Restaurants & QSR
Refrigeration for restaurant kitchens (fine and casual dining)
A dining restaurant in India usually runs a long à la carte menu: tandoor, curries, Indo-Chinese, a continental section and desserts, sometimes all from one line. That means dozens of small batches of mise en place — marinated tikka, makhani and onion-tomato bases, boiled dals, paneer, cream, chopped garnish — each needed at a different station at a different moment. The refrigeration has two jobs. Behind the line it has to hold bulk raw and prepped stock safely overnight. On the line it has to put service quantities within arm's reach of each cook and recover quickly while doors and drawers open all through lunch and dinner, often next to a tandoor in a kitchen that touches 43 °C in May. Getting the split between those two jobs right matters more than the size of any single cabinet.
What the equipment has to cope with
- Line cabinets sit beside tandoors, ranges and fryers, where the air reaching the condenser can pass 43 °C in summer. A unit designed for a cooler room drifts above +5 °C by the second service.
- A long menu means many small containers of gravies, marinades, garnish and dairy. If they all live in one back fridge, cooks walk for every order and leave doors open.
- Raw chicken, mutton and fish have to be kept away from ready-to-eat items such as raita, salads and desserts, which is hard when one cabinet serves the whole kitchen.
- Mise en place is made in the morning and loaded while still warm, then the same cabinets are opened constantly from 12:30 to 3 and again from 7:30 onwards.
- Evening voltage dips and power cuts arrive exactly when the kitchen is busiest, forcing compressors through hard restarts with full cabinets.
Typical temperatures
| Raw chicken, mutton and fish | +1 to +4 °C |
|---|---|
| Marinated tikka and kebab mince | +1 to +4 °C |
| Cooled gravies, bases and cooked dal | +2 to +5 °C |
| Paneer, cream, curd and butter | +2 to +5 °C |
| Cut vegetables, herbs and salad | +3 to +5 °C |
| Desserts: phirni, rasmalai, cheesecake | +2 to +5 °C |
| Frozen prawns, peas and ice cream | −18 °C or colder |
Equipment
What to buy, and why.
Most well-run dining kitchens split refrigeration into three layers. In the prep area or store, a two- or three-section reach-in holds bulk raw meat, prepped bases, dairy and vegetables; kitchens serving both veg and non-veg often give raw non-veg its own section or its own cabinet. On the line, an undercounter or worktop unit sits at each main station — marinated meats and kebab mince under the tandoor counter, gravies, cream and paneer under the curry range, salad, raita and dessert components at the cold station — so cooks refill once or twice a service from the reach-in instead of walking every order. A hard-top chest freezer in the dry store carries frozen seafood, frozen vegetables and ice cream. Larger restaurants add a walk-in cold room for bulk produce, but the station-level split stays the same.
- +2 to +8 °CReach-in RefrigeratorBulk chilled storage in the prep area: raw meat, marinated batches, base gravies, dairy and vegetables before they are portioned out to the line.Set-up guide
- +2 to +8 °CUndercounter RefrigeratorStation-level cold storage under the tandoor, curry and cold stations, so each cook works from arm's reach during service and refills from the reach-in.Set-up guide
- −18 to −60 °CDeep FreezerFrozen backup in the dry store for prawns and fish, frozen meat, peas and corn, parathas and the ice cream used in desserts.Set-up guide
Questions
- How many refrigerators does a dining restaurant kitchen need?
- Count stations, not covers. A common starting point is one undercounter or worktop unit for each hot station that uses chilled ingredients during service (tandoor, curry, Chinese, cold and dessert), one upright reach-in for bulk prep storage, and one chest freezer. If the menu has both veg and non-veg, plan raw non-veg storage separately from day one rather than adding a cabinet later.
- Should veg and non-veg be stored in separate fridges?
- Separate cabinets are the cleanest arrangement and many Indian kitchens prefer them, especially when the restaurant advertises pure-veg handling for some dishes. If you share a cabinet, keep raw non-veg on the lowest shelves in covered containers, cooked and ready-to-eat food above, and never let drip trays or spills reach other food.
- Can a domestic refrigerator be used in a restaurant kitchen?
- It will cool, but it is not built for the job. A household fridge expects a few door openings an hour, not forty, and its recovery is slow in a 40 °C kitchen. Painted interiors, plastic liners and shelves that do not take food pans are also harder to keep clean to the standard a food-safety inspector expects. Commercial cabinets are designed for constant opening, stainless cleaning and a hot room.
Before you buy
All guides- Commercial Refrigerator Buying Guide (India)9 min read
- Reach-in vs Undercounter Refrigerator: Which to Choose6 min read
- Commercial Refrigerator Maintenance Checklist6 min read
- Types of Commercial Refrigerators Explained6 min read
- Reach-in Refrigerator Guide for Hot Indian Kitchens6 min read
- Reach-in Freezer Guide for Commercial Kitchens5 min read
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