Smallwares checklist for opening a restaurant kitchen

What smallwares do you need to open a restaurant kitchen? Everything your menu touches between the walk-in and the guest: prep tools, line tools, plating tools, storage, and cleaning gear. The fastest way to build the list is to walk your menu, station by station, and write down every item each dish touches on its way out. The checklist below covers the categories almost every kitchen needs. Cut what your menu never uses. Add depth where your menu leans hard.

Prep station

• Cutting boards, color-coded by food type to reduce cross-contamination
• Chef's knives, paring knives, serrated knives, boning or fillet knives as the menu requires
• Knife guards, a sharpening steel, and a stone or sharpening system
• Mixing bowls in a full range of sizes
• Measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a portion scale
• Whisks, spatulas, bench scrapers, and rubber or silicone scrapers
• Peelers, graters, zesters, and a mandoline with a guard
• Colanders, strainers, china caps, and a fine-mesh sieve
• Sheet pans, half sheets, and pan racks
• Food mill, ricer, or blender attachments if the menu calls for them

Line station

• Saute pans, sauce pans, stock pots, and braziers sized to your burners
• Tongs in multiple lengths, and plenty of them
• Fish spatulas, offset spatulas, and solid and perforated spoons
• Ladles in the portion sizes your recipes actually use
• Steam table pans, hotel pans, and lids in full, half, third, and sixth sizes
• Thermometers for cooking, holding, and calibration
• Timer for every station that fires on time
• Squeeze bottles, dredges, and shakers for finishing
• Pan grabbers, side towels, and dry storage for both
• Fry baskets, skimmers, and spiders if you fry

Plating and pass

• Portion scoops in marked sizes so plating stays consistent shift to shift
• Sauce spoons, plating spoons, and offset plating tools
• Ring molds and timbales if presentation calls for them
• Plate covers and heat-lamp area supplies for the pass
• Check rails or a ticket system holder
• Wipe-down bottles and clean towels dedicated to plate edges

Storage and receiving

• Food storage boxes with snap lids, clear so staff can see contents
• Round and square storage containers in graduated sizes
• Labels, label dispensers, and markers for date rotation
• Dunnage racks and shelving accessories to keep product off the floor
• Scoops dedicated to bulk dry goods
• Sheet pan racks and covers for staging
• First-in, first-out organization aids for the walk-in

Cleaning and warewashing

• Bus tubs and dish racks matched to your machine
• Three-compartment sink supplies: brushes, scrapers, test strips
• Sanitizer buckets and color-coded towels
• Floor squeegees, brooms, and wet floor signs
• Drain brushes and grease management tools
• Glove and apron storage at each station

Quick reference by station

Buy depth where the menu demands it

One of everything is not a kitchen. If your menu is saute-heavy, you need pans in depth, not variety. If you plate composed dishes, buy plating tools in multiples so a lost spoon does not slow the pass. Order spares of anything that walks: tongs, scoops, and thermometers disappear first in almost every kitchen.

See it all in one place

Zink Foodservice, employee-owned and founded in 1977, represents one of the industry's most complete offerings across equipment, tabletop and smallwares, and furniture and design. Our eight culinary centers and six showrooms across eight Great Lakes states let you handle and test smallwares at no cost before your dealer places the order. Opening a kitchen? Call 800.492.7400 and we will help you build the list.

Explore the smallwares lines we represent at the product portfolio.