20 threads · 20 questions · 0 discussions
Home cooks and restaurant operators both end up here. Discussions cover ovens that heat unevenly, commercial refrigeration losing temperature, gas range and extraction issues, and how to build a preventive-maintenance routine that keeps a kitchen passing inspection. Downtime is expensive in a commercial kitchen — the goal is catching faults before service.
Our combi oven (the steam function especially) keeps scaling up, throws descale warnings, and steam performance is dropping. I'm sure Dubai's hard water is behind it. - How much d…
Our commercial blast chiller has slowed down — it's not pulling hot food down to temperature in the time it should, which is a food-safety issue. - What causes a blast chiller to…
On our commercial gas range some burners have gone weak with yellow/uneven flames instead of a strong blue, cooking unevenly and slowly. - What causes weak, yellow or uneven burne…
We've got commercial fridges and freezers and I've been treating them the same for servicing. - Are the maintenance needs and common faults actually different between a commercial…
Our cafe's espresso machine keeps furring up with scale, needs descaling constantly, and the coffee quality is slipping. I'm sure Dubai's hard water is behind it. - How much does…
Fryer oil is a big running cost, and we're either changing it too often (waste) or leaving it too long (bad food — and I gather degraded oil is a food-safety issue, not just taste…
Our commercial combi oven has started tripping the kitchen's breaker, sometimes mid-service — a nightmare when we're slammed. Resetting works for a while, then it goes again. - Is…
I want a proper planned-maintenance (PM) programme for my restaurant kitchen — so equipment doesn't fail mid-service, and so we're always inspection-ready. - What should a restaur…
One of my restaurant's ovens cooks unevenly and takes longer to get to temperature, and the kitchen swears it's not them. I've read two likely causes: a worn door seal/gasket lett…
My café's commercial dishwasher/glasswasher has stopped cleaning properly — glasses come out filmy, spotted or greasy, not clean. Before I lose service and call an engineer, I wan…
The walk-in cold room at my café is creeping warmer than it should — not failed, but not holding its temperature — and I'm nervous about losing stock and a hygiene check. Before I…
My café's extraction hood came with mesh filters (the metal-wool-looking panels), and I keep being told baffle filters are what a commercial kitchen should use. Before I buy repla…
The ice machine in the café is going downhill: it's making less ice than it used to, the cubes come out smaller and cloudy, and — the bit that worries me most — the ice has starte…
The under-counter fridge in my café is slowly losing temperature — it's meant to sit at 1-5°C but it's been creeping up to 8-9°C, and the compressor seems to run almost constantly…
I run a small café in JLT and I've realised our kitchen extraction hood has never been properly cleaned — the cleaner just pops the metal filters out, washes them, and puts them b…
The extractor hood over the hob has basically stopped doing its job — the fan still runs and sounds normal, but smoke and cooking smells just hang in the kitchen now instead of be…
My dishwasher finishes its cycle but leaves a pool of dirty water at the bottom, and the dishes come out not properly clean. Newish apartment in Abu Dhabi, machine is about 2 year…
The freezer on our café fridge is still freezing fine, but the fridge compartment has gone warm — drinks aren't cold anymore. Same appliance. What makes just the fridge side stop…
My gas oven clicks when I turn it on but won't light — the hob burners are fine, it's just the oven. Sometimes it eventually catches with a small "whump". Is this safe to keep usi…
Our café's convection oven has started baking unevenly — one tray comes out pale, another over-browned, same bake. It's throwing off consistency and wasting product. What should I…
Usually a failing convection fan, a worn door seal leaking heat, a dying heating element, or calibration drift. Have the fan and door gasket checked first — they're the most common and cheapest causes.
Common causes are dusty condenser coils, a failed door seal, overpacking that blocks airflow, or a faulty thermostat/compressor. Clean the coils and check the seal before assuming the worst.
Busy commercial kitchens benefit from quarterly preventive servicing, with monthly checks on refrigeration and extraction — downtime and failed inspections cost far more than the maintenance. Home appliances need much less.
A yellow, weak or uneven flame usually means blocked burner ports or an incorrect air/gas mix — clean the burner heads first. Persistent yellow flames or any gas smell need a professional immediately.
A rule of thumb: if the repair costs more than about half the price of a replacement and the unit is past mid-life, replace it. For commercial gear, also factor in downtime and energy efficiency.
Regular cleaning of extraction/hood filters, calibrated fridge and freezer temperatures, working door seals, and documented servicing. A simple logbook of temperatures and services is what inspectors look for.