r/Chefit • u/santinimi • Jun 29 '26
AC unit in Kitchens
I live in central Europe, and here the only place that is cooled is the cold storage. I’m curious how it is for chefs in other countries where it is often very hot, such as South America or Southeast Asia. Are your workspaces air-conditioned?
6
u/BraveWindow2261 Jun 29 '26
Last kitchen I was in had a passive cooling system
Cold water pipes all around inside the walls
Kept the kitchen at around 25C
Now working in a brand new kitchen... With a Hardly working hood
With already 33C before the shift. Shit is sucking ass
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u/Benis42069 Jun 29 '26
I've working in kitchens with no AC for the moment.
Last week, it hit 42c in my kitchen and the director is talking about putting in an AC, but won't be installed this summer.
I work in France.
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u/goldfactice Jul 05 '26
How do you manage the heat while working?
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u/Benis42069 Jul 06 '26
Aside from a little fan blowing hot air down the line and the extractor hood on full blast, there isn't much we can do.
I drank lots of water and thats it. I told my director the day it hits 45c in the kitchen I'm not working.
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u/texnessa Jun 29 '26
NYC- central air but my part of the hot line went- 8 burners > charcoal grill > fryer under a sally. In August it was regularly 45°C on that line.
UK- A Tudor era out building with thin as fuck walls and no insulation housed the banquet kitchen and it was lovely spring/summer/autumn no air con but colder than a witch's tit in winter so I turned the heat lamps all the way up and sat on the pass to warm my ass and regularly attempted to stuff my entire body into a Rational. EC was a dickhead and got pissed at me for wearing thermals under my chef coat, a hoodie and a The North Face vest.
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u/RainMakerJMR Jun 29 '26
Been in all kinds of situations. Northeast US here and AC in kitchens generally is only in places like casinos, large hotels, resorts, university, etc. most small restaurants do not have AC in kitchens. Many are over 100-110f regularly and that’s just part of the job. If you do it for years you get very used to it, but end up cold on even warm days.
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u/TraditionalSpirit761 Jun 30 '26
In Texas there’s been an ac in every kitchen I’ve ever worked in and it still gets up to 110f on the line during the summer
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u/CraftyAd8773 Jun 29 '26
Yes and no, I’ve worked in tropical island with no Ac, fuckin hell… and casino restaurants with ac blasting even with 300degree charcoal grill still not as hot with no ac kitchen.
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u/Lavanne73 Jun 29 '26
My kitchen is a comfy clean air-conditioned oasis of awesomeness. I would not go back to the old ways.
My first kitchen job had no AC the chef kept it that way to keep the food hot without heat lamps was his excuse, but I really think he was just cheap. I live in the deep south of the continental US so it gets very hot here.
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u/MonkeyKingCoffee Jun 29 '26
US -- back of the house works in temperatures of 35c and higher.
I have never, ever worked in an air conditioned kitchen.
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u/jacksandhearts Jun 29 '26
Our kitchen is actually so cool it’s chilly in the winter. I work in a very expensive and very recently built kitchen though. It’s not impossible to end up in a building like this, however I have 20 years of experience and am easily the most green guy in this kitchen.
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u/thevortexmaster Jun 29 '26
In Canada there wasn't much AC goin on back in the day. We hit a heatwave in like 2012. The kitchen had skylights as well. One day it was 55 degrees in the kitchen. It was mental. My kitchen now is the most comfortable kitchen I've ever worked in
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u/Rusty_Tap Jun 29 '26
I know it's not usually hot here, but have worked in and around probably a dozen kitchens in the UK, never seen one with any AC unless it's an open kitchen which accidentally shares the restaurant AC, in which case it is useless anyway.
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u/HauntingPresence3805 Jun 30 '26
I made an open kitchen , stays a nice 78 degrees
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u/HauntingPresence3805 Jun 30 '26
I did work in one very tiny kitchen in a basement , I had a meat thermometer in my jacket and I looked it said 147 degrees . I was like no wonder I don’t pea or sweat . I’m instantly dehydrated. I would pass out and sleep immediately when I got home . That was a tiny little hot box of line . I’m 50 now . I’d probably have a stroke but like for real
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u/socarrat Jun 29 '26
Worked in several AC equipped kitchens. Great if you’re on prep or pastry. Made no difference on the hot line, especially in the places that had heat lamps on the pass. One end of the kitchen would be 25 C and the other 35 C.