Buyers Guide to Commercial Ovens

 

Your commercial kitchen is the center of your business. It’s where you put your heart and soul into every dish to ensure your customers get the very best. Commercial kitchens are busy and crowded, with chefs, servers, and staff all demanding the most out of the equipment inside them.

When you outfit a commercial kitchen, start with the hub of all this activity — your oven. Many different commercial ovens exist with different operating capabilities, so finding the best oven for your space can be difficult. We’ll explain how to choose the best commercial oven for your kitchen so you can shop confidently.

What Is A Commercial Oven? 

A commercial oven accommodates the demands of restaurants, bakeries, and similar establishments — demands that residential ovens cannot meet. Restaurant ovens withstand continuous daily use, heating up much faster than residential ovens and producing higher temperatures. A commercial oven is often larger than its residential counterpart and, depending on restaurant needs, may provide highly specialized functions. 

Types of Commercial Ovens

Restaurant ovens come with various functions and capabilities, from standard gas ranges and convection ovens to rotisseries and salamanders. Below is an overview of the most common types of commercial ovens and their uses. 

Standard Commercial Ovens

Standard commercial ovens include electric and gas ranges, which use radiant heat from the bottom of the cooking chamber to heat up the oven. Standard commercial ovens are restaurant generalists capable of baking, braising, and other cooking techniques. 

Even if your restaurant requires more specialized ovens, you’ll probably need at least one standard oven. Standard ovens are less expensive than specialized commercial ovens, but radiant heat has some limitations. Radiant heat can be inconsistent, resulting in slower and sometimes uneven cooking. 

Convection Ovens

Commercial convection ovens look like standard ovens on the outside but produce heat differently. Convection ovens use fans inside the unit to circulate hot air around the food. The circulation of heated air speeds up cooking times and creates a more even cooking experience. Portable ovens, also called countertop convection ovens, offer similar cooking power performance while saving you kitchen space. Restaurants producing roasted or baked products benefit from commercial convection ovens, as convection heating reduces the likelihood of hot or cold spots in the oven cavity and ensures consistent cooking temperatures and evenly cooked food.

Conveyor Ovens

Conveyor ovens utilize a conveyor belt that feeds food through a cooking chamber. Once cooked, the food passes out of the cooking space heated and ready to be served. Pizza parlors favor conveyor ovens, as do bakeries and establishments that need to heat food quickly or produce a continuous output of cooked products. 

Cook-and-Hold Cabinets

Cook-and-hold cabinets work exactly as the name suggests: they cook food and keep it warm until serving time. Cook-and-hold ovens generate low, gentle heat, significantly reducing food shrinkage and creating juicy, ready-to-serve food. This type of oven is great for bakeries that need to proof and cook large batches of bread or steakhouses that roast and braise meats. While a versatile commercial oven, cook-and-hold cabinets are not well-suited for high-volume, cook-to-order restaurants. 

Rotisserie ovens

Rotisserie ovens are best known for their ability to cook multiple chickens quickly on rotating spits, but they can also cook other meats. As the spits turn, the meat self-bastes in its drippings, sealing in juices while producing a crisp outer skin. 

Available in both countertop or floor models, rotisseries can cook anywhere from six to over forty chickens at once. Rotisserie hanging baskets allow the ovens to cook vegetables, fish, and pastries. 

Salamander Ovens

Salamander broilers are compact but powerful restaurant ovens that function the same as a broiler but on a larger scale. Salamander ovens add a crisp top to completed meats, toast bread for sandwiches, melt cheese, and toast creme brulee. Completed food can sit in salamanders to remain hot.

Cheese Melters

Cheese melters are commercial countertop ovens that quickly melt cheese on bread and pasta dishes with high, radiant heat. Unlike a traditional countertop oven, a cheese melter only finishes off foods and does not cook foods completely. Cheese melters are great for restaurants that specialize in sandwiches, burgers, and pasta dishes. 

Considerations When Shopping for a Restaurant Oven

• Cooking needs: What kind of product does your kitchen produce, in what quantities, and how often? The right commercial oven for a busy pizza parlor will be very different from that of an all-day bakery. 
• Cooking speed: How quickly do you need to prepare food? Some commercial ovens, such as cook-and-hold cabinets, have longer cooking times than others. On the other hand, Rotisseries can cook full spits of chicken in an hour. 
• Ease of use: Consider your kitchen staff’s capabilities. Do they have the training to work safely and efficiently with complicated commercial ovens, or should you consider simpler models?
• Size: Commercial kitchens have limited space. Measure your available dimensions carefully before purchasing a new oven. Remember, the outer dimensions of the oven don't necessarily reflect the oven’s capacity. Many brands offer large capacity in relatively compact ovens. 
• Utilities: Whether the best commercial oven for your needs uses electricity or gas depends on the dishes you cook and your kitchen’s existing utilities. A gas oven might be ideal, but not possible if you have to redo your infrastructure.
• Ventilation: Most restaurant ovens require some form of ventilation. Do you have ventilation vents already in place, or will they need to be installed to accommodate your new oven?

How to Choose a Commercial Oven By Restaurant Type

No two restaurants are the same. Your daily operations are unique and require a customized kitchen setup. To find the right style of commercial oven for your kitchen, consider the needs of the following restaurant types:

Quick-Service Restaurants

Quick-service restaurants provide customers with pre-made food made at the last minute. The daily output of food from a quick-service restaurant can double the amount produced by a traditional sit-down restaurant. Depending on your menu, these types of commercial ovens can provide quick output and quality taste:

• Standard Oven
• Convection Oven
• Conveyor Oven

Specialty Restaurants

For restaurants that specialize in specific types of food, switching from a standard oven to a unit specifically tailored to your needs helps build a quick and efficient kitchen. For example, a typical oven might not make the most sense in restaurants specializing in hamburgers and sandwiches. Toasting and reheating might be the only two oven functions such restaurants need, in which case the following ovens are the best choice:

• Salamander
• Cheesemelter

Bakeries

Bakeries need ovens with precision control, power, and high output. Because nearly all bread, cakes, and pastries are baked in an oven, bakeries need to focus on their oven choice to make their space efficient and productive. Some of the best ovens for commercial bakeries include:

• Standard Ovens
• Convection Ovens
• Cook & Hold Ovens
• Conveyor Ovens (for reheating)

Buffet or Large Scale Commercial Kitchens

Because of the variety of food a buffet or large-scale kitchen provides, different cooking vessels and ovens are often needed. While standard ovens have their place in a large kitchen, you might consider adding more specialized models. For high output, reheating, and holding, these restaurant ovens are ideal:

• Convection Ovens
• Cook & Hold Ovens
• Rotisserie
• Standard Ovens

Finding the Right Oven For Your Restaurant

Restaurants often need more than one oven. Specialty ovens spread across the commercial kitchen create a powerful cooking space that can cook many items at once. Finding the right combination of ovens on your own can be tricky. Our team of oven specialists will help you find the best commercial ovens for your needs and create a dynamic kitchen to increase your efficiency. Our staff knows the ins and outs of every oven on the market and will make accurate and personalized recommendations for your space and needs. Reach out to us today to build a high-functioning kitchen with quality commercial ovens.