Benchtop Gas Griddles

Benchtop griddles are incredibly useful, compact and versatile, bringing numerous benefits to your commercial kitchen. One of the best things about gas appliances, especially when combined with a stainless steel surface that griddles offer, is that you’ll be cooking with incredibly even heat distribution. This gives you superb results when you want crispy bread, fluffy pancakes or perfectly melted cheese. Benchtop gas griddles, as with any gas cooktop, heat up exceptionally quickly, with reliable temperature control for consistent results each and every time. 

Equally, the size of benchtop cooking appliances also makes them space-efficient if you’re limited by the dimensions of your kitchen. With their wide variety of sizes, it’s easy to find one that’s suitable for the space you have available. They’re also remarkably easy to clean, helping to reduce the labour hours required when it comes to maintenance at the end of each shift. 

Benchtop gas griddles are essentially the same appliance as a regular gas grill, just made with more compact dimensions. They’re fuelled by either LPG or natural gas and give you a broad, flat stainless steel area to cook on. The benefit they offer is that they have a smaller footprint, meaning you can prioritise space for larger appliances like a deep fryer or combi steam oven, for example, depending on the kind of menu items you offer. 

If you have a high-turnover restaurant or require something that can help you deliver high-volume cooking, there are a few things to consider when you’re choosing a gas griddle. First, you’ll want to look at the maximum space you can dedicate to your griddle in your kitchen. Measure the space out to see what footprint you can fit, factoring in space for your gas supply. Both LPG and natural gas offer good heat responsivity, though natural gas can be more affordable in the long term. 

When it comes to additional functional features that improve both safety and efficiency, we recommend always choosing a model with flame failure and drip trays. Flame failure will ensure the gas is cut off if the flame is blown out accidentally, preventing gas leakages. Drip trays are purely functional but help to collect grease and oil. This helps eliminate ambient oil and can help reduce the chances of grease fires but also makes the cleaning process faster and more efficient when you need to prep a lot of food in a short period of time. 

While gas is generally less energy efficient than electric, it offers exceptional heat-up time, which is a massive asset for busy commercial kitchens. Both LPG and natural gas work efficiently, though it’s worth checking which you can easily get access to before ordering a benchtop gas griddle. 

If you prefer cooking with electric appliances, which are also typically lower-impact both in terms of cost for you and generally for the environment, we also stock electric griddles. 

One of the many benefits of benchtop gas griddles is the fact that they’re exceptionally easy to clean and maintain. Cleaning up in the kitchen at the end of a shift is always the most dreaded job, which is why griddles are such a great addition to your cooking setup - not only do they cook incredibly efficiently but they also require fewer labour hours when you’re done. When you order a gas griddle, you’ll get detailed care instructions from the manufacturer. We recommend checking them before starting to check the best practices. 

To start, wait until you’ve allowed your gas griddle to cool down. If it’s still a little warm but there’s still some food residue left baked onto the stainless steel, you can begin to scrape it off with a special steel tool like a grill brush or spatula to make the cleaning easier. For those stubborn spots that won’t come off with manual scraping, you can then add your usual food-safe cleaning products, or simply apply a paste of baking soda and water to break down the grease. Give it a gentle scrub, wipe it down and the griddle itself is clean. You’ll also want to remove the drip tray, empty it and give it a thorough clean. 

As with any gas appliance, checking that the gas source plumbing is up to scratch periodically is worthwhile. If you’re unsure of what to look for, or notice a drop in cooking efficiency, we recommend getting a gas specialist to come and have a look. 

Due to their compact size, rapid heating efficiency, ease of use and simple cleaning and maintenance, countertop gas griddles are exceptionally useful appliances. They’re straightforward even for less experienced staff, can be used for a variety of menu items and come with useful features that mean they can be used consistently throughout the day with little to no downtime.