The Impact of Foodservice Consultants and Foodservice Dealers on Your Business

There are two types of food service designers: food service consultants and food service dealers/designers. Food service consultants produce comprehensive written specifications that include a list of all the kitchen appliances and their accessories. The design/build experts in the food service industry are known as food service dealer-designers.

Fremont, CA: All food service designers concur that rough-ins are the initial stage in the installation process for food service equipment. When the equipment is delivered, complete connections occur next. Although manufacturer data sheets might provide subcontractors with the necessary information, all food service designers concur that rough-in drawings are the most effective means of communicating their needs to them. Rough-in drawings, however, are not produced by every food service designer. This can be better explained by classifying food service designers into two categories:

Foodservice Consultants

Architects usually employ food service design consultants, who then become members of the design team along with structural, mechanical, electrical, lighting, and other architectural experts. Extensive facilities, including corporate cafeterias, university dining halls, and military bases, are areas of expertise for food service consultants. By knowing merely the number of people who visit a facility daily, they may use their reliable techniques to determine the size of any kitchen, serving area, or dining room.

Although they do not take part in the equipment sales, they do produce comprehensive written specifications that include a list of all the kitchen appliances and their accessories. They even get into extensive detail on how to install anything for a particular job. To serve as recommendations for the final food service equipment dealer regarding what equipment should be supplied and how it should be installed, these requirements are appended to a project's food service blueprints in the form of a supplement. Food service consultants are essentially designers, and their only source of revenue is from design fees.

Foodservice Dealers/Designers

Foodservice dealers deliver design services. Foodservice equipment dealers frequently provide some design services these days. In fact, a large number of sellers of food service equipment specialize exclusively in food service design. Since the majority of their revenue is generated by the sale of equipment rather than by charging for their design skills, even these dealers usually use design as a marketing technique.

Occasionally, these dealers/designers that combine both roles are called design/build food service appliance dealers. Due to their strict budgets and intricate needs for custom installations, restaurants make the best design customers. Foodservice dealers have a good working relationship with their stainless fabricators and equipment installers, which puts them in an ideal situation when a restaurant has a tight budget and requires a problematic installation or distinctive stainless component. Dealers are able to work backward from a budget, as opposed to consultants, who are only aware of the precise equipment and installation prices. This enables them to respond promptly to modifications made by a chef, who usually presents their requests in the form of wish lists that are only constrained by financial constraints. When you add in their ties with stainless fabricators and installers, it's easy to understand why restaurants work well in areas where others struggle to stay up to date. The design/build experts in the food service industry are known as food service dealer-designers.