patronage. In addition to planning for
current needs, thought should be given to the possibility of future expansion. This poses a problem
because the space available is often limited. Then, too, the designers wish to make the operation as
compact as possible to avoid unnecessary steps. Some answers to the problem are found, however,
in the modern moveable partitions, the use of prebuilt portable walk-in, and the current trend
toward putting equipment on wheels.