Commercial Benchtop Appliances

In a small kitchen, usually a benchtop deep fryer or a griddle. Both cook fast and both open up a lot of menu for very little bench: chips, wings, burgers and a breakfast service all come off those two.

After that, an induction cooktop is the one worth looking at. It gives you close temperature control for anything from sautéing to a long simmer, and it puts less heat into the room than a flame does.

It comes down to your menu and how you cook. Gas heats up faster and is what you want for a wok burner. Electric gives closer temperature control and more even heat across the plate, which suits a menu where every serve has to come out the same.

Both work. If you are not sure which fits the menu you run and the site you are in, the team at REO are happy to help — contact us for a recommendation.

Single phase is the most common supply in smaller venues and runs most benchtop electric units. Larger and higher-output appliances often need three phase. Check the requirement on the product page before you buy, because an undersized supply trips circuits or overloads them.

Gas units need a secure connection fitted by a gas fitter. We can arrange installation and put you in touch with an appliance installer near you.

Start from the most you have to get out in a peak hour and work back from there. Two smaller fryers are often more useful than one big one — one for crumbed chicken, one for chips — because you are not moving flavours between products. One larger unit makes more sense if you are cooking in bulk to fill a hot food display.

Capacities are on each product page. If you would rather talk it through, contact us and we will give you a recommendation for your menu.

A digital thermostat, so you can see the temperature before you load the next batch rather than guessing. Loading a fryer before the oil is back up to temperature is what makes food soggy and oily.

On a griddle, plate thickness is the one to check. A thicker plate holds its heat and spreads it more evenly, which gives you a faster turnaround between batches and a more consistent result on the plate.

With a fryer, it is the oil: skim the debris out, filter it between shifts where you can, and do a proper boil-out when you change the oil. Food tastes better for it and the fryer lasts longer.

Look for appliances with parts that go in the dishwasher, so anything that needs cleaning mid-shift can be sanitised and back in use quickly. Everything we sell comes with the manufacturer's cleaning and maintenance guidelines, and it is worth booking a service if you notice the output or the quality changing.

When the floor space is not there, and when you only need the appliance some of the time. Something used for one menu item a week is better off being stored between uses than taking up a permanent station.

Even in a big kitchen, benchtop units are useful as a second station for a peak period or a menu line that does not justify its own freestanding appliance.

Anything with gas or a heavy electrical load wants a professional installation. Leave the clearance the manufacturer asks for around each appliance, and put it somewhere that makes sense in the flow of the kitchen, so nobody is reaching across a hot plate or carrying oil past a doorway when the line is flat out.

You will also need ventilation over cooking appliances, both for the staff and for compliance, so plan an exhaust canopy above them. The rules vary with the appliance and the area, so check with your local requirements or ask our team.