Today, gastronomy is undergoing greater change than ever before. Increasingly, the focus of a visit to a restaurant is not only on a culinary experience of high quality, but also on an appealing atmosphere. Show kitchens allow gastronomic delights of a special kind. They give guests a deliberate insight into the preparation of food and thus provide exciting entertainment that begins long before the culinary pleasure. Find out here what is behind the trendy show kitchen and how it can be successfully implemented with a few tips.
Show kitchens gain popularity in gastronomy
Show kitchens or open kitchens in restaurants offer a clever combination of culinary pleasure and exceptional entertainment. Guests will have the opportunity to watch the chefs professionally prepare and serve the dishes live. This gives them insight into the creation process and also the chance to ask the chefs questions about the ingredients or preparation methods. This type of experiential gastronomy creates a unique connection with guests, encouraging them to come back time and time again.
What are the advantages of a show kitchen in the restaurant?
An open gastronomy kitchen shows guests the art of creative food preparation and offers them new insights into the work of professionals in the kitchen. Small show effects should not be missing, as they make watching even more exciting. So flying pizza doughs or giant flames are more than desirable and will create wow moments and excitement for your guests.
The show kitchen creates a fascinating shared experience in the restaurant for your guests as well as for your employees, which is similar to an event. Due to the openness, every guest is directly involved in the cooking process and can transparently follow all ingredients and processes in the kitchen. In this way, they can see with their own eyes how the restaurant works, the quality of the ingredients and the hygiene in the restaurant. This creates a unique relationship of trust and increases satisfaction.
Also, your employees will benefit from the open kitchen concept. It creates a new dynamic and closeness to the guests and allows direct feedback on the prepared dishes. This contributes to a sense of appreciation among the chefs and their motivation at work. Furthermore, an open kitchen area often appears much larger to employees, which contributes to a more pleasant work atmosphere.
Tips for putting the show kitchen into practice
In order for the front cooking trend to be successfully implemented in gastronomy, some aspects should be considered beforehand. We present the most important tips for starting the show kitchen in your own restaurant.
Planning the show kitchen
First of all, it is important to get the assistance of a professional architect for the design of the show kitchen. This person will be able to accurately assess whether the implementation of the open kitchen is possible in the available areas. You will then be assisted in creating a suitable show kitchen design that will meet all your requirements. It is especially important to ensure that there is enough surface area and sufficient space to place and arrange food. In this way, several dishes can be prepared at the same time and unnecessarily long waiting times can be avoided.
Appropriate staff for front cooking
Be aware that not every chef is a born entertainer and some prefer to work in the background. For this reason, creating a suitable team for the open kitchen is essential. Show cooking requires people who enjoy being the center of attention and are communicative, outgoing and sociable. They should also be motivated to create a unique and entertaining restaurant experience for your guests. Make sure your staff is trained extensively and regularly, and that their appearance is neat and consistent with the overall concept of your restaurant.
Special tableware for show kitchens
This also includes suitable equipment for the show restaurant. With high-quality tableware and appealing accessories, show cooking becomes a real highlight for your guests. The diverse portfolio of Playground offers the latest tableware trends for food presentation. These will perfectly accentuate your restaurant concept and will become a canvas for the culinary creations of your chefs. Similar to front cooking, the process can be somewhat experimental.
Dressing on dark surfaces in the style of Playground Black Magic allows for creations that will make the color compositions of the ingredients shine. Playground tableware inspired by nature and made of stoneware will give your meals a rustic look and an extra charm. Or should the attention be fully and drawn to the meal? The simple shapes of the Fine Dining collections by Schönwald made of porcelain are of classic timelessness and promise expressive food presentations.
