If you run a food business or if you’re thinking of starting one up you will need certain hardware to make it a success. There’s no point in getting started without some basic infrastructure such as a POS, reliable scales, and KDS with mounting. In this article you will find the essential kitchen hardware you need for your food business.
POS
POS stands for point of sale, it’s the set up you have at the front of house for taking payments and issuing receipts. Needless to say this is a vital part of any food business. It doesn’t matter if your kitchen is fixed or mobile you will POS hardware.
POS hardware is available in several forms. You could have a conventional digital till, or more common these days – especially with startups – is a laptop with a payment device such as a Sumup card reader.
POLE DISPLAY
At your front of house POS setup you will also want a pole display. This is the device that let’s customers know what good items you are putting through and how much they cost. The transparency offered by a pole reader is essential for quality customer service.
Your pole display can come as an integrated unit with your POS system, or a separate pole reader that connects via Bluetooth or conventional ports. Depending on the size and nature of your food business you may want something substation or more portable.
SCALES
Within your kitchen there are several items you need to have for creating high quality food your customers will come back for. Regardless of what you’re selling you will probably need an excellent set of scales to measure ingredients and ensure the economy of your business is finely tuned.
The best hardware to go for in this department is precision scales. Precision scales are developed with accuracy at the forefront of their design, this means the food you make in your kitchen is exactly measured reducing wastage and generating more reliable revenue.
KDS
KDS stands for Kitchen Display System. This is a back of house hardware system for your food kitchen that replaces the olde method of paper tickets. There is no longer any need to pin up food orders for your chefs to look at – not with KDS hardware.
This useful piece of hardware is probably more effective for larger kitchens with more cooking staff. Mobile kitchens are unlikely to benefit from the system since close interaction is more effective. But if you run a restaurant or a takeaway this is essential hardware.
MOUNTING
When you have your KDS and guest management system in place you will need something to hold it all together and keep it tidy. This is what is done with some effective mounting. A mount stores wires and keeps your back of house kitchen hardware tidy.
Mounts come in various sizes and shapes. Often you can buy a mount with your KDS so it fits together seamlessly. When searching for a mount, choose one that allows you to swap pieces in and out for more flexibility in the kitchen.
