What Should I Consider When Shopping for a Food Prep Table?

The most crucial factor to consider is your menu and the types of food you're preparing. A refrigerated food prep table can significantly save time when you're making made-to-order dishes like sandwiches, salads, or pizza. The advantage of a refrigerated prep table or worktop refrigerator is that you can prepare ingredients in advance and have everything at your fingertips when assembling meals. Using a prep table can reduce labor costs and boost productivity by keeping all the ingredients in one place, along with backup supplies stored in the cold cabinet. This is an incredibly efficient way to operate. However, this solution works best for kitchens that regularly prepare a wide variety of menu items using a fixed set of ingredients that can be stored in the prep table.

What's the Difference Between a Pizza Table and a Sandwich Table?

Pizza tables are ideal for making pizzas since they have a deeper work surface to accommodate larger pies, typically around 20 inches deep. Additionally, a pizza table often features a raised rail above the prep area. The elevated, angled rail allows pizza chefs to easily access different ingredients without stretching or moving around too much, speeding up the assembly process and increasing output. On the other hand, sandwich or sandwich/salad prep tables usually have a shallower work surface, ranging from 10 to 12 inches deep. Extra depth isn't necessary for putting together sandwiches or salads.

How Do I Determine the Right Pan Capacity?

Reviewing your menu will help you decide on the best pan capacity for your operation. You also need to consider the available space in your kitchen. The smallest prep table width is 27 inches, which holds six sixth-size pans. Most refrigerated prep tables are designed to accommodate standard-sized food pans, with sixth-size being the most common. Your prep table will typically come with the pans when purchased. The dividers between the pans are usually adjustable, allowing you to switch to a different pan size if you use a particular ingredient more frequently than others.

What's the Difference Between Cold Wall and Forced-Air Cooling?

A cold wall system uses an evaporator where tubes are embedded directly into the interior walls of the unit, ensuring even cooling across the walls. This type of cooling system is well-suited for pizza tables because it excels at keeping denser, heavier ingredients like cheese, meat, and sauces at safe temperatures. It's also commonly found in raised rail systems. Forced-air systems, on the other hand, circulate cooled air over the tops of the food pans to maintain their temperature. You'll often see this system in salad and sandwich prep tables, where the ingredients—such as vegetables—are prone to drying out if left uncovered for too long.

What Do I Need to Know About Exhaust and Intake?

Like most commercial restaurant equipment, refrigerated prep tables require proper ventilation to ensure they remain cool during extended use. The placement of the intake and exhaust vents varies depending on the model, even within the same brand. It's essential to consider where you plan to place your prep table in the kitchen to determine where the intake and exhaust should be located. While it's common to have these vents at the back of the unit, if the table will be in a tight spot or positioned against a wall where airflow might be obstructed, it's best to have the intake and exhaust located at the front of the unit.

Cook’s offers refrigerated prep tables from several manufacturers, including FSE, True, and Norlake. We can help you choose the best refrigerated prep table for your foodservice operation.