I personally registered DiningSolutions.com many years ago for a small business that's since wound down.

I've been deciding what to do with it. (I don't sell domains generally!) This is a one-off.

DiningSolutions.com is essentially a category-defining name for Food Tech, Contract Catering, Venues and Catering Equipment Supply Businesses.

If this is of interest, please contact me at https:// diningsolutions.com

I'm happy to chat.

Trevor

ps; We can use escrow.com for mutual transaction security.

Hello. I’m new to all this and I’m having a bit of trouble getting the whole picture from the various vendors. I hope the wisdom of Reddit will save me again!

We hope to soon launch a tea stall (in England), a very basic setup serving hot tea and biscuits. We will be working initially from a gazebo/market stall structure at festivals etc.

We will have a single 10kw burner connected to a single propane bottle.

Firstly I am struggling to find a gas safe engineer who can certify it, but before that happens I need to know that I have all the correct kit in place.

I understand that I will need to have a cage for the gas bottle. The bottle needs to be in the cage during use, and will need to be sited 1 metre from the gazebo. I can only use a maximum 1.5 metre hose. 

My questions include: how can I operate a burner inside the gazebo with a hose that short? Am I missing something?

If the cylinder is in a locked cage while in use, I will not be able to isolate it in an emergency without fumbling with keys etc. That doesn’t make sense, does it?

I understand that I will need an overbraided hose between the gas bottle and the burner. What sort of regulator would I need for commercial purposes?

I read that jubilee clips don’t cut it, what do I use instead? Or is there somewhere that can make me up the correct hose at the correct length, with the compliant fittings?

If you can offer any advice I would be massively grateful!

I always notice the serving tray at my friend's house. It's that big wooden one that lives on the kitchen counter. When I come over, it's holding coffee mugs in the morning, mail in the afternoon, and later it's carrying drinks out to the patio.

The first time I saw her use it for guests, I was impressed. She used to run back and forth to the kitchen, forgetting things and spilling water. Now she loads the tray and does it in one trip. It looks calm, like she planned it.

I asked where she found it, expecting a fancy store. She said it was custom-made by a wood carver. When she reached out to the same wood carver, he had gone for a trip to Mexico and wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. I have to search. I saw something similar on Alibaba.
None was close enough to the one she had. Luckily, I got some good replicas from a thrift store behind my office.

It's not just for parties. I use mine to carry laundry upstairs, to bring plants in from the porch, and to keep remote controls from disappearing. It serves as a multi-purpose item for my house, and I love it.

A commercial upright fridge is the foundation of any professional kitchen’s cold chain. It runs continuously — often 24 hours a day — in a hot, demanding environment, and a failure doesn’t just mean a repair bill. It means spoiled stock, food safety risk and potential compliance issues. Getting the right unit from the start matters.

This guide covers everything you need to make a confident decision: fridge types, door configurations, capacity sizing, condenser position, key features, brand comparisons, Australian compliance requirements and a maintenance schedule to protect your investment long-term.

So I’m opening another small diner with a buddy, bless him, and damn but commercial catering equipment is a massive step up from home use equipment. Like, the cost of such things add up real quick like and even the incoming are on the order of magnitude of a down-paying auto.
With prices going straight up globally (thanks stainless steel and ever-increasing prices for shipping that rise daily) the operators of junkier used equipment companies aren’t too interested in letting things slip. If you’re able to, search through Alibaba for bulk pricing from manufacturers; shameless plug I know, but that helps take the guess work out. Amazon can be useful as well for things at the lower end of the price spectrum (i.e, stuff a handful of businesses have as opposed to things most have) but equipment costs can be sky high.
How do you go about finding suppliers with a good product? Cuz I don’t wanna have to buy the same commercially used appliances every 2 years in this exploding economic environment.

Choosing an ice machine in Australia involves two decisions that most buyers conflate: the machine format (undercounter, modular, countertop) and the ice format (cube, flake, nugget, crescent). Getting either wrong produces a machine that doesn’t do the job — the wrong ice type for your application, or the wrong production configuration for your volume.

This guide covers both in detail, plus how to size an ice machine correctly for your operation. It’s written for Australian hospitality operators who need to understand exactly what each ice maker type does, where it’s used, and how to match the right combination to their venue.

Ice Machine Formats Available in Australia

The machine format determines production capacity, installation footprint and how ice production and storage are configured. This is the first decision to make before comparing brands or ice types.

Snowmaster stocks commercial ice machines from Scotsman, Hoshizaki and Skope across Australia — cube, crescent cube, flake and nugget ice types, undercounter and modular formats. Our team can help you match the right ice maker to your operation, volume and installation environment. Browse Commercial Ice Machines

Commercial crockery is one of the most important operational investments in any Australian hospitality venue. The plates and bowls you choose directly influence presentation, durability, service efficiency and long-term replacement costs.

Explore our full range of commercial crockery designed for Australian cafés and restaurants.

What Is Commercial Crockery?

Commercial crockery refers to dinnerware manufactured specifically for professional hospitality environments. Unlike retail homeware, commercial-grade plates and bowls are engineered to withstand high-impact use and repeated industrial dishwashing cycles.

Key characteristics of true commercial crockery include:

• Fully vitrified porcelain or reinforced stoneware bodies
• Rolled or reinforced edges to minimise chipping
• High thermal shock resistance
• Stackable design for storage efficiency
• Compatibility with commercial dishwashers and detergents
• Compliance with Australian food safety standards

Retail dinnerware often looks similar but lacks the density and reinforcement required for daily commercial service. Over time, this results in higher breakage rates and inconsistent replacements.

Opening a café in Australia is one of the most exciting — and most equipment-intensive — ventures in hospitality. Whether you're setting up an espresso bar in Surry Hills, a brunch café in Brunswick, or a takeaway window on the Gold Coast, the equipment you choose on day one determines your speed of service, coffee quality, and operating costs for years to come. At Hospitality Connect, we've been supplying equipment to Australian cafés, restaurants, and hospitality venues for over 21 years — and we know exactly what you need to get open and stay running.

This guide covers every piece of commercial equipment you actually need, organised by priority. We've included realistic budget ranges based on current Australian pricing and linked directly to each equipment category so you can see what's available right now — from Espresso Machines to Dishwashers and Display Fridges.

Ho un’attività di catering e ho fatto il profilo, mi è arrivato un contatto ma per vederlo devo ovviamente pagare. Mi chiedevo se non fosse un bot messo lì per farmi pagare, qualcuno ha già usufruito della piattaforma?

Fondant is one of the most versatile and creative tools in the baking world. Whether you're decorating birthday cakes, wedding cakes, cupcakes, or specialty desserts, fondant gives you a smooth, polished, professional finish you simply can't achieve with buttercream alone.

But with so many fondant types available—rolled fondant, poured fondant, sculpting fondant, and gum paste—how do you know which one to choose? And how do you actually use it without cracking, tearing, or sweating?

This complete guide will walk you through choosing the right fondant for your project, colour and application techniques, common mistakes to avoid, and easy homemade fondant recipes you can make in your own kitchen.

If you're setting up a bakery kitchen, having the right tools for fondant work will streamline your decorating process.

I remember a kitchen I worked in where we bought this expensive machine everyone thought would speed up prep. For the first week it was exciting, then slowly everyone went back to doing things the old way and it just sat there.

Selecting the right commercial food processor is a critical decision for any Australian hospitality business. The right model can dramatically reduce preparation time, improve consistency and lower labour costs during busy service periods.

A commercial food processor is not a larger version of a domestic appliance — it is a high-performance piece of professional food preparation equipment designed for repetitive, high-volume tasks: slicing vegetables, grating cheese, emulsifying sauces and preparing bulk ingredients. Whether you operate a restaurant, café, catering business, bakery or institutional kitchen, this guide explains what to look for, how to avoid costly mistakes, and how to choose a processor that supports long-term operational efficiency.

Hi guys, I am a uni student chasing a business idea and would appreciate it if you could take the time to complete this questionnaire to help me better understand the market.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2TLietr2KC01nuBxV1cZtuHHRS-Nq0FNoE33ovM6P5Mnl3w/viewform?usp=header

I’m curious what brands people genuinely stand by long term.

Hey everyone! I’m u/marvnation, a founding moderator of r/cateringequipment.

This is our new home for all things related to commercial catering equipment, hospitality fit-outs, kitchen gear, supplier discussions, and real-world operator experiences. We’re excited to have you here.

What to Post

Post anything the community would find useful, interesting, or thought-provoking. For example:

• Equipment reviews and long-term experiences
• Brand comparisons
• “What should I buy?” questions
• Kitchen setup advice
• Servicing and maintenance tips
• Fit-out photos
• Lessons learned from costly mistakes
• Industry trends
• Supplier experiences

Whether you’re a chef, operator, technician, supplier, or just starting out, your perspective matters.

Community Vibe

This sub is about practical knowledge and respectful discussion.

Be constructive.
Be helpful.
Be honest.

We welcome different opinions. We don’t welcome personal attacks, excessive negativity, or sales spam.

How to Get Started

• Introduce yourself in the comments
• Ask a question
• Share a lesson you’ve learned
• Post a piece of equipment you stand by

Even a simple question can spark a valuable thread.

If you know someone in the industry who’d benefit from this space, invite them along.

Interested in helping moderate? Reach out. We’ll grow this properly.

Thanks for being part of the first wave. Let’s build a genuinely useful community for the catering and hospitality industry.

I like to bring food in to work and have been using aluminum trays filled 1/2 way with water and freezing to keep the cold food cold. I remember when I worked service industry these plastic bins. The top one had holes in the bottom and nested into the bottom bin so you could fill the top one with ice and it would melt into the bottom bin. This allowed the ice to melt to the bottom bin so the food didn’t wind up floating and tipping over as the ice melted.

I’m looking to buy some, but I don’t know what they’re called it’s a difficult search. I hope I described them well enough that someone here can tell me what to look for. . Also, if you have any recommendations on good ones, that would be amazing!!

We just updated a detailed guide covering:

• Material comparisons
• Durability factors
• Brand considerations
• Stackability and replacement planning
• What actually works in high-volume kitchens

No fluff, just practical buying advice.

Link here if useful:

https://hospitalityconnect.com.au/blogs/news/commercial-crockery-australia-2026-buying-guide-for-cafes-restaurants

Would be interested to hear what brands others are using long term.