Correctional facility kitchen equipment is some of the most carefully designed products on the market, for they are created to meet exceptional demands. There is a lot to consider when building a kitchen for a correctional facility, ranging from the mass production facts to specific safety measurements and tricky installation processes. Yet, once you get a lay of the land, it’s nothing unmanageable, and this article will provide you with a clear path to finding the right correctional facility kitchen equipment for your facility.
What Should You Pay Attention to When It Comes to Correctional Facility Kitchen Equipment?
While there aren’t many specific regulations for prison kitchens, manufacturers took it upon themselves to make them as efficient and safe as possible. The specific products will be listed and explained below for your information. Some standard features define a product as correctional facility kitchen equipment; thus, you should be looking for these features in your purchases.
- Mass production is the most critical goal these products are created to meet. Most facilities have over a thousand inmates, and the kitchen needs to be able to operate all day long without a hitch and quite quickly at that. So, correctional facility kitchen equipment should include high-capacity, resilient machinery and large quantities of service material such as trays.
- Removable parts such as screws might create liabilities in prison, considering inmates are usually employed in the kitchen, which is why correctional facility kitchen equipment minimizes the number of removable parts.
- Slatted items and chains are also avoided in correctional facility kitchen equipment because they are produced as much as possible. It is simply essential for the safety of all involved that the necessary precautions are taken to prevent any potential accidents or dangerous abuse of machinery.
- The control aspect of all machinery will come with a lock to ensure nothing is tempered without the management’s authority.
- Some facilities take safety measurements one step further and use soft or plastic service material to ensure forks and knives aren’t used to cause any harm. Knife safety is especially an important point that shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Storage and transport are two vital details of a prison kitchen since such institutions usually use two methods to deliver food. They either cook the whole menu (or at least a part of it) in a central kitchen to distribute it from there, or they cook the food in advance and chill until mealtime. If the facility isn’t small that can cook and serve on the spot, then one of these methods is probably the path that needs to be taken, and it is crucial to have the proper storage and delivery system. Many correctional facility kitchen equipments, ranging from tray cabinets to utility trucks, serve that purpose.
- Energy efficiency is another aspect correctional facility kitchen equipment usually excels at since the budget of these facilities is limited. In the case of a budget cut, the most indispensable pieces of equipment should be safe from harm.
- Last but not least correctional facility kitchen equipment is designed to be operated with ease. While this might seem like an unimportant feature at first glance, keep in mind that your staff will be changing quite frequently in a prison/jail setting, and the machinery must be easy to adapt to for newcomers.
Essential Correctional Facility Kitchen Equipment
In line with the vision to create a fast, efficient, and safe kitchen, manufacturers took it upon themselves to meet your every need. These products are simply must-haves in terms of correctional facility kitchen equipment.
- Commercial kettles are at the top of the list for good reasons. They are used to make so many things ranging from soup to sauce, and since they are built to serve huge capacities, commercial kettles can produce around 150 gallons of a specific product in a reasonably short amount of time.
- Walk-in refrigerators and walk-in freezers are the backbones of correctional facility kitchen equipment as they are the backbones of many other types of commercial kitchens. They will help you store all your ingredients and pre-cooked food, and luckily for you, walk-in refrigerators and freezers come in so many forms and capacities. (You may want to check out our article for the details about walk-ins from https://www.chefsdeal.com/blog/walk-in-refrigeration-units .)
- Commercial mixers are the most common correctional facility kitchen equipment. These commercial mixers are used to either mix ingredients or chop and grind things through other attachments. Even the common people are familiar with commercial mixers, for they are shown in many prison movies :-).
- Blast chillers are specifically manufactured for facilities that cook the food in advance. Thanks to this correctional facility kitchen equipment, it’s possible to drop the temperature of the foods immediately and make sure they don’t go off till mealtime.
- Commercial dishwashers are the saviors. It’s not possible to afford to wait around for all the dishes to be cleaned up by hand in such a massive facility. There needs to be a constant circulation of clean dishes for the next mealtime. Not only do they save time and energy, but they also ensure no health issues arise from piled-up dirty dishes. In a way, it’d be right to classify commercial dishwashers as one of the most necessary correctional facility kitchen equipment.
- High-speed ovens are some of the best correctional facility kitchen equipment, and they perfectly capture what a machine in a prison kitchen ought to do. They are fast and efficient. While some institutions prefer to get their baked goods from outside, high-speed ovens will undoubtedly be needed, and they’ll come to the rescue on so many days.
- As you can guess, food carriers, meal delivery systems, and transport carts will provethey are beneficial, and the models designed for prisons have the necessary precautions. You could get padlocked carts with a tamper-proof design to maximize security. In addition to the safety measurements, it’s possible to find the models that are good at keeping the foods at the best temperatures till they are delivered to the inmates.
- Tray racks for storage and drying will also contribute to the fast circulation of clean dinnerware in your cafeteria and make sure everything runs smoothly.
- Insulated food trays are both functional and easy to deal with, which is why they are some of the most common correctional facility kitchen equipment. Most establishments prefer these trays to minimize the number of dishes and keep the food as warm as possible. They also have flexible tray options, which are basically made of soft material to prevent the use of trays as weapons.
- Correctional flatware, plates, bowls, and cups are all designed for safety and longevity. The limited budgets might not allow the institution to invest in more correctional facility kitchen equipment in the future, so it’s important to get the most resilient material for the best prices. Correctional flatware and such will be usually made up of softer yet strong materials that can stand the test of time while keeping everyone as safe as possible.
Installation and Sanitization
It is important to note that the installation process of correctional facility kitchen equipment requires special care for, dissimilar to standard kitchen equipment installation, you are up against the time. Having a kitchen in the facility means automatically the inmates will be expected to contribute to the cooking process. You need a period of time in which the kitchen isn’t being used for the professionals to do their jobs. Knowing the difficulty of creating long periods of opportunities, the companies usually make sure the installation is handled quickly. Yet, it might take a few sessions for the entire correctional facility kitchen equipment to be installed, and you should make your schedule accordingly.
Once the installation is over, you’ll need to pay the utmost attention to the maintenance and sanitization of the machinery. Correctional facility kitchen equipment sanitization could make or break your facility quite literally. It goes without saying that your facility needs to be kept in top condition in accordance with health codes and such. Still, beyond the rules and regulations, health should be a priority in any institution.
Considering the vast numbers correctional facilities aim to serve, you cannot possibly risk anyone’s health. Plus, a contagious disease breaking out in your facility might disrupt the process of everything and drive you into a crisis. While inmates could handle daily cleanings, it’d be wise to get professional help periodically to ensure everything and everyone is safe and sound.
Conclusion
To sum up, correctional facility kitchen equipment is one tricky business that cannot be neglected. While the manufacturers offer so many options suited to correctional settings, it is crucial to plan out everything to the smallest detail and ensure everything is taken care of most safely and efficiently possible for all involved parties. Once you get everything you need running a correctional facility kitchen will prove to be quite manageable.
