Pizza Restaurant Equipment List – What You Need
Brits love pizza – it’s undeniable! On average, one Brit will manage to chomp their way through 731 pizzas in their lifetime and their pizza topping of choice is often pepperoni. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a continued increase in the number of pizza outlets, restaurants, pop-up food trucks and everything else pizza-related appearing in the last decade. In fact, it was one of the few areas of the economy that proved itself almost recession-proof and the industry in the UK is now worth £1.85bn.
With all this in mind, it’s no wonder that budding entrepreneurs want a slice of the action. Thanks to its low-cost entry, wide range of equipment and the attractive mark-ups on products, pizza authenticity can be achieved on a modest budget. It’s a niche area for enterprising people to enter and get a taste for running their own business.
So, if you’re one of those entrepreneurs looking to sell your first pizza, here’s the list of equipment needed for a pizza restaurant, takeaway or delivery outlet.
Pizza Oven
The pizza oven is the absolute essential ingredient to start any pizza restaurant equipment list, although there are different types of pizza oven to allow you to start your authenticity from the base up. Small or large, brick or conveyor, there’s a pizza oven out there that’s just perfect for your new venture. Remember, too, that it needs to be able to meet your capacity needs.
Pizza Prep Station
Pizzas have to be prepped somewhere, and a professional pizza preparation counter ensures you can maintain the right hygiene procedures and prepare pizzas in a professional and speedy manner. If you’re serious about making your business work, investing in professional-grade items is the only way to make that statement.
Dough Mixer
Mixing dough is the cornerstone of any pizza restaurant, but you’ll soon get fed up of it if you’re only making small batches. More to the point, making small batches wastes your time and risks your customers walking back out of the door. So, your pizza equipment list should include a dough mixer of around 25kg for optimal results.
Dough Trays
Once you’ve mixed that dough, it needs somewhere to cool, rest and rise before it’s baked. Professional pizza dough trays are the best way to accomplish this, not least because they’re stackable and space-saving. If your restaurant is small or you’re taking your pizza outlet on the move in a van, you’ll need all the space-saving ingenuity you can get.
Pizza Screens
Another vital component of any pizza restaurant equipment checklist is the humble pizza screen. While it might not look important to the untrained eye, the pizza screen helps to ensure all elements of your pizzas cook at the same time and avoid those horrible burnt crusts that might plague your competitors.
Pizza Racks
Once your pizzas are prepped, they need somewhere to rest until they can be cooked. Whatever the capacity of your pizza ovens, it’s unlikely every pizza you prep will be able to go straight in. So, pizza racks are an important element on the list of equipment needed for a pizza restaurant because they suppose you’re going to get busier and you’ll need somewhere to let the pizzas pile up.
Pizza Peels
Unless you plan on putting your hands inside a very hot brick oven (and we recommend against that obviously), you’ll need pizza peels to help you retrieve your cooked pizzas from the pizza oven. Don’t be tempted to scrimp on this point either – there’s nothing more unappetising about a pizza than when it arrives on the table with its topping caved in where the base has cracked during extraction.
Pizza Serving Boards
After that pizza has been peeled from the oven, what happens next? If you’re concocting a pizza restaurant equipment checklist, you’ll be aware you’ll need something to serve the pizza with. Sure, you could take it out there on a plate, but aesthetics are everything and pizza serving boards help you to make a statement about the quality of your food.
Pizza Plates
If you do opt for serving your pizzas on plates, remember to use specialist pizza plates that make the pizza easy to access rather than trapping it on a standard piece of crockery. No one wants to eat pizza from a plate they can’t easily access without using a knife and fork. Another tip – you don’t have to make your pizza plates stunningly different. White is popular because it helps to show off the quality of the food, and that’s exactly the reaction you want from your customers.
Pizza Wheel Cutters
The pizzas are on the restaurant table, so is that your job done? Not quite. We’ve all tried cutting pizzas with a table knife and lost half the topping or at least made the whole thing look inedible whilst hacking at it. Pizza wheel cutters are often the final topping for the pizza restaurant experience, so don’t miss them when you’re compiling your pizza restaurant equipment checklist.
Pizza Boxes
If you’re offering pizzas to take away, you’ll need pizza boxes. Not only that, the pizza boxes would be better if they were either recyclable or biodegradable. As more and more customers become aware of their food and packaging waste, you’ll lag behind the competition if you don’t offer pizza box options that are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Pizza Delivery Bags
For pizza outlets offering home delivery, don’t underestimate the heat retention powers of pizza delivery bags. Whether you’re delivering by bicycle, motorbike or car, these bags will keep your pizzas warm all the way to your customer’s address and save you the difficulty of a negative review about how cold the food was when it arrived.
Chef Aprons
Finally, what does a professional pizza chef need to finish off their outfit? One quality chef’s apron – or perhaps two or three, depending on how busy you’re going to be. Protect your clothes from those pizza ingredients but also look the part for the customers and guests.
Pizza Equipment from Cooksmill
Cooksmill are the #1 catering store supplying everything you need to open a pizza restaurant. Bring your pizza equipment list to our shop in Manchester (open 6 days a week to trade and public) or visit our online superstore to get exactly what you need for your new pizza outlet. Shop now for FREE delivery on orders over £50 (ex-VAT) and make your dream a reality.