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Executive Chef Mark Herndon and Bob walk through the nearly completed commercial kitchen at the Executive Mansion highlighting all the major design and equipment improvements. Starting with the new delivery entrance and the walk-in pantry for dry goods, the layout is conducive to dishing up 50 to 60 meals on any given evening.
The previous kitchen lacked a lot of the amenities that a commercial kitchen requires, most notably there were only two sinks to work with for all the dish washing, hand washing, vegetable prep, and so on that is part of the daily routine in a kitchen. Executive Chef Mark Herndon made a lot of design and equipment decisions and one of the first was to add more sinks. In fact, a total of seven sinks were added to the kitchen layout—each with its own purpose or function.
There is a single automatic, hands-free washing station for the kitchen staff. The automatic washing station will eliminate the potential for contamination. A three compartment scullery station was added where pots and pans will be washed. This includes a washing station, rinsing and the last compartment is used to sanitize or sterilize the pots and pans. A heavy duty garbage disposal was incorporated into the two compartment vegetable washing station making it convenient to reduce waste right on the spot. Built into the chef's table is a multi-purpose sink that is ideal for cleaning saute pans as its located right off the hot line.
The hot line is a dream come true for any chef. Made of heavy duty stainless steel and heated with gas (the previous kitchen was electric), it features some great improvements. A six burner gas range leads off the line and each burner puts out 30,000 BTUs. A stainless-steel griddle comes next, perfect for pancakes or searing meat. A gas grill is built right into the line, with 15,000 BTUs for every six inches of grilling space. Underneath is a convection oven which uses a fan to circulate the heat for more even roasting, and a conventional oven rounds out the hot line. The chef's table behind the line is convenient to plate up the food or for other chef's chores. Of course with all this, the proper exhaust and fire suppression systems have been updated as well.
Some other notable additions include a steam jacketed kettle. This kettle is on a stand and steam circulates between the walls. The tilting ability allows the chef to pour out up to twenty gallons of stock or even hot apple cider. There is also a combi-oven so called because it's a combination of a convection oven and steamer. It can be used as either a steamer or convection oven or the two functions can be used in combination to roast large cuts of meat or to even bake bread, with the moisture giving it a beautiful crust.
There is a plating or set up area where the food is put on individual plates and garnished, and then the waitstaff puts it on a cart to be transported upstairs in the dumbwaiter. The dirty dishes are sent back downstairs using the dumbwaiter and end up at the last station—the commercial dishwasher. This dishwasher has one commercial rack. Once the door to the dishwasher is closed it takes all of ninety seconds to run through its cycle...that's right, wash, rinse and sanitizes in ninety seconds! Truly any chef's dream come true!
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© 2001 BobVila.com
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