facilitieskitchen

Facilities kitchen refers to a kitchen facility within a building that is managed by facilities management to support organizational dining and catering needs. It is common in corporate offices, schools, hospitals, factories, and government facilities. The kitchen's role is to prepare, cook, and distribute meals and snacks for staff, students, patients, residents, and guests, while complying with applicable food safety, sanitation, and environmental standards.

A typical facilities kitchen includes cold storage such as reach-in refrigerators and freezers, dry storage, a preparation area, cooking equipment (stoves, ovens, steamers), hot holding and service equipment, a warewashing area, and staff facilities. The space is organized to support a product flow from receiving and storage through preparation, cooking, portioning, service, and waste disposal, with separate zones for raw and ready-to-eat foods to reduce cross-contamination.

Equipment is commercial-grade and scaled for batch cooking and high throughput. Ventilation, fire suppression, and utility systems are sized for peak demand. Facilities kitchens must meet health department requirements and standards such as HACCP, with routine inspections and documented cleaning schedules. Energy efficiency and water use are common design considerations.

Operations and governance typically involve delivery, inventory management, menu planning, and staffing under facilities management or a centralized kitchen in larger organizations. Preventive maintenance, supplier management, and asset tracking are important, as are security controls, uniform policies, and safety training for staff.

Unlike customer-facing restaurant kitchens, facilities kitchens focus on reliability, throughput, and compliance, with limited direct public access and often standardized menus across multiple sites.

Examples include corporate campus cafeterias, hospital cafeterias, university dining halls, manufacturing plant break rooms, and government or military facilities.