What Are Cloud Kitchens?

A cloud kitchen (also known as a ghost kitchen or a virtual kitchen), is a commercial space where restaurants, caterers, food truck operators, and others can rent out kitchen and storage space to prepare and store their food. You may already rent out a commercial kitchen, catering kitchen, or restaurant kitchen to prep your food. Most cities require food trucks to do so as part of their licensing requirements. But many food truck businesses, especially those just getting off the ground, may have found themselves in a less-than-ideal arrangement in a rental agreement with onerous rental fees, space that’s too small, or uneven facility access. Cloud Kitchens specialize in offering just the right size space that clients require depending on the size and scope of their meal prep and storage needs.

The cloud kitchen model is not limited to commercial property owners renting out space to multiple food service tenants. Some cloud kitchens even provide food preparation and delivery services to customers. During the pandemic, these services may prove life-saving to small businesses on the brink. If you’ve had to furlough nearly all or all of their employees yet still need to run your truck to pay the bills, you’re probably struggling to get everything that needs doing done. However, by taking advantage of a cloud kitchen’s meal prep services, you may be able to take a substantial load off your shoulders and manage to keep your truck open.

Some kitchens can take your menu, prepare your plates as consumers order online, then work with delivery partners like Uber Eats to distribute the food directly to them. This, too, can be a life-saving measure. Maybe your food truck was primarily stationed in a business district, and you’ve lost orders with your customers working from home. You can connect with past customers online and get their favorite dishes delivered right to their doorstep. And with a bit of online marketing savvy, you can even grow their customer base.

If your food truck is losing money, many cloud kitchens are set up to allow you to sell entirely online. In fact, some house multiple virtual-only restaurants that sell solely through delivery providers like DoorDash and Uber Eats. And some, like San Francisco-based CloudKitchens, allow you to establish carry out operations out of their kitchens. This model can be a good hedge against downturns, as Redwood Wagons food truck business owners Kyle Hood and Michael Laughlin have been learning. They’ve used their prep kitchen to establish a carryout location, which, coupled with delivery orders, are helping ends meet as their food truck business has shrunk over the past year.

Why a Cloud Kitchen May Make Sense for Your Business

Cloud kitchens can help food truck owners operate more efficiently in other ways as well. Kitchen managers handle various administrative functions necessary for you to work efficiently, safely, and in compliance with the law. They ensure that the proper health inspections occur, as required by state statutes, and ensure that the premises are secure. If you’re working in a restaurant when it’s closed, you may, unfortunately, find out one day that the owner doesn’t have all the paperwork in order or taxes or utilities paid. But because a cloud kitchen earns revenue, in large part, by providing multiple tenants a place to prep, cook, and prepare, completion of these administrative functions is a high priority.

Many cloud kitchens keep fees low through economies of scale. The more tenants they have, the more they can keep pricing affordable and offer additional services. Some cloud kitchens provide waste collection and janitorial services, among others, for an additional cost. That expense may be worth it if it helps you keep labor costs low. However, every bit of time and every penny saved are crucial to keep you in business during these lean times.

Custom Food Trucks With the Latest Technology

Cloud kitchens can also help you save time and money allowing you to expand your operation. By keeping margins low using a cloud kitchen’s meal preparation and delivery services, you may even be in the market to expand. If you’re looking to add to your line of food trucks, contact us today for more information on custom trucks for your business.

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Have Environmental Awareness When Operating a Food Truck with Fryers

When operating a food truck with fryers, you must demonstrate that you have a high level of environmental awareness. It’s crucial when working with boiling oil since it prevents injury to coworkers and others. For example, you could slip on the floor and fall onto hot objects or be exposed to more flames, splashing oil or steam.

Carrying hot foods or beverages in confined areas is also perilous. When you’re moving behind someone or managing hot items, make it a practice to be vocal about your location in relation to others. To adopt proper safety procedures for commercial fryers, workers need to be aware of their surroundings and work with precaution. 

It is also recommended that you properly secure food truck kitchen equipment to prevent damage.

Clean Your Deep Fryer Regularly for Safety

Like any other kitchen appliance, a deep fryer requires routine maintenance and cleaning. Fryers must be cleaned, and the oil changed regularly. Extending the life of your deep fryer allows you to make better-cooked meals in a bit of space. Read the owner’s manual and follow instructions.

Be Sure To Adhere to Basic Rules of Frying

Even though the frying procedure is the same whether in a food truck or any other kitchen, food trucks are primarily designed to meet the customer’s need for faster meal preparation; however, depending on the food quality, be sure to comply with the basic frying regulations.

For example, never heat frying oil above 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, you should follow a standard set of procedures regarding how much food you place in the frying containers. This ensures consistency and a predictable frying time. The

 ideal ratio is 1:10, and it should not exceed that. You should filter every service to maintain high quality.

Always Have a Class K Fire Extinguisher on Hand

Oil fires cannot be put out with water, even though heated oil can quickly start them. As a result, having a class K fire extinguisher nearby and a readily available area is vital while operating a food truck with fryers. This fire extinguisher is made to extinguish fires caused by cooking fats, grease, or oils. It is not enough to have a class K fire extinguisher; you must also be well-versed in the regulations to be observed in an oil fire. If you have coworkers, educate them on using the fire extinguisher.

Food Truck Designs With Safety in Mind

A food truck is much more than a food delivery vehicle. You can customize and operate a food truck with fryers perfectly if you take proper commercial fryer safety precautions.

At Legion Food Trucks, we build all of our vehicles with quality and safety in mind. We only use commercial-grade equipment and completely weld everything together to ensure the highest level of stability. Visit our website to start building your next food truck today.

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The critical factors for food-borne illness are at the top of an inspector’s checklist. Many towns highlight these items in red on the inspection sheets. Any major violation requires urgent attention and remedy, or a follow-up assessment will be planned. This article explores the things you should cover.

What is a Food Truck Inspection Checklist?

A food truck inspection checklist assists food truck owners in ensuring that their operations comply with established food safety and hygiene, housekeeping, and food truck maintenance standards. Regular inspections with a checklist keep your employees on their toes in case of surprise health inspections by the local government. It maintains your food truck up and running at maximum capacity, and keeps your clients safe from food-borne illness and health concerns.

List of Items to Cover Before Inspection

When an inspector inspects your food truck, he looks at specific areas to help protect the public. To train your employees and keep a watch on these issues yourself, you must first recognize what the health inspector is searching for.

Potentially hazardous foods

Health inspectors must concentrate on potentially hazardous foods because of the increased danger of food-borne illness. To avoid bacterial growth and food-borne infections, you must monitor certain foods at specific times and temperatures.

The health inspectors will spend significant time checking all of your meat, poultry, and seafood items’ holding and storage temperatures to ensure they are safe.

Food safety knowledge

Food truck owners must thoroughly understand their local public health codes. Your employees must have current food safety training and thoroughly understand proper food preparation and handling techniques. Inspectors will frequently test you and your food truck employees on their expertise.

Water

Sinks should always have running water. You should provide at least five gallons of potable water for handwashing alone. For facilities with little food preparation, including an additional 15 gallons of potable water, and a minimum of 25 gallons of potable water for meals for trucks with preparation and ware-washing functions. 

Waste Disposal

Ensure the wastewater tank (s) has a minimum capacity of 50 percent more than your water tank and no less than 7.5 gallons where applicable. Fix any leaks in the drain lines from the sinks and the coffee urn. Ensure you have connected all your drain pipes to the wastewater tank.

Food Storage

Keep the refrigeration units in good condition. Remove rust from the refrigerator’s racks. In the refrigerated unit, place an accurate thermometer. All hazardous goods should be in a separate space.

Upgrade Your Food Truck Business With Legion Food Trucks

Legion Food Trucks offers you the tools and resources to help your restaurant succeed. We ensure that every food truck that rolls off our floor is guaranteed to pass health inspection by even the strictest health departments. In many cases, we are even able to expedite the approval process and get your vehicle on the streets as soon as possible. Contact us for assistance with your food truck licenses and permits.

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Propane is highly efficient, making it popular with most food truck operators. However, its efficiency means that it is highly flammable, which creates a potential fire hazard risk.

Propane for Powering Food Truck Equipment  

A generator is one of the main appliances used in a food truck. It powers all electric equipment in the food truck, including: 

• Fridge and freezer 
• Microwave oven 
• Hot food holding cabinet 
• Panini press 
• Electric deep fryer 
• Food processor 

Generators are powered by varying types of fuel, including propane. Interestingly, most food trucks use liquid propane (LP) generators, proof of the fuel’s popularity. Some of the benefits of propane include: 

Efficiency

Propane heats up at least 30% faster and is warmer than electricity and other fuels. This reduces the time needed to heat up your cooking equipment. Time is an essential factor when serving a queue of hungry customers on a quick break if you want them to keep coming back. 

Clean Energy 

Propane doesn’t emit as much carbon as gas, diesel, and other fuels. Consequently, using propane reduces your carbon footprint. 

Odorless 

Propane is odorless, whereas gas and most other fuels are smelly. Smelly fuel will make your food smelly and unsanitary. 

Cost-Effective 

Propane burns about 35% hotter than other fuels, as mentioned, making it more cost-effective. It is also generally more affordable than most other fuels. 

Propane & the Risk of Fire Hazards with Food Truck Equipment

The fire hazard risk posed by propane cannot be ignored. However, it can be minimized by taking the necessary precautionary options. 

The best precautionary measure is to procure professional fire safety training on how to use propane in a food truck. Ensure that everyone using the food truck (including employees and family members who may want to help) is trained to avoid any hazardous shortcoming. 

It is also advisable to keep flammable liquids away from the cooking area. Propane is highly flammable, as mentioned, and the propane tank can easily catch fire when exposed to other flammable elements. 

Choose the Best LP Generator 

A food truck doesn’t use propane as directly as it does the propane-powered generator. Consequently, it is important to choose the best generator for your needs. Some of the important factors to consider include: 

Power 

How large is your food truck, and how many electrical appliances do you operate? Ensure that your generator is powerful enough to power all of them. 

Noise 

Generators can make a lot of noise when running the motor. Noise is off-putting to customers, and it will cause splitting headaches over time. However, some LP generators are designed to be as quiet as the humming of an AC. 

Runtime 

Some food trucks run for 24 hours. A generator with a small fuel capacity may not last as long, resulting in interruptions. As such, ensure that your chosen generator can run for as long as required. 

Don’t Skimp on Food Truck Equipment

Propane is efficient and affordable, making it ideal for running a food truck. It is also safe as long as you take the necessary safety precautions. However, remember to choose the best propane-powered generator and other food truck equipment. Contact Legion Food Trucks to learn more about propane and generators. 

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Five Food Truck Equipment Safety Tips

1. Invest In Staff Training and Education

Training your staff is an important consideration when looking to enhance the safety of your food truck equipment. Let your team understand various safety standards, including health care concerns, to help mitigate growing food safety risks in your food truck business. This allows them to maintain food truck safety while being prepared to handle associated equipment risks.

2. Install Automated Fire Suppression Systems

Food trucks are mobile kitchens fitted with either electrical or gas cooking appliances. These units pose various risks in your food truck; for instance, fire breakouts that can cause severe damage or even loss of lives. Although many municipalities in the US have made automated fire suppression systems mandatory, installing these systems in your food truck helps promote the safety of your equipment. It is a critical aspect that allows you to meet standard municipality standards while safeguarding your mobile kitchen.

3. Enhance Ventilation

Like any other kitchen, food trucks require ample ventilation to promote air circulation. A well-ventilated food truck means the kitchen is free from dust, smoke, excess steam, and associated debris. Again, oil droplets can accumulate and result in greasy kitchen surfaces, which can cause all sorts of safety hazards such as slippery surfaces. Ventilating your food truck enables you to mitigate these issues, allowing you to serve clean food to your customers while keeping your equipment safer.

4. Inspect Your Exhaust Systems

The NFPA Fire Code requires all food truck owners to conduct quarterly equipment inspections of systems used in high-volume operations and semi-annual inspections for those used in medium-volume operations. The regulatory body also recommends monthly inspection of exhaust systems designed for solid fuel cooking equipment. The intent is to ensure the safety of your food truck equipment all year round. Hence, it is crucial to hire a certified inspector to perform monthly exhaust system inspections and promote the safety of your food truck business.

5. Perform Self-Inspection

To ensure your equipment is operating optimally and without risks, schedule a routine self-inspection program at least twice every month. It is an effective way to identify any safety concerns early enough and devise ideal actions before the problem worsens. Move around your mobile kitchen and note any equipment changes, focusing on faults and self-health inspections. Yet, it is vital to have an inspection form to help you understand what to look for when performing your self-inspection.

Mitigate Your Risks

The food truck business is a growing venture that requires attention to safety tips to mitigate food truck equipment risks. Not only does this protect you, your staff, and your consumers, but it helps with compliance and promotes business growth. Contact us here at Legion Food Trucks to learn more or get started with professional food truck ideas today!

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