Designing a commercial kitchen is a lot more complicated than picking out equipment and deciding where the fryers go.

On Episode 5 of Cooked with Eric Reed, Eric sits down with Jason from Rapids Foodservice Contract & Design to break down what really goes into designing a restaurant, bar, school kitchen, food hall, or other commercial foodservice operation.

With more than 20 years in foodservice design, Jason shares lessons learned from real projects—including the importance of understanding an operator's menu, service model, workflow, budget, timeline, permitting requirements, equipment needs, and long-term goals.

Eric and Jason discuss why one of the first questions in kitchen design should always be "What's your menu?", how the "circle of flow" can improve efficiency, and why designing around the way employees actually move through a kitchen or bar can have a major impact on an operation.

They also get into:

• Setting realistic expectations for restaurant buildouts
• Why budgets and timelines almost always change
• Designing around menu and service style
• Creating efficient kitchen and bar workflow
• Planning storage and refrigeration for changing menus
• Working with manufacturers and foodservice reps
• Using relationships as a resource when you don't know the answer
• AI's role in design and why human conversations still matter
• Halton hood systems and a real-world St. Louis food hall project
• A kitchen design project that became nearly impossible to solve

Whether you're opening your first restaurant, renovating an existing kitchen, designing a foodservice operation, or working in the equipment industry, this conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions that can make—or break—a commercial kitchen project.

Cooked with Eric Reed is presented by Midwest Professional Reps.

Follow Midwest Professional Reps and Cooked with Eric Reed on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Have a commercial kitchen horror story or a lesson you learned the hard way? Drop it in the comments.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Intro: Cooked with Eric Reed
00:15 – Meet Jason from Rapids Foodservice Contract & Design
02:34 – How Jason Got Into Foodservice Design
04:46 – Why Asking Customers Questions Matters
07:16 – Where a Commercial Kitchen Design Project Starts
08:00 – Setting Realistic Expectations for Restaurant Owners
10:21 – Eric's Kitchen Design Nightmare
11:24 – Why Your Menu Has to Drive the Kitchen Design
12:16 – Menu, Service Style, Beverages, Budget & Timeline
15:01 – Something Will Always Go Wrong During a Buildout
15:48 – A $10,000 Inspection Surprise
17:02 – How Often Does a Restaurant Actually Have a Finished Menu?
17:31 – Designing School Kitchens for Changing Food Programs
19:19 – What Every Operator Should Know Before Building
21:29 – The "Circle of Flow" in Commercial Kitchen Design
23:24 – Designing Bars Around the Cocktail Life Cycle
25:10 – Designing Efficient Bartender Workstations
28:18 – Manufacturer Checklists & Kitchen Design Tools
30:13 – Why Conversation Can Beat a Checklist
31:17 – AI Note-Taking & AI in Foodservice Design
33:00 – What AI Can't Replace in Restaurant Design
36:31 – What Designers Need From Manufacturers
37:05 – Why Great Manufacturer Reps Matter
39:43 – Knowing Who to Call Is a Superpower
41:19 – Better Equipment & Production Estimates
43:21 – Jason's Favorite Manufacturer to Work With
44:50 – How Halton Solved a St. Louis Food Hall Problem
47:59 – The Kitchen Design Project Jason Wishes Went Differently
51:29 – Final Thoughts & Outro

Watch the entire episode on YouTube @MidProReps

Follow Eric, Chad and Midwest Professional Reps on Social Media @MidProReps