What is 304 Stainless Steel?

 

Back to top: What Is 304 Stainless Steel?

How to Remove Rust From Stainless Steel

 

Back to top: How to Remove Rust From Stainless Steel

How to Clean Stainless Steel? From Streaks to Sparkling in No Time

 

Back to top: How to Clean Stainless Steel: From Streaks to Sparkling in No Time

20 Years, and Stainless Steel Excellence Continues On

Together, We Have Made a Truly Impressive Sandwich.

20 years ago, I ordered the first container of stainless steel benches and Brayco was born.
That container had 8 stainless benches in it, no sinks, just benches. When it arrived, I wasn’t disappointed with the quality, so I shoved a few ads in the local papers, and put up a few auctions on eBay to see how these few products would sell. Well, bugger me, the phones starting ringing and within 6 weeks, I was back ordering the second container. I drafted my brother in law Dan in to help sell them. This container had 15 products. I was going out on a limb now. Now we had some wall shelves and a single cabinet crammed in. What recklessness! My wife and a few of my friends started asking whether I would saturate the market.

Who would want that many stainless steel benches? Why are they so popular?
These are disturbing questions. When you’ve found something you like doing and it’s going well, you don’t like to think it’ll just fizzle out. The fun part of business is the growth. The connection with colleagues and customers. So, I started asking the customers why the hell they were buying so many benches from us. If I didn’t know the answer, maybe they would. Could we do even better? Could we grow?

The customers said it basically came down to 4 simple things:
1. Quality — the benches had to be good quality — sturdy, built for purpose and durable.
2. Price — we were priced well below the lazy competitors who’d been price gouging for decades.|
3. Availability — customers liked being able to get their stuff same day, not wait for weeks.
4. Range — we had an OK range of sizes, but they would have bought more if we had more to offer.

So, armed with this knowledge, we decided to make sure we followed these 4 ideas. We call them the 4-Pillars.
And now, 20 years later, you can see the result.
• Those 8 products have turned into a mind boggling range of over 1,200 products. Benches, sinks, shelves, cabinets, chairs, tables, wheels, taps in a vast assortment of sizes, styles, materials. So, range is covered.
• In 2003, we had a 96 square metre warehouse in Perth. Pokey. Now, we have over 20,000 sqm of warehousing across Australia and New Zealand — we are available. Pick it up same day. Buy online. Ring. Whatevs.
• And price? Well, in 2005 our smallest bench was $199. Today, despite a pandemic, a global financial crisis, and rampant inflation across wages, warehouse costs, freight and everything else thrown up at us, that same bench is $244. And we’ll bring the price down if we can.
• As for quality, we have tirelessly worked to improve the strength and quality of the products we sell. Crap doesn’t sell for long. And if something goes wrong we’ll fix it.

The result of all this? Each year now, we expect to sell over 24,000 shelving units, over 50,000 benches, sinks and cabinets and 60,000 chairs. That’s a lot. Hard to visualise, but let’s give it a go..

Let’s imagine that we got all of our customers together to make a sandwich, the biggest sandwich in the world. The current world record for the biggest sandwich is 74 metres. But I think we can do better.

Let’s put all the benches together that you guys have bought in one long line to form the longest bench. If we started building it on the outskirts of Auckland, then it would wind its way down the coast and end up somewhere in the middle of Hamilton. The bench would be 255,000 metres long. That’s quite a big bench. And we’d need a lot of butter. And a lot of people. And let’s hope there isn’t a shortage of lettuce when we do it.
But luckily, we have a lot of customers that might pitch in to help. There are 140,652 current customers of Brayco and Chairforce across New Zealand and Australia, enough to fill both Eden Park and Sky Stadium. If we all pitched in, I think the sandwich wouldn’t take long to make at all. Wouldn’t take long to eat it either.

So, thank you lovely customers. The Brayco team are wholly reliant on your goodwill and continued custom. We hope to earn it. We are committed to the 4-pillars approach — and hopefully, together, in another twenty years time, we can make a sandwich to stretch from Auckland, winding past Napier to Wellington or even South Island…

Commercial Kitchens in New Zealand: Enhancing Efficiency with Brayco

In New Zealand’s dynamic hospitality landscape, commercial kitchens are at the heart of operations, catering to a variety of large-scale endeavours. These specialised spaces, equipped with high-quality, affordable Brayco products, are designed to enhance efficiency, ensure safety, and boost functionality.

Defining a Commercial Kitchen

A Commercial Kitchen is a hub designed for large-scale food production. These kitchens are equipped with specialised furniture and a variety of tools and appliances that allow for the efficient handling of bulk orders. At Brayco, we provide a range of products that contribute to the smooth running of these kitchens.

Brayco: Enhancing Commercial Kitchens

Brayco’s contribution to commercial kitchens ranges from benches and sinks to cabinets and shelves, Brayco provides a range of products to meet the unique needs of each commercial kitchen.

 

Stainless Benches

Brayco provides a range of benches, each designed to meet different needs. From flat benches of varying depths to splashback benches, waste collection benches, and even premium splashback benches, Brayco caters to all requirements. Extras for these benches include leg attachments, underbench drawers, 2-tier overselves, splashback extensions, and more.

 

 

Stainless Sinks

Brayco offers a variety of stainless sinks of different depths, along with dishwasher sinks, wall-mounted sinks, and knee-operated sinks. Extras for these sinks include shelf options and tabs.

 

 

Commercial Kitchen Cabinets

Brayco’s variety of stainless cabinets includes standard cabinets with either a hinged or sliding door, drawer cabinets, sink cabinets, and even a coffee cart. Choose a standard adjustable feet or lockable castors – no extra charge. Wall-mounted cabinet options are also available.

 

 

Commercial Kitchen Shelves

Brayco provides a range of shelf options, including premium coolroom/freezer shelving, chrome wire shelving for dry store, epoxy wire shelving for cool rooms, stainless steel shelf units, and wall-mounted solid or pipe shelves. Extras such as 2-tier overselves, leg brace rail kits for underbench storage, and shelves for sinks are also available.

 

 

 

Taps

Brayco’s range of taps includes pre rinse taps, mixer taps, and hands-free taps, each designed to increase efficiency and promote hygiene.

 

 

Trolleys

Brayco offers a range of economical polypropylene and stainless trolleys which can help ease the transportation of goods within the kitchen, contributing to the smooth running of operations.

Importance of a Well-Designed Commercial Kitchen

Investing in a well-designed commercial kitchen is crucial for several reasons:

• Efficiency: A properly designed layout can optimise productivity and minimise time wasted on unnecessary movements.
• Safety: Commercial Kitchens need to adhere to strict safety standards to prevent accidents and ensure the well-being of staff and customers.
• Functionality: A well-designed kitchen maximises the use of available space, making it easier for staff to navigate and work efficiently.
• Food Quality: The layout and equipment in a commercial kitchen directly impacts the quality of food produced.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Investing in a well-designed commercial kitchen from the start can save money in the long run by preventing costly renovations or equipment replacements.

Find out about commercial kitchen work stations and their equipment below:

Workstation	Essential Equipment
Cooking Area	Commercial-grade stoves, ovens, grills, fryers
Food Preparation	Ample stainless steel benchtop space, cutting boards, food processors
Dishwashing Area	Industrial-grade dishwashers, sinks
Storage Area	Multi-functional open shelves, walk-in refrigerators, and freezers

 

Safety and Hygiene in a Commercial Kitchen

In New Zealand, maintaining cleanliness and hygiene is a must. A clean kitchen helps ensure the food tastes as it should, keeps your staff healthy, and earns your customers’ trust. Using non porous surfaces and materials that are easy to clean, like Brayco’s 304 food grade stainless steel benches, reduces the risk of food contamination or pest infestation. Routine cleanups and staff training are essential for smooth operations.

Compliance with safety regulations and best practices is vital for any commercial kitchen. Regular inspections by health authorities ensure that these safety standards are upheld, offering both staff and customers a secure and trustworthy environment.
Choose 304 grade stainless for a commercial kitchen environment. Cheaper brands offer the more porous 430 grade steel that may not comply with food safety regulations. Always check with your local authority before purchasing equipment and furniture for your kitchen.

Your commercial kitchen stands to be the core of an operation that meets and exceeds the highest standards of quality, safety, and customer satisfaction. At Brayco, we’re committed to helping you achieve this vision with our expansive range of high-quality, affordable products.

Client Profile – Rio’s Iconic Bar

At the end of 2021, an iconic bar lit up, fizzing with good vibes and edgy design. Just over a year into business, Rio’s bar has become well-loved for its delicious bar bites, seasonal cocktails, carefully curated wine and beer list, and the rotating list of local DJs to help guests shake the week off and welcome the weekend.

Rio’s slick look and ambience is all down to its owners, who completely overhauled the space and built it from scratch back in 2021. The upstairs venue was created with a modern décor in mind and to make the most of the balcony overlooking ‘the strip’.

To best serve customers and create more space for them, the owners chose a u-shaped bar with the help of a selection of high-quality Brayco products. Brayco splashback benches and sink benches formed the base of the bar, before encasing it with a beautifully contrasting timber bar.

 

 

The splashback benches are industry standard, ready for all the pummelling of a pumping bar, and easy to assemble and clean. Rio’s fitted the timber bar over the splashback component for a seamless look, while underneath power points, taps and wiring were cut and concealed within the splashback. A Brayco rail kit was used to stabilise and reinforce the benches, while storing a well-used dishwasher.

 

 

Beyond the cocktail shakers’ post (aka the bar), the contemporary and industrial look of Rio’s continued with Chairforce supplying chairs, stools, and tables. Rio’s chose a selection of Replica Tolix items, inspired by French designer Pauchard, which are brilliant for commercial venues with their stackable and sturdy design. At Rio’s, you’ll see in the bar area Replica Tolix bar tables, with steel bases and solid timber tops, complemented by the lightweight and durable Replica Tolix bar stools with back rest. In the dining zones, the smaller Replica Tolix dining tables and Replica Tolix chairs create a seamless backdrop for the seafood platters and coconut margaritas adorning them.

 

 

Next time you’re lucky enough to explore, make sure you pop in and experience the great space and menu at Rio’s Bar for yourself. If you’re looking for your own commercial venue fit out, come and visit our friendly staff at our warehouse – Call us now!

Client Profile – Smokey Joes Rubs

Smokey Joe’s Rubs originated in the home kitchen of its passionate owner Joe two years ago. Joe loved preparing healthy food, full of flavour, and wanted all-natural spice mixes to transform his own meals. Like many good businesses, when you see a gap in the market, you create the product yourself!

So, Joe worked with local suppliers to source a vast array of herbs and spices that he personally dries, roasts, grinds and blends to create his award winning range of rubs and loaded salts. Two years in, Smokey Joe’s Rubs has expanded exponentially, and the old home kitchen was no longer cutting the mustard seed. The variety and volume of spices needed a bigger home due to the building clientele and a large selection of IGA supermarkets, butchers and BBQ stores across the country stocking the rubs.

Smokey Joe’s Rubs has now opened a beautiful shopfront with commercial kitchen at the back, in Perth WA, which displays the full range of spices and loaded salts, plus a selection of sauces, dips and glazes.

For his commercial kitchen, Joe came to Brayco to choose good quality, steel storage solutions to maximise the space and continue making the spices in small batches to maintain product integrity. Chrome Wire Shelving was an ideal choice to store the myriad tubs of spices, which are a popular choice for kitchens due to the thick, sturdy steel supporting its four shelves (with the option for additional shelves).

Stainless steel flat benches are loaded up with further tubs of spices and the grinding machinery, perfect for commercial kitchens and ready for grinders to test their strength. Joe also selected some wall-mounted stainless steel shelves, positioned above the benches to keep items handy when working.

Brayco provided its expert advice on how to lay the shelves and benches out to maximise the space and Joe’s selection shows how well these products can support a busy, productive kitchen.

If you’re looking for help with good quality (and value) storage solutions for your commercial kitchen, contact us for a chat. Brayco has seven locations across Australia and New Zealand, stocked to the brim, so we can have products ready for dispatch or pick up within 24 hours of your order.

Client Profile – Farooj Charcoal Chicken

When a queue forms half an hour before doors open, you know the cuisine being served is something special. Farooj Charcoal Chicken only opened in June 2022 but already draws crowds from far and wide for its mouth-watering Lebanese charcoal chicken recipe.

The family business was created when the owners moved to Perth and missed their unique charcoal chicken flavour – an old family recipe that was a favourite with anyone they cooked for. So, they decided to open Farooj Charcoal Chicken so the smoky, authentic flavours of Lebanese chicken could be enjoyed by their new community.

The shop is bursting with family-inspired recipes and family members, who cook and serve the charcoal chicken across various methods (think whole chickens, burgers, wraps and loaded fries), fresh from the spit roast. While customers are from all over Perth, the family particularly loves seeing its regular patrons.

Brayco and Chairforce were the supplier of choice for Farooj owners, who needed to maximise space in the small kitchen with plenty of sturdy and efficient storage, while providing its café section with a sleek, industrial look that aligned with its branding.

 

Farooj chose pipe shelves to line the kitchen above the triple bowl sink to keep utensils and pots easily accessible. Wall shelves tower above them with excess containers and products kept neatly out of the way until required. Brayco’s two-tier overshelf is perhaps the hero of the kitchen, providing an island bench with space for both food preparation and storage, and everything within arm’s reach.

The triple bowl sink is well used within this fast-moving kitchen with options for rinsing food and washing dishes, plus a handy rail built beneath for efficient storage of spray bottles. Farooj chose two sinks with large, pre-rinse taps and one with a hands-free tap for hygienic hand washing.

The logo and shopfront are just as spicy as Farooj’s chicken with bold red flames dousing the windows. Farooj was able to perfectly complement its style with Chairforce’s red Replica Tolix stools (which come in 4 colours, so palette matching is a cinch for any of our clients), plus they’re stackable for a fast pack away.

Brayco and Chairforce loved helping family business Farooj Charcoal Chicken create a harmonious workplace and enjoyable customer experience. Contact us to discuss how our products can elevate your business.

As Seen On Australian Space Invaders

With the increasing popularity of industrial interior style, stainless steel surfaces are no longer reserved for the commercial kitchen, and why should they be? They’re hard-wearing, high quality, and hygienic, making them a family friendly surface.  Stainless steel benches are also highly versatile – you can add castors to the feet for a mobile option – a great alternative to an inbuilt kitchen island bench. You can also adjust the undershelf for additional storage, add extra shelves or even a set of drawers.

Whether you’re looking to spruce up your kitchen/entertaining area indoors or outdoors, stainless steel benches are a timeless choice. The attractive steel will compliment most interiors and will give your kitchen an effortless facelift without the huge price tag.

On the 7th episode of Australia’s Channel 9 Space Invaders, Peter Walsh heads up the team, alongside the queen of house flipping Cherie Barber and the king of trash and treasure Lucas Callaghan.

We see a well deserving family turn their cluttered, unusable outdoor patio, into a functional and stunning outdoor entertaining area.

The transformation saw the addition of an outdoor kitchen, with two Brayco Stainless Steel Flat Benches sitting centre stage. The clever use of the benches separates the cooking and living zones, and provides a large food prep and service area, that also proved to be a gathering point on the show.
Cherie really was thinking outside the square on this reno, and used Brayco benches to their full potential, showing just how versatile they really are.

To read more about this lovely couple and their transformation, plus other episodes the Space Invaders team have completed recently, view here.

Product Used: Commercial Grade Stainless Steel Flat Bench, 1829 x 610 x 900mm high

Designing Your Commercial Kitchen

The kitchen should be considered the heart of your restaurant or cafe. Factors that can determine the success of your restaurant/café, such as food quality, lead time and order efficiency rely heavily of the strategic design of your kitchen’s layout.

To optimise the flow of food production, commercial kitchens should not be using the same design principles of domestic kitchens, as they serve a completely different set of criteria.

Of the many fundamental aspects to consider when designing or refurbishing your commercial kitchen, we recommend first considering what your commercial kitchen will require. In most cases, you will need:

• Dry storage
• Refrigerated storage
• Freezer storage
• Food preparation station
• Designated cooking space
• Service area
• Dish pit/wash-up area

Helpful Tips

1. Research Local Health Codes

By obtaining the required permits for your food service operation, you’ll ensure your business has a firm foundation. Every state and local area has its own codes, so it’s best to familiarize yourself with them prior to designing your space. Topics such as ventilation, waste storage and lighting should be addressed in this stage of planning. A good starting point is the New Zealand Food Standards Code, which can be downloaded here. Alternately, you may enquire directly with your local public health department to find more information on applicable regulations for food service industries.

2. Know Your Menu

Creating processes to execute each dish will help shape your design in that it will determine which appliances and tools your kitchen requires. In this stage of planning, you can ensure your staff has ample counter space to work. For example, food preparation should be positioned between storage and the cooking area to achieve the ideal flow. When space permits, you should segregate preparation into different processes. Meaning, raw meat/fish prep, vegetable prep, poultry and desert will each have different preparation stations. Understanding the space and tools your kitchen requires will allow you to streamline food preparation processes. But if you find yourself in a tight situation and need help to create extra work space (most of us do), not to worry! Check out Brayco’s Stainless Steel Over Bench Shelves – https://braycostainless.co.nz/stainless-steel-benches/extras-benches/overshelves/.

3. Involve the Chef & BOH Staff

A haphazardly designed kitchen ultimately creates obstacles for your chef and back-of-house team. When possible, involve your team in the design process so their skills and expertise may be utilised. Input from the kitchen and BOH staff will help you determine the ideal placement of appliances and kitchen tools, therefore creating a smooth kitchen flow that will make your cooking and clean-up routines seamless.

Choosing Your Layout

Different layouts suit different types of restaurants. Here we’ll look at the suitability standards for each type.

Which Floor Plan is Best for Fast Food?

Fast food outlets work best with a centralised strip serving the assembly line. The assembly-line configuration is ideal for kitchens that need to serve a large quantity of people quickly. Under this model, kitchen equipment is situated in a line with the food preparation station at one end and the service station on the other, which encourages the quick production of food by sending it down the line. This layout works particularly well for restaurants with a limited menu, such as pizza or sandwich shops.

Which Floor Plan is Best for Catering Businesses?

Kitchens used to cater events generally have varied menus comprised of multiple courses. The zone-style layout typically works best. Under this blueprint, each station has its own space which allows BOH staff to divide and conquer. Restauranteurs can simply employ a specialized chef to tackle each station. Each workstation should have its own allocated area which usually requires a large and open working kitchen space, so this model does not suit small kitchens.

Café: Small spaces with few staff members benefit from an open design. An open kitchen layout allows your team to maximise a small space. An increasingly popular model consists of a glass partition between the service area and guest seating, which allows guests to see all the action. You can even create a chef’s table by placing bar stools by the kitchen. This gives your guests a unique and special experience while you are maximizing your venue’s potential. It’s no surprise that small spaces can be tricky to fit out, which is precisely why Brayco carries such a wide range of products in a large number of sizes, with speciality ranges to fit corners and the narrowest spaces.

Which Floor Plan is best for Large Restaurants? The island-style commercial kitchen layout features a central “command centre” or passthrough point for all dishes, which facilitates constant communication between the chef, cooks, and BOH staff. The island-style design is typically comprised of cooking equipment at its centre, while storage units, food prep and washing stations are located along its perimeter. This set up is ideally suited for restaurants with lots of kitchen space.

Where to buy Commercial Kitchen Furniture

Brayco supplies commercial kitchen benches, sinks, cabinets, shelving systems and much more. Products are supplied flat pack for easy delivery. Assembly is a breeze and sales staff are on hand to give advice if needed.
With over 450 products, Brayco is sure to have what you need, as most products come in a variety of shapes and sizes with many customisable to suit your requirements.
It’s not hard to understand why so many restauranteurs are opting for stainless steel cabinetry, countertops and accessories – it’s super sleek, ultra-hygienic and enhances the overall look of your kitchen.

About Ordering from Brayco

Brayco deliver across New Zealand. You’ll find the showroom in Auckland, which you’re welcome to visit.
Office hours are as follows: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm.
Chrissy Hutching is your contact in the New Zealand office.
She’d be glad to share her expertise with you and has been helping Brayco’s New Zealand customers since 2008.