Temporary restaurants are all the rage these days. But what (and how much money) does it take to operate one? In Part 2, guest contributor Robert Green, MD of Australia’s leading food design company, Food Strategy, continues his exploration of pop-up restaurants by discussing the aspect of food safety and equipment.

The first step in planning a pop-up is the location. 75% of restaurant decisions are made based upon location, and for pop-ups, the location is everything. The right spot can bring you customers and eliminate thousands of dollars in costs.  Get it wrong, it could cost you a lot more than just money.

Do they have infrastructure, liquor licenses, a kitchen? What is the cost? Among others, external (environmental) conditions have to be considered. A outdoors pop-up restaurant may work in winter in Melbourne but not in the heat of a Queensland summer.  With vermin and flies on the move thought on their control and food temperature in a foodservice environment must be considered.  Compliance with health codes and occupational safety is at the fore of any foodservice set up.

Internationally, it seems that pop-up restaurants are turning indoors temporarily.  By taking advantage of underused kitchens, pop-ups allow young chefs, many with experience in San Francisco’s most highly regarded restaurants, to experiment without the risk of bankruptcy. And unlike underground supper clubs, they’re completely legal. Even by New York City’s fast and furious standards, time is accelerated with a new pop-up restaurant, The Hunger will open in the unused, finished basement of a SoHo restaurant next Thursday and close Sunday. It’s a concept organizers hope to repeat every couple of months with different locations and menus.

Food Handling

For Brian Anderson, a food safety and compliance professional, it’s all that and more – it’s all about food safety. All food businesses are required to ensure that the premises, fixtures, fittings and equipment are designed and constructed to be easily cleaned and sanitised, and that all personnel undertaking food handling activities within the facility, have demonstrated knowledge and skills in food safety and food hygiene.

This may be achieved by having an active and accredited Food Safety Program in place, which sets out and identifies potential food safety hazards, presents recognised monitoring practices and controls to minimise any such identified potential risk, and offers corrective actions to prevent similar risks in the future.  It is recommended that for all food businesses, food preparation and production be overseen by a qualified Food Safety Supervisor.  In NSW it became legally necessary to have a Food Safety Supervisor on premises effective 1 October 2011.  So what about the chef and the staff?  This is where it gets tricky.  You will need people to work front and back of house in your pop-up restaurant.

A food business must also be able to demonstrate that it takes all practicable measures to ensure that the products being produced are protected from all potential contamination through the complete food production process, from receival of ingredients to sale or service of finished product. This includes the storage, preparation, cooking, processing, packaging, display and service of meals and all refrigerated foodstuffs.

Equipment and Safety

When considering equipment for the pop-up kitchen, safety cannot be overlooked and must be a priority owing to the nature of portability and temporary fixture.  The considerations and option for equipment choice and safety are almost endless, and confusing due to the enormity of selection.  As an experienced chef, Doug Scully (National Accounts Sales Manager for Moffat) agrees that equipment choice and power demands are a big factor with gas being the preferred due to its portability.

Stainless steel is  the number one option when considering pans rather than mild steel advises Scully.  Why?  Stainless fryers are better suited as they are less prone to expansion and contraction of the pan and will last longer and hold up better to being moved around.

Electrical equipment can be considered but look for pieces that can be moved easily and do not require large generators to run. There are mini combi ovens available these days that have their own water draw and waste draw built in so they do not need to be hard plumbed and can run on single phase power. Small electric convection ovens are also a good option.

Don’t forget your dishwasher either. This is an essential part of the pop-up kitchen.  Look for units that are electro-mechanical rather than digital and have low water consumption, advises Scully.

Fitting out the Kitchen

Curtis Eastwell loves the concept of a pop up restaurant, but has concerns about logistics and business profitability.  While it’s a great way for chefs to showcase it may be difficult to be financially viable ssays Eastwell, chef at JL Lennard Food Equipment.

Dining tables, chairs and a bar could be set up relatively easily, just about anywhere.  But the biggest challenge in setting up a pop-up restaurant would definitely have to be the kitchen.   The Zanussi accessory of an integrated exhaust canopy which sits directly on top of the 6 and 10 tray combi ovens by JL Lennard is a good consideration.  This hood collects the fumes from the exhaust valve on the top of the oven as well as heat and steam which escapes when the front door is opened.  The hood is equipped with a fan which can expel the exhaust through ducting to the outside.

A temporary grease trap can be set up through a cleverly designed fat separator stand for a combi oven. The liquid waste from the combi drops into a collection pan full of water, which is integrated into the combi stand. The fat and grease rises to the top of the water, which then gets trapped in a separate chamber allowing clean water to run out the back into a drain or bucket. All grease is then emptied out of the fat separator at the end of the day and thrown in the bin (not down the sink).

Controlling the heat in a pop-up restaurant is a major factor to consider. Zanussi induction cook tops are a very efficient cooking method which do not expel much heat into the cooking environment, unlike gas cooking appliances.  The heat is generated only on contact with the base of the pan or pot.  The 2-plate induction top with a total 7kW power which should be acceptable without an exhaust canopy.

Another great cooking option, which is most underutilized in kitchens, is XLT conveyer ovens.  While traditionally used in the pizza industry, conveyor cooking can be utilised for so much more, as it is just a fan forced convection oven with a conveyer running through it. Steaks, seafood, breads, grilled oysters, desserts  etc.  Due to the way in which these ovens heat and re -circulate the hot air they do not expel excessive heat from the chamber.  These are generally run on gas, so could happily be hooked up to a nearby LPG bottle

The Henny Penny humidified holding cabinets are a very efficient method of holding hot food while maintaining optimal food quality. In a scenario where chefs have limited cooking equipment and have to juggle many items through minimal cooking appliances, a heated holding cabinet would be a necessity.

For the prepping side of this style of restaurant, a HFE vacuum packing machine would give significantly longer shelf life, cut down on prep time and provide a hygienic sealed method of storing foods either fresh, cooked or frozen.

After desserts are eaten up and it’s time for an espresso.  Consider a coffee cart which has a built in water pump and drain collection integrated below. The Brasilia espresso machine from JL Lennard  requires power supply to extract a perfect espresso every time.  Would also quite happily run on a suitable generator to become a self contained, lean, mean , bean machine!

Conclusion

It’s all very do-able, and there is only ONE rule – it must comply with the health codes. Everything else comes second.  Now what’s your purpose?  Where’s your venue? Let’s talk popping-up.

Author:

Robert Green, Managing Director, Food Strategy Design

Food Strategy  is an internationally accredited commercial kitchen and foodservice design service.  Delivering cost efficient, effective, professional design solutions that are HACCP compliant, sustainable and ready for construction. Foodservice design solutions to get your kitchen operating on time, on budget and at peak performance in any space.  Working with you or your architect, to get you working.  To learn more, visit:  www.foodstrategy.com.au