I Need How Many Sinks? RestEquipper’s guide to Americanizing Your Concept
“Give me,” he demanded in his thick accent “twelve clean sheets of paper.” Now I knew that this was going to be a long job meeting. He intended to show us foolish Americans the proper way to build his new restaurant. After all, this is the way they do it over there. “Why do we need so many sinks?” “Why must we put a hood over every open flame?” “Why can’t I get the same equipment here that I use in Europe?”
We Americans like everything bigger, stronger, faster, louder, colder, hotter, safer, and blander. If you’re thinking of doing an ethnic food concept here in the States, you should think about the equipment ramifications. Aside from the obvious code issues (and there are many), operators typically fail to take into account the practical issues such as training staff and keeping the “engines hummin’”.
Successfully translating a concept for the American palate can be tricky. We rarely venture too far afield in our culinary adventures as consumers, so a blend of the exotic and familiar is often the only path to success. Gelato is good as long as vanilla chocolate and strawberry is offered. Greek is great, if there are burgers on the menu. Take-out-Asian will do fine – make mine an order of hot wings.
Many of the specialty pieces of equipment that are required for a particular menu item can readily be procured from our domestic producers. Some hardware is just too specialized and may need to be imported or custom manufactured This is especially the case with food preparation, rather than primary cooking, as cooking equipment around the globe really hasn’t evolved much in the four millennia of recorded history. Bringing in equipment from overseas can be tricky when considering power requirements and agency approvals (NSF, UL, AGA, etc.). Foreign made items must also be supported by service and parts availability.
Operators are often put-off by our ventilation requirements, especially when it comes to solid fuels. Sinks and warewashing is always an issue. I am certain that the single bowl handwash/scullery/mop/prep that I witnessed in the Caribbean is the norm around the world, and so, when told that they’ll need at least 7 separate sink bowls, we get that “look”.
Tapas, hummus, curry sausage, tandoor, helado, iskender, doner kabop, gyro, shawarma, we’ve seen them all in the past year. Each has its own challenges. Living in the New York metro area and sampling the latest culinary trends from around the world has been culturally gratifying. Working here to help operators bring these to the table has always been professionally rewarding.
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