How to Choose Commercial Fridges & Chillers for Restaurants?

Commercial fridges are built to handle the rigours of everyday use in busy commercial kitchens.

When thinking about professional food preparation and catering, the first consideration is often heat, and what appliances will be required to cook each dish. However, proper refrigeration is equally important in busy commercial kitchens.

With doors frequently being opened and closed, maintaining a consistent storage temperature becomes difficult, but is essential for food safety requirements. Especially in a small or high-volume kitchen where the ambient temperature can sometimes get quite hot.

For this reason, commercial fridges and chillers are designed with powerful compressors that are often fan-assisted to maintain their temperature. Additional tools and technology exist to help prevent spoilage, such as the Skope CONNECT-EYE which measures not only temperature but also the frequency and duration of door openings, to help maintain and monitor consistent temperatures in both your freezer and fridge.

Types and Configurations of Commercial Fridges & Chillers

Vertical | Upright Fridges & Chillers

Great for space-conscious kitchens, upright fridges offer the advantage of height with limited use of floor space. 

Configured with single or double doors, some units, like the Skope RF8 & RF7, come with both a chiller and freezer for added convenience and a smaller footprint in kitchens with limited room.

A big advantage of upright fridges is how easily accessible they are, with the contents right there in front of you when you open the door.  

Undercounter Fridges & Chillers

As the name suggests, these compact, lightweight units are designed to fit neatly under countertops and workspaces to maximise the use of floor space.

Offering greater flexibility than full-size fridges, undercounter fridges are a great addition to commercial kitchens both large and small.

These units usually come with doors, but some are available with drawers to best accommodate the needs of your kitchen.

Counter Fridges & Chillers

Unlike under-counter fridges, these units come with their own counter space built right in—making them a great choice for kitchens that need more space. 

Typically waist high, these fridges come with stainless steel or marble worktops for easy meal prep or lightweight storage. They are also built strong enough to hold small appliances such as blenders, mixers, or sous vide machines.

These units usually come with an option of doors or drawers to best accommodate your needs in the kitchen.

Preparation Commercial Fridges & Chillers

Similar to counter fridges and chillers, prep station units offer greater functionality by including countertop storage for ingredients. Great for preparing salads, sandwiches and pizzas at the point of order, food preparation chillers have additional space for ingredient trays (gastronorm pans), drawers, and doors, or a combination of all three, with worktops available in stainless steel or marble. 

Smaller units are available to place on existing counters to hold ingredient wells or gastronorm pans.

Open Deck Display Chillers

Most often seen front and centre in quick service restaurants, grocery stores and food outlets, open deck and display chillers are great for showcasing food while keeping it cool, fresh and ready to serve.

Designed with either an open front or glass doors, these units have glass outer walls with bright interior lighting, offering maximum visibility for a wide variety of menu items and tempting impulse purchases by your customers.

Countertop Display Chillers | Benchtop Display Fridges

Countertop display chillers and benchtop display fridges offer a great way to store and display food for your customers. Whether it’s cakes, pastries, salads, or sandwiches, putting your food on display is a fantastic way to increase sales.

Great for high-traffic hospitality businesses or even the local café, display chillers and benchtop display fridges are designed to allow customers and staff easy access to food while, most importantly, extending the display life with consistent cooling temperatures to maintain freshness.

Tip buying commercial fridge

No matter what type of fridge you choose, remember that space between the unit and the wall is crucial for the ventilation system to work effectively.  

Check the manufacturer recommendations, or ask your Caterlink representative what size gap is best for your appliance and layout.

Which is the best Fridge for your professional kitchen?

Now that you’ve had an overview of the different types of commercial fridges and chillers available on the market, we hope it’ll be easier to find the best model to fit the needs of your kitchen. Caterlink’s commercial kitchen experts are always happy to provide more personalised information or help track down the perfect model for any circumstances. Get in touch for assistance.