Setting up a commercial kitchen in Melbourne is one of the most exciting and expensive ventures a hospitality entrepreneur will ever undertake. Whether you’re launching a new restaurant in Fitzroy, opening a café in St Kilda, establishing a catering operation in the eastern suburbs, or fitting out a school canteen in regional Victoria, getting your equipment selection right from the start will save you tens of thousands of dollars and countless headaches down the track.
This is the definitive commercial kitchen equipment checklist for Melbourne operators, built on over 40 years of industry experience from Melbourne Refrigeration & Catering Equipment. We’re not going to give you a generic list. We’re going to walk you through every major equipment category, explain what you actually need versus what’s nice to have, and give you a framework to make smart, budget-conscious decisions.
Before You Buy: The Foundation of Every Good Kitchen Setup
Before you purchase a single piece of equipment, three foundational decisions will determine everything that follows:
1. Define Your Menu and Production Method
Your menu is your kitchen’s master specification document. A café serving sandwiches and coffee requires fundamentally different equipment than a Vietnamese restaurant serving pho, or a bakery producing 500 sourdough loaves per day. Define your menu first,then work backwards to the equipment you need. Equipment decisions driven by menu realities are almost always correct. Equipment you purchase on the assumption of a future menu are often expensive mistakes.
2. Know Your Volume
Covers per service, production batches per day, and peak service periods all directly determine the specification, particularly capacity of your equipment. An underpowered oven or an undersized fridge is not a minor inconvenience; it’s a bottleneck that will cap your revenue and frustrate your team every service.
3.Understand Your Space and Services
Gas or electric? Single-phase or three-phase power? What’s your floor drain capacity? Do you have a mechanical exhaust canopy? These aren’t glamorous questions, but they’re the ones that determine what equipment you can actually install. Engage your kitchen designer and licensed trades early, ideally before you sign a lease, to understand your service constraints.
Equipment Checklist for Setting up a commercial kitchen in Melbourne
Category 1: Commercial Refrigeration
Refrigeration is the backbone of food safety in any commercial kitchen. Get it right, and everything else flows. Get it wrong, and you’re looking at spoilage, compliance failures, and costly emergency repairs.
Upright Storage Refrigeration:
Every commercial kitchen in Melbourne needs at least one upright storage fridge. These are your primary chilled ingredient storage units, meats, dairy, prepped vegetables, sauces, and stocks all live here. Size your upright storage to your volume requirements, with room to grow.
Brands like Skipio and Skope offer excellent reliability and value for Melbourne operators.
Underbench Refrigeration:
For prep-heavy kitchens, underbench fridges directly beneath your prep benches are a workflow game-changer. Chefs can access cold ingredients at their workstation without moving to a central fridge, reducing time and improving temperature control. Glass door options allow quick visual inventory checks without opening the unit.
Sandwich / Pizza Prep Units:
If your menu includes made-to-order items with multiple cold ingredients, a sandwich or pizza preparation fridge provides a refrigerated work surface with accessible ingredient pans. These are essential for any burger, sandwich, pizza, or salad concept.
Blast Chiller (For Batch Cooking Operations):
As detailed in Article 2, batch cooking kitchens require a blast chiller for legal and food safety compliance. If your production model involves cooking ahead of service, include a blast chiller in your initial fit-out. It’s far more expensive to retrofit one later than to include it from the start.
Frozen Storage:
Upright storage freezers and/or underbench freezers depending on your frozen goods volume. Remember to account for frozen proteins, ice cream, frozen components, and long-term stock.
Category 2: Commercial Cooking Equipment
Your cooking line is where your menu comes to life, and it’s typically the largest single capital investment in a commercial kitchen setup. The equipment you need depends entirely on your menu, but here’s a comprehensive guide:
Oven Ranges (Gas or Electric)
A commercial oven range, combining an open burner cooktop with an oven beneath, is the cornerstone of most Melbourne restaurant kitchens. Gas ranges are preferred by most professional chefs for their responsive heat control. Electric ranges are increasingly popular where gas is unavailable or where energy efficiency is prioritised. A six-burner gas oven range, such as the Cobra range we stock, is the standard specification for a restaurant kitchen cooking 80–120 covers.
Combi Ovens
For kitchens prioritising versatility and precision, a combi oven, combining convection heat with steam injection is one of the most powerful tools in a modern commercial kitchen. A single combi oven can roast, bake, steam, braise, and regenerate, potentially replacing multiple single-function appliances. Premium hotel kitchens and catering operations rely heavily on combi ovens.
Commercial Deep Fryers
For restaurants, cafés, pubs, or takeaway operations serving fried food, a commercial deep fryer is essential. Available in benchtop (small volume) and floor-standing (high volume) configurations. Look for models with automatic oil filtration systems to extend oil life and reduce running costs.
Commercial Grills and Chargrills
Burger restaurants, steakhouses, and pub kitchens will need commercial char grills. Griddles (flat cooking plates) are essential for pancakes, eggs, and smash burgers. Choose gas or electric models depending on your energy supply.
Salamanders (Overhead Grills)
A salamander, a powerful overhead radiant grill, is a workhorse for finishing dishes, melting toppings, glazing proteins, and keeping plated dishes warm before service. Almost every restaurant kitchen in Melbourne runs a salamander.
Induction Cooking
For kitchens operating in tight spaces, requiring portability, or prioritising energy efficiency, commercial induction cooktops offer a compelling alternative to traditional gas cooking. They’re increasingly common in Melbourne’s premium restaurant sector.
Category 3: Countertop Equipment
Commercial countertop equipment fills the operational gaps between your major cooking appliances and plays a critical role in service efficiency:
- Commercial coffee machine – Non-negotiable for any Melbourne café operation
- Commercial toasters – Conveyor or pop-up models depending on volume
- Commercial microwaves – Heavy-duty models only; domestic microwaves fail quickly in commercial use
- Bain Marie – For holding hot food at safe service temperatures
- Pie warmers – For cafés, service stations, and snack operations
- Soup kettles – For venues serving soups or hot beverages
- Benchtop fryers – For smaller frying requirements without a full floor fryer
Category 4: Food Preparation Equipment
Every commercial kitchen requires a range of food preparation equipment to support efficient service execution:
- Commercial food processors and vegetable cutters – Essential for high-volume salads, sauces, and prep work.
- Commercial mixers – For bakeries, pastry kitchens, and any operation with significant mixing requirements. Available in benchtop and floor-standing models.
- Commercial slicers and mincers – For deli, butchery, or charcuterie operations
- Commercial blenders – Heavy-duty models for sauces, soups, smoothies, and beverages.
- Pastry sheeters – For pizzerias, bakeries, and pastry kitchens
- Scales – Accurate commercial scales are essential for consistent portion control and recipe adherence.
- Thermometers – HACCP-compliant probe thermometers are a legal and operational necessity.
Category 5: Benching, Shelving and Storage
Commercial stainless steel benching is the structural framework of your kitchen. Every workstation requires adequate bench surface, and the quality and configuration of your benching directly impacts kitchen hygiene and workflow:
- Stainless steel preparation benches – Available in various lengths, with or without undershelves, splash backs, and sinks
- Wall shelving – For dry goods storage, crockery, and mise en place supplies
- Mobile cabinets and kitchen trolleys – For flexible storage and transportation within the kitchen
- Pot racks and utensil rails – For efficient tool access at each workstation
When designing your benching layout, ensure adequate space between benches for safe movement, WorkSafe Victoria guidelines recommend a minimum passageway width of 900mm in commercial kitchens.
Category 6: Commercial Dishwashing Equipment
In a busy Melbourne restaurant, dishwashing is a critical logistical operation. The right commercial dishwasher keeps your kitchen running during service without creating bottlenecks at the pot wash station:
Undercounter Dishwashers
For small to medium-volume kitchens, undercounter dishwashers offer efficient, space-saving dishwashing in cycles of 2–3 minutes. They handle crockery, glasses, and small cookware effectively.
Pass-Through Dishwashers
Pass-through or rack conveyor dishwashers are the workhorses of high-volume Melbourne kitchens. Racks of crockery are loaded from one side, washed, and retrieved from the other, enabling continuous throughput during service. If you’re running 100+ covers per service, a pass-through machine is a necessity, not a luxury.
Glass Washers
Bars, hotels, and venues serving significant beverage volumes need a dedicated glass washer to maintain throughput. Glass washers operate at lower temperatures and with gentler chemistry than standard dishwashers to prevent glassware damage.
Category 7: Tapware and Sinks
Commercial tapware and sinks are a compliance requirement in Melbourne commercial kitchens. The Food Act 1984 requires adequate handwashing facilities separate from food preparation areas, as well as appropriate sinks for food preparation and equipment washing. Stainless steel commercial sinks are available in single, double, and triple bowl configurations.
Pre-rinse spray units are essential for commercial dishwashing areas, significantly reducing the manual effort required to pre-clean crockery and cookware before the dishwasher cycle.
New vs. Refurbished Equipment: Smart Budgeting for Your Melbourne Kitchen
A complete commercial kitchen fit-out for a Melbourne restaurant can range from $50,000 for a modest café setup to $500,000+ for a large, fully-specified restaurant kitchen. For most operators, a strategic mix of new and quality refurbished equipment offers the best balance of reliability, quality, and capital efficiency.
At Melbourne Refrigeration & Catering Equipment, we regularly stock quality used commercial kitchen equipment that has been professionally inspected and serviced, often ex-hotel or catering operation pieces that still have significant operational life remaining. Our knowledgeable team can help you identify where to invest in new equipment (high-use items like dishwashers and fridges where reliability is critical) and where quality used equipment represents smart value.
Finance Options for Melbourne Commercial Kitchen Setups
Don’t let capital constraints prevent you from setting up the kitchen you need. Melbourne Refrigeration & Catering Equipment offers commercial equipment finance options, allowing you to acquire your complete kitchen setup with structured repayments. Equipment financing is also tax-efficient for Australian businesses, with the ATO allowing depreciation claims on commercial kitchen equipment.
Start Your Melbourne Kitchen Setup with the Experts
Planning a commercial kitchen setup in Melbourne? Let the team at Melbourne Refrigeration & Catering Equipment helps you build a complete, compliant, and cost-effective kitchen from the ground up. With over 40 years of experience, an extensive stock of new and quality refurbished equipment, and genuine expertise in commercial kitchen planning, we’re the partner you want at the start of your journey.
Visit us at 15 Station Street, Dandenong, call (03) 9794 8627, or explore our full range online : Click Here to explore our Shop
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Contact Us:
PHONE : (03) 9794 8627
FAX : (03) 9794 7258
EMAIL : sales@melbournerefrigeration.com.au
Our Location: 15 Station Street, Dandenong, Victoria 3175
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