Any restaurateur can tell you that the most expensive part of running a restaurant isn’t the supplies or the food, it’s the people. 

That's why some large chains are opting to cut jobs wherever possible, incorporating electronic order taking devices and automating the cooking process so that it can be done with fewer unskilled workers. While this might seem like an easy way to maintain the bottom line, anyone who owns an independent restaurant or restaurant group knows that their employees are their best assets. Their passion creates more interesting dishes, improves the customer experience, and helps expose guests to new and exciting culinary delights.

But with minimum wage going up in many places across the county, it is getting harder for restaurant owners to turn a profit each month. Cuts need to be made, but where?

Whether you employ a single prep cook or an entire team of them, taking small steps to improve the efficiency of your prep time can greatly reduce restaurant costs.

Here are two of the best pieces of restaurant equipment to help you cut your prep time.

Commercial Dough Sheeter
While the image of a pizza maker spinning the dough on his fingers has become something of a cultural touchstone, it is hardly a practical method for keeping your costs low. A dough sheeter will help you take your dough (which will still be prepared in advance) and convert it into an appropriate shape and consistency with much less time and effort on your employees' behalf. 

Commercial Meat Cutter
Unless you are a vegetarian or vegan restaurant, you likely have to process a lot of meat. In fact, meat consumption in the United States is on track to increase to 200 lbs. a year per capita by 2018, according to the research and advisory firm Rabobank. If you are purchasing large segments of meat and butchering them in house, as many independent restaurants will, it might seem like a cheat to use a commercial meat cutter. But by using a commercial meat cutting machine, you will greatly increase the speed of your prep time, even if you still spend time cleaning up your cuts by hand afterward.

Finding a place to make cuts as a restaurateur is difficult. Often, you are forced to choose between raising prices, laying off staff, or buying lower quality items. Before you turn to any of those drastic measures, try maximizing your prep time. This may help to alleviate some of the financial burden without too much hardship.

For more information on industrial dough sheeters, electric meat cutters, or other restaurant tools to help maximize your efficiency in the kitchen, visit Pro Restaurant Equipment today.