Consider This When Buying a Hot Plate

Hot plates give your restaurant a productivity boost during a dinner rush where you need food going out fast. They are perfect for making sides, sauces, and soups while your other burners are busy and are easy to stow away and store when you don’t need them. Anything you can cook on a stove, you can cook on a hot plate, and they make valuable additions to any commercial kitchen.

Why Buy a Hot Plate for Your Restaurant?

Investing in a countertop hot plate has many benefits for a commercial kitchen – it gives you an extra cooking surface that takes up very little space and is a versatile tool you can use to cook almost anything. Hot plates do not generate as much heat as a full oven range – another welcome feature in a busy restaurant kitchen. They are easy to clean, use, and store, and their portability means you can move them to various stations in the kitchen as your needs change.

Hot Plates for Restaurants: What To Consider

1. Electric versus gas hot plates
   While gas hot plates need a gas line connection and typically require more clearance space around the burners for safety, they often heat up much faster than electric hot plates. Electric hot plates are best for tighter spaces and are usually more affordable than gas alternatives. An induction cooker uses electromagnetic energy to heat food and works twice as fast as electric or gas burners.
2. Hot plate size
   Most commercial hot plates include two to six burners to handle high cooking volumes. More burners take up more space on your countertop, and you should always measure the area, allowing for extra clearance on all sides, before buying a hot plate. Some hot plates come in tiered designs, which can increase the visibility of the food cooking on the back burners and make it easier and safer to reach.
3. Burner materials
   Electric hot plates can have ceramic, steel, or cast-iron burners in coil, French plate or induction designs. Gas hot plates have cast iron or steel burners arranged in coil or star designs. Stainless steel is more lightweight than cast iron, with a sheen finish that is easy to clean. However, cast iron is more durable and retains heat better than steel.
4. Additional features
   Look for non-slip feet and auto shut-off features for extra safety when choosing a hot plate for your kitchen. Manual controls are durable and allow you to operate each burner independently, while electric temperature settings enable precision cooking. Many hot plates also come with a drip or crumb tray to catch excess oil and food, making cleaning easier.

Adding a hot plate to your commercial kitchen can make your food preparation run faster and more smoothly, giving you extra cooking capacity without the space constraints of installing a new range. The FED is a trusted supplier of high-quality commercial kitchen equipment in Calgary, such as electric and gas hot plates from leading brands, including Omcan and Atosa – contact us for more information.

Purchase All Your Commercial Kitchen Equipment From The FED (Foodservice Equipment Depot)