How to set up a commercial kitchen in the UK

The UK’s hospitality industry may be a tough nut to crack, but as customers continue to seek out unique and authentic culinary experiences over more generic offerings, demand for independent food businesses is flourishing. 

While there are a multitude of challenges associated with starting up a business, for food entrepreneurs, the recipe for success starts with setting up a commercial kitchen. By offering essential infrastructure and industry-grade equipment, professional kitchens help innovators develop their seed of an idea into blossoming, high-profit ventures. 

For those considering setting up a commercial kitchen, this guide boils down everything you need to know about the process into simple essentials, outlining necessary equipment, relevant laws and regulations, important design considerations, and more.

What does a commercial kitchen look like in 2025?

Commercial kitchens are highly specialised, regulated spaces designed for prepping, cooking and serving food for public consumption. Unlike typical home kitchens, these premises tend to feature commercial-grade equipment like industrial ovens and comprehensive ventilation systems, and are required to adhere to strict health and safety codes.

Commercial kitchens can take on many forms and are relied upon by a diverse spectrum of food businesses, from pop-up vendors and food trucks to full-service restaurants. What’s more, due to shifts in the food sector industry, the traditional image of a commercial kitchen is evolving rapidly. 

For example, alternative models like shared-use kitchens, kitchen rentals, and dark kitchens are growing in popularity, as food vendors seek lower up-front investment, and cash in on growing consumer demands for take-out and delivery.

What equipment do you need in a commercial kitchen?

Commercial kitchen equipment isn’t a one-size-fits-all; the right tools for your kitchen will depend heavily on your specific menu items, as well as your wider business model. Yet, every commercial kitchen will need to stock a foundation of functional, safe, and compliant equipment. 

Here are some kitchen equipment essentials to be aware of:

Cooking equipment

Cooking equipment will be a foundational ingredient for your kitchen, and your chosen appliances will depend on your business’s offerings and resources.

• Ovens (convection, deck) 
• Hobs (gas, ceramic, induction)
• Grills (griddles, charcoal, electric, gas)
• Fryers (air fryers, deep fat fryers, pressure fryers)
• Salamander broilers

Cost range: Anywhere from £500 to over £20,000+ per unit.

Food prep appliances

Choosing the right equipment helps to streamline the process of preparing food, saving valuable labour and time as a result.

• Food processors (batch bowl, continual feed, combination)
• Slicers (manual, electric)
• Mixers (planetary spiral, vertical cutter)
• Commercial microwaves

Cost range: Anywhere from £200 to over £5,000+ per unit. 

Refrigeration and storage

In order to prevent spoilage and waste, storage and temperature control will be a top concern for any food business. 

• Walk-in fridges and freezers
• Under-counter chillers
• Dry storage shelving 

Cost range: Smaller refrigeration and storage units cost between £300 to £5,000, while the price of larger walk-in coolers can easily exceed £10,000.

Washing and sanitation

To keep staff and customers safe and remain legally compliant, adequate hygiene is a non-negotiable for any commercial kitchen. 

• Commercial dishwashers
• Commercial glasswashers
• Hand wash stations (handwashing only)
• Triple sink setups (wash, rinse, sanitise) 

Cost range: Washing and sanitation units cost upwards of £300, with dish and glass washers costing anywhere from £1,000.

Ventilation and fire safety

Not only do these essential systems help to protect your property and personnel from fire risks, but they are also mandatory for compliance. 

• Extraction hoods (canopy or wall-mounted hoods)
• Fire suppression systems (wet chemical systems)
• Extractor fans

Cost range: Fire suppression systems cost anywhere from £200 to over £2,000, while the price of extractor fan installations can easily exceed £20,000.

What commercial kitchen regulations do I need to follow?

Commercial kitchens are among the most heavily regulated environments, and for good reason. Failing to follow key frameworks like HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) and the Food Safety Act could risk serious harm to public health and also result in severe penalties for non-compliance. 

What are food safety laws in the UK?

All UK food businesses need to adhere to the 1990 Food Safety Act and a range of other regulations. Here are some basic protocols for keeping up with food safety rules:

• Following the 4 C’s (cleaning, cooking, chilling food safety, and preventing cross-contamination)
• Ensuring all staff members maintain good personal hygiene
• Making sure all food is temperature-controlled
• Disposing of waste correctly 

What are the rules for fire safety in the kitchen?

To stay compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and to protect staff and customers, commercial kitchens must implement a range of fire safety measures.

These include ensuring that all gas appliances must be installed, serviced and repaired by engineers on the Gas Safe Register, and conducting regular Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) on all electrical equipment. 

In order to reduce fire risks, food businesses are required to clearly mark fire exits and ensure that fire-fighting equipment, such as a web chemical fire extinguisher, is always accessible to staff. Adequate ventilation is also mandated, and extraction hoods and ductwork must be inspected regularly to prevent grease buildup. 

Do I need planning permission for a commercial kitchen?

Yes, you will likely need planning permission before you build a commercial kitchen, especially if you are transforming a residential or retail premises into a food preparation or service establishment. 

Regardless of planning permission, you’ll need to register your food businesses with your local council at least 28 days before operations start, to ensure that your premises can be inspected and rated before you begin trading. 

Learn more about how to keep your commercial kitchen safe and compliant in our comprehensive guide to food business rules, regulations, and registration.

How should I design my commercial kitchen layout?

The importance of a well-designed commercial kitchen cannot be overstated. Your chosen layout will be the foundation of your kitchen, helping you to maximise efficiency, reduce staff fatigue, and boost the productivity of your team. 

For commercial kitchens, there are five main layouts to consider. We give an outline of each one, including their benefits and drawbacks, to help you decide which is the best fit for your premises.  

1. Assembly line

Also known as the production line layout, this popular kitchen design features workstations organised in a linear fashion, similar to assembly lines in factories. This layout helps kitchens manage repetitive tasks efficiently, making it ideal for quick-service businesses, especially those with limited offerings. However, it’s less flexible than other layouts, making it less suitable for kitchens with varied or complex menus.

2. Island

This kitchen design features food or cooking preparation equipment on a central island block, surrounded by other workstations on perimeter walls. Its open nature helps facilitate great communication and supervision among team members, making it a good option for larger high-volume restaurants with larger numbers of staff.

Since the layout requires ample space, it wouldn’t be conducive to smaller kitchens as it would result in cramped and inefficient workspaces. 

3. Zone-style

The zone-style layout divides kitchens into self-contained working stations, each focusing on specific tasks, with its own dedicated equipment and tools. For example, one zone could be dedicated to cold prep, while another could manage dishwashing. 

This design allows multiple dishes to be prepared simultaneously, making it a fail-safe choice for larger food businesses with varied and extensive menus. However, like the island layout, its space requirements and high setup costs make it less ideal for smaller kitchens.

4. Galley

This kitchen layout arranges equipment and workspaces along two parallel walls, leaving room for a narrow aisle in the middle. The layout is inspired by ship galleys, which tend to be long and narrow in design. 

The galley layout is the most space-efficient design, making it especially well-suited for smaller vendors needing to maximise square footage, like food trucks, small cafes, and ghost kitchens. However, kitchens with large teams and high order volumes would be better off opting for another layout to avoid collisions and bottlenecks.

Learn more about how to set up a cafe in our whistlestop guide. 

5. Open kitchen

Open kitchens lack physical walls and barriers between the cooking area and the dining space, allowing customers to view the chefs’ activity. Since the concept itself doesn’t dictate the kitchen workflow, it can be used in combination with other layouts to create hybrid designs.

This increasingly popular design has already been adopted by a number of popular high street restaurants like Wagamama and Chipotle. Its transparent nature lends itself especially well to restaurants that want to showcase their cooking process, or emphasise the freshness of their ingredients. 

However, less organised kitchens, or those with high noise levels, would be better off opting for a more private layout.

What are my options for setting up a commercial kitchen?

Now you’ve got all the essential ingredients in place, it’s time to consider how to set up your commercial kitchen. 

Setting up a commercial kitchen can involve renting out shared spaces or building a brick-and-mortar location from scratch. But to avoid biting off more than you can chew, it’s essential to pursue an avenue that’s within your means and aligns with your business goals. 

Here are four main options to consider when establishing a commercial kitchen:

Build from scratch

If you want full control over your kitchen’s design and workflow, building a commercial kitchen from the ground up might be a perfect option for you. The process involves multiple steps, from drafting your concept and developing a budget through to constructing the kitchen and installing the appliances. 

Depending on the size and complexity of your project, it would require a significant up-front investment of anywhere from £100,000 to £1,000,000+, and this doesn’t factor in ongoing overheads like mortgage payments and utility bills.

While building a kitchen from scratch will exceed the budgets of many smaller enterprises, this option will be a solid long-term investment for established restaurants, large caterers, and food manufacturers willing to pay a premium for highly specialised kitchen set-ups. 

Rent a commercial kitchen

If you want access to professional infrastructure without the price tag of building a kitchen from scratch, you could consider leasing a pre-built commercial kitchen space. This option allows you to choose between fully dedicated kitchen spaces to smaller, more flexible arrangements. 

Its flexibility and lower cost of around £2,000 to £15,000 a month make it ideal for mid-sized catering companies or food manufacturers. However, commercial kitchen leases are only offered in fixed locations, and the layout of the premises won’t be customisable. This makes the option less desirable for traditional restaurants and growing food businesses.  

Use a dark kitchen model

If you’re planning on setting up a food business focusing solely on delivery and takeout, using a dark kitchen model will likely be the best option for you. Since these commercial kitchens don’t require an accompanying dine-in area, they can be located in more affordable, industrial areas, with start-up costs ranging anywhere from £10,000 to £100,000.

This set-up model lends itself best for food businesses focusing on limiting overheads and expanding their delivery reach. However, it won’t be suitable for restaurants or food vendors that make their bread and butter from in-person customer service.  

Shared-use kitchens

Also referred to as incubators, or co-working kitchens, shared-use kitchens allow multiple independent food businesses to share the same kitchen space and equipment, and operate on a time-based rental model.

The set-up option works in a similar way to commercial kitchen rentals, but involves food vendors leasing out specific workstations instead of self-contained kitchen spaces. Due to their reliance on shared spaces, shared-use kitchens are typically only used as a short-term solution, and are much more cost-effective than alternative options, with costs ranging from around £500 to £3,000+ per month. 

This option’s flexible terms and low barrier to entry make it a particularly viable choice for small-batch food producers and temporary food vendors like food trucks and pop-up restaurants. 

Get cooking

With so many factors to consider, setting up a commercial kitchen can feel like a steep climb, even for seasoned entrepreneurs. However, as competition in the food industry intensifies, investing in a cooking facility that’s professional, scalable, and fully compliant with regulations will likely be one of the best decisions your business can make. 

Whether you’re planning on starting a restaurant or a bustling dark kitchen, the process doesn’t need to be overwhelming, either. By defining a clear concept, breaking down your responsibilities into bite-sized steps, and developing a robust framework for following health and safety codes, you’ll be able to bring your vision to life without reaching a boiling point.