A wedding or event venue kitchen is a finishing and holding kitchen, not a full restaurant line. Most venues work with outside caterers, so the kitchen needs plenty of refrigeration, hot holding cabinets and steam tables, stainless prep tables, an ice machine, sinks that meet code, and a portable bar setup. If you plan to cook on site, add ranges and ovens under a hood.
Shop the equipment in this article: heated holding cabinets, steam tables, reach-in refrigerators and ice machines. Freight is included on every order.
Decide first: catering kitchen or cooking kitchen
- Catering or warming kitchen: outside caterers bring food cooked elsewhere and finish, hold and plate it in your space. Lower equipment cost, and often no hood if you are not cooking.
- Full cooking kitchen: your own staff cook on site. You need a hood and fire suppression, gas or electric lines, and a bigger health department review. See which kitchen equipment needs a hood.
- Ask your local health department which category they will treat you as before you design the room.
Hot holding
- Heated holding cabinets keep plated meals and hotel pans at 135 F or above until service. Browse heated holding cabinets.
- Steam tables for buffet service. See wet well vs dry well steam tables.
- Heat lamps or strip warmers over the plating table. Browse heat lamps and strip warmers.
Cold storage
- Several reach-in refrigerators, or a walk-in for large venues. Events bring a lot of food in at once, so size for your biggest event, not an average one.
- A reach-in freezer for desserts and ice cream.
- Ice machine and bins for the bar and water service. Plan around 1.5 pounds of ice per guest for a dinner event, more for a long bar or a hot outdoor event.
Prep and plating
- Long stainless work tables for plating lines, so several servers can plate at once.
- Food service carts and sheet pan racks to move food to the room.
- Wire shelving for rentals, linens and dry goods.
Sinks
- At least one hand sink in the kitchen and one at each bar.
- A 3 compartment sink for washing pans and utensils, even if a dish machine handles plates.
- A mop sink. See floor mop sinks.
The bar
Many venues run portable bars. Plan ice bins, a hand sink, a dump sink and cold storage for each bar station. See portable bars for events and catering and our bar equipment.
Common mistakes
- Too little hot holding, so food sits in carriers out of temperature.
- No hand sink at the bar.
- Not enough outlets or circuits for warming cabinets and coffee urns running at the same time.
What to buy
Most venues start with heated holding cabinets, reach-in refrigerators, long stainless plating tables, a commercial ice machine and the sinks your health department requires. Freight is included to the 48 contiguous states and DC.