Getting Ready for Christmas With The Right Catering Equipment Essentials

Christmas may still feel some way off, but for the hospitality industry, preparations start well before December.

Restaurants, pubs, hotels, caterers and event venues will already be planning festive menus, Christmas parties and larger bookings. For catering equipment wholesalers and distributors, this is a good time to consider what their customers are likely to need as volumes increase.

The festive period puts extra pressure on kitchens and front-of-house teams. More covers mean more preparation, larger bookings require more serving equipment, and everyday items can suddenly be needed in much greater quantities.

So, what should be on the radar when planning your Christmas catering equipment stock?

Gastronorms - A festive kitchen essential

Gastronorm (GN) containers are one of the workhorses of any commercial kitchen and are particularly relevant during the Christmas period.

With larger quantities of food being prepared, GN containers are used for everything from preparation and storage to cooking, refrigeration, holding and service. Having the right sizes and depths available can make a significant difference when kitchens are working at capacity.

Stainless steel gastronorms offer excellent versatility, while polypropylene and other options are useful for preparation and storage.

For wholesalers, it is worth looking at the GN sizes most commonly purchased by your customers and making sure core lines are readily available. Don't forget accessories such space bars and compatible lids, particularly those with a slot to hold serving accessories in place which can be an important part of the overall requirement.

Explore the Chef Set gastronorm container range.

Don't overlook the small essentials

It is easy to concentrate on larger pieces of commercial catering equipment, but some of the simplest products can be among the most heavily used.

Colour coded tongs, ladles, serving spoons and spoodles are essential across preparation, cooking and service. During a busy Christmas sitting, kitchens may need several pairs of tongs across different stations, while additional utensils can be required for buffets, sharing dishes and events.

These are also products that make sense as part of a wider customer order. If a restaurant is preparing for a significant increase in covers, it is worth considering whether its existing stock of everyday utensils is sufficient.

Take a look at the Chef Set tongs and catering utensils.

Serving trays for food and drinks

Serving trays can become particularly valuable during the festive season, when restaurants, hotels, pubs and event venues are handling larger groups and more frequent service.

Drinks, canapés, sharing dishes and buffets all need to move efficiently from one place to another.

Non-slip trays are a practical option for carrying food and drinks where keeping glasses and bottles secure is important. Fast food trays can also be useful for serving both food and drinks, particularly in casual dining, cafés, food-to-go and high volume environments.

Stainless steel serving trays remain a dependable choice for food service and hospitality, with different sizes and styles allowing operators to choose what works best for their operation.

For wholesalers and distributors, trays are also a useful year round product rather than something limited to Christmas demand.

See the Chef Set serving tray range.

More preparation means more storage

Festive menus often require considerably more preparation than normal.

Stocks and sauces may be produced in larger batches, vegetables prepared ahead of service and desserts made in advance. With larger bookings, kitchens need somewhere practical to keep prepared ingredients and food organised.

This is where preparation and storage equipment becomes important. Alongside GN’s, products such as 3 tier trolley, mixing bowls, sauce bottles, colanders and other kitchen accessories can help teams manage increased volumes.

It is worth considering these products alongside core lines rather than in isolation. A customer buying additional food storage equipment may also need the preparation equipment and utensils to go with it.

Explore the Chef Set kitchen accessories range.

Don't forget festive baking

Christmas is a particularly important period for desserts and baking, with mince pies, cakes, pastries, puddings and other seasonal favourites all adding to the workload.

For kitchens producing desserts in-house, commercial bakeware can quickly come under pressure. It can also be a good opportunity for operators to replace worn or damaged trays before the busiest period begins.

The Chef Set bakeware range includes a selection of products suited to professional kitchen environments.

Think ahead, not just about Christmas

The most useful approach to festive stock planning is to consider what hospitality businesses will actually experience.

They are likely to have more covers, larger parties and greater volumes of food and drinks moving through their operation. That doesn't necessarily mean they need completely different equipment. In many cases, they simply need more of the reliable equipment they already use every day.

For wholesalers and distributors, this creates an opportunity to look at core product lines, check availability and consider which complementary products customers may need alongside their usual purchases.

The festive rush may be months away, but the opportunity to prepare for it starts now.

Explore the full Chef Set catering equipment range.