Pizza Prep Tables

Assembling personal pizzas requires room to both prepare the pie and store all the potential ingredients. Pizza prep tables are designed to provide spaces for ingredient storage and quick, efficient pizza preparation, keeping your guests satisfied and the orders coming.

Common Questions About Pizza Prep Tables

How is a pizza make table different from a salad and sandwich make table?

Pizza prep tables have a deeper preparation surface than sandwich prep tables in order to provide enough space for the operator to place an entire pizza on the cutting board. This means that the pizza preparation table will have less space for different toppings than a sandwich/salad table similar in size would, but it would leave more room to assemble the pizza. However, if you're concerned about having an insufficient number of toppings for your customers, you can find a larger table that will compensate for the space occupied by the cutting board.

How much pan capacity is necessary?

Empty pans waste energy, and the quality of food can suffer if it sits unused, leading to food waste. Prep tables are designed to hold standard-sized food pans – most commonly 1/6 sized – but most include adjustable rails that can hold full-size, 1/2-size, and 1/4-size pans as well. Consider how many different toppings you want to offer and how many pans of each topping would be useful to have available at a given time. Also, remember that the storage space underneath the prep surface can hold large quantities of ingredient refills in safe refrigeration.

Should I worry about air intake and exhaust?

All refrigeration systems require space to exude hot air and bring in fresh air, and these prep tables are no different. In order to keep your pizza toppings cold and safe, the table provides constant refrigeration, so you need to ensure the exhaust and intake vents are unimpeded. The refrigerator must transfer heat from the inside of the compartment into the air around it, so if these vents are blocked, the refrigerator can't maintain a safe temperature. If the refrigerator can't breathe properly, the stored food will be unsafe to serve to guests, and your pizza prep cooler could potentially become damaged.

How can I maintain my pizza prep cooler?

Regular cleaning and maintenance are important with any kind of equipment, but this is especially true with a prep table. These are complex machines, but a few simple steps can keep yours running efficiently:

Clean the gaskets on the doors with lemon juice regularly. This will lubricate the seal, protecting it from cracking while keeping it clean and free of bacteria.
Regularly clean the filter, coils, and fins in the refrigeration system. Dust and dirt can collect on these components, making the system work harder, waste energy, and increase the risk of overheating and breakdowns.
If you make your own dough in-house, check the compressor coils of your pizza prep table at least once a month, as particulates from that process – such as airborne flour – can cause problems.
Check for punctured and dented pans that can let air escape and lead to unnecessarily high utility bills.

What other features should I look for?

Pizza preparation tables can come with other handy additions to improve service. Raised rails on the top of the prep table offer space to store pizzas while waiting on customers to pick them up. If you plan to use your prep table as a front-of-house appliance, consider a sliding top, which retracts into the unit to display the preparation process for your guests. For back-of-house applications, lift-up lids keep the interior cold through repeated opening and closing.