All 8 Required
Your kitchen cannot pass inspection without every category represented. Check each box and name your selected unit:
1. Commercial Refrigeration
Selected Item:
2. Cooking Equipment
Selected Item:
3. Food Preparation Area
Selected Item:
4. Sanitary Storage Unit
Selected Item:
5. Dedicated Handwash Sink
Selected Item:
6. 3-Bay Sink / Dish Unit
Selected Item:
7. Temperature Holding Gear
Selected Item:
8. Safety Kit & Smallwares
Selected Item:
Pop-Up Café: Kitchen Challenge Page 2 of 6
Part 2 • Financial Ledger
Budget Cap $15,000.00
| # | Equipment / Item Description | Category | Unit Cost | Qty | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $ | $ | |||
| 2 | $ | $ | |||
| 3 | $ | $ | |||
| 4 | $ | $ | |||
| 5 | $ | $ | |||
| 6 | $ | $ | |||
| 7 | $ | $ | |||
| 8 | $ | $ | |||
| 9 | $ | $ | |||
| 10 | $ | $ |
Starting Cap $15,000.00
Total Spent
$
Remaining Reserve
$
Defend one Essential item, one Nice-to-Have item, and one item you Deliberately Rejected to protect your budget.
1. Essential Item (NEED IT): Core Operational Need
2. Luxury / Rejected Item (DON'T NEED IT): Budget Cut Justification
⭐ Bonus Challenge: Multi-Use Workhorse (+5 Points) Dual-Function Equipment
Name one piece of equipment and explain the 2+ distinct menu operations it performs:
Pop-Up Café: Kitchen Challenge Page 3 of 6
Part 4 • Floor Plan Engineering
Scale: 1 Square = 1 Foot
R: Refrigeration
C: Cook Line / Heat
P: Prep Counter
H: Hand Sink (Required)
S: Dry Storage Bins
D: 3-Bay Dishwash
E: Expo / Plating Bar
W: Waste / Trash Area
Back Delivery Door (Receiving) Rear Exterior Wall (Plumbing & Ventilation Access)
Kitchen Interior Workspace (24 ft × 18 ft) Draw stations, aisles, tables, and labeled equipment with code letters
Front Service Pass-Through Window (To Dining Room / Cashier) Front Counter Wall
Mandatory Clearance: Kitchen aisles must maintain at least 3 feet (3 grid squares) of open walking clearance. 20 Rubric Points
Pop-Up Café: Kitchen Challenge Page 4 of 6
Part 5 • Ergonomics & Crisis Protocol
Operational Safety
Verify how your kitchen floor plan prevents cross-traffic and food safety violations. Trace your path:
Storage
→
Prep
→
Cook
→
Hold
→
Plate
→
Serve
→
Dishwash
A. Cross-Traffic Prevention: How does your layout keep the dishwashing (dirty) area completely separated from plating/service (clean)?
B. Ergonomic Efficiency: How many steps does a line cook take between the primary cooking surface, refrigeration, and plating station?
Assigned Card
Scenario #
Crisis Title
Immediate Safety & Operational Action: (What do you shut down, move, or switch to right now?)
Menu & Customer Adaptation: (Which menu items can you still serve, and what is your communication to guests?)
Pop-Up Café: Kitchen Challenge Page 5 of 6
Part 6 & 7 • Final Deliverables
3–5 Minute Pitch
Use this script to deliver your 3-minute presentation. Fill in your team's specific talking points:
"The single most critical piece of equipment in our kitchen is...
because it directly produces our signature dish, which is..."
"Our most expensive purchase was... ($ )
We justified this significant investment because..."
"Our layout maximizes kitchen speed and employee safety because...
Financial Summary: Allocated: $15,000.00 Spent: $ Reserves: $
Your pop-up completes Month 1 profitably! The café owner grants you an additional $5,000 capital equipment budget.
What single new piece of equipment or major upgrade do you purchase, and how will it either increase customer output or expand your menu?
Portfolio Evaluation Research (15) • Alignment (15) • Budget (15) • Blueprint (20) • Workflow (15) • Emergency (5) • Pitch (15)
Total: 100 Pts +5 Bonus Points
Pop-Up Café: Kitchen Challenge Page 6 of 6
Standard commercial catalog benchmarks for student ledgers to standardize comparisons across groups.
| Category | Equipment Item & Description | Avg Cost | Operational Utility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigeration | Commercial 2-Door Reach-In Refrigerator (49 cu ft) | $2,800 | Perishable holding <41°F |
| Refrigeration | Under-Counter Refrigerated Sandwich Prep Table (48") | $2,200 | Chilled garnish pans + prep top |
| Freezing | Commercial Ice Machine with 300 lb Bin | $2,500 | Beverages & blanching ice bath |
| Freezing | Commercial Chest / Upright Freezer | $1,600 | Long-term frozen bulk storage |
| Cooking | 4-Burner Commercial Range with Standard Oven | $2,400 | Saute, boiling, and roasting |
| Cooking | Half-Size Convection Oven (Countertop) | $1,800 | High-speed baking & roasting |
| Cooking | Commercial Flat-Top Griddle (24" Gas/Elec) | $1,200 | Pancakes, burgers, melts |
| Cooking | Floor Deep Fryer (40 lb Oil Capacity) | $1,500 | High-volume crisp items |
| Cooking | Commercial Panini Press / Clamshell Grill | $600 | Pressed sandwiches & toast |
| Preparation | 20-Quart Commercial Planetary Stand Mixer | $1,200 | Batters, doughs, whips |
| Preparation | Continuous-Feed Commercial Food Processor | $500 | Chopping, grating, pureeing |
| Preparation | Stainless Steel Worktable with Undershelf (6 ft) | $350 | Sanitary raw/prep workspace |
| Sanitation | 3-Compartment Stainless Pot Sink with Drainboards | $1,100 | Wash-Rinse-Sanitize station |
| Sanitation | Wall-Mounted Hand Sink with Splash Guards | $350 | Mandatory employee handwash |
| Beverage | Commercial 2-Group Espresso Machine | $4,000 | Espresso, lattes, steamed milk |
| Beverage | Commercial Twin Thermal Coffee Brewer | $850 | Drip coffee batch service |
| Holding/Expo | Overhead Infrared Heat Lamp Strip (48") | $300 | Plating line warmth >135°F |
| Storage | Chrome Wire Shelving Unit (4-Tier) | $220 | Dry ingredient & pan storage |
| Safety/Small | Starter Smallwares & Safety Kit (Class K + Knives) | $900 | Fire safety + basic utensils |
| Luxury / Trap | Commercial Soft-Serve Ice Cream Machine | $6,000 | Consumes 40% of entire budget! |
Teacher Guide • Opening Day: Build The Kitchen Page 2 of 3
Day 3 Activity & Assessment
Evaluation Tools
Printable Equipment Emergency Cards (Cut and Distribute One Per Team) Distribute on Day 3
🚨 CRISIS #1 Cooler Down
Your primary reach-in refrigerator stops cooling during the busy lunch hour. Internal temp hits 52°F.
🚨 CRISIS #2 50-Guest Surge
An unannounced tour bus arrives with 50 hungry guests. Which station becomes your severe bottleneck?
🚨 CRISIS #3 Fryer Failure
Heating element in the commercial fryer shorts out. What menu items can you still safely produce?
🚨 CRISIS #4 Dish Sink Blockage
The dishwashing plumbing backs up completely. How does your café maintain sanitization without shut down?
🚨 CRISIS #5 Circuit Overload
Running all gear trips the main 50A breaker. Which equipment gets priority and which gets disconnected?
🚨 CRISIS #6 Staff Collisions
The line cook and prep chef keep colliding during service. What specific layout adjustment fixes this?
| Criteria | Pts | Exemplary (90–100%) | Proficient (75–89%) | Developing (<75%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floor Plan & Blueprint | 20 | Clear scale, labeled zones, 36" aisles, zero clean/dirty cross-traffic. | Accurate layout, minor clearance or zoning flaw. | Unscaled, missing critical stations, hazardous cross-traffic. |
| Menu Alignment | 15 | 100% of menu dishes have dedicated, logical equipment support. | Most dishes covered; 1–2 preparation gaps noted. | Gear does not match stated menu items. |
| Budget Accuracy | 15 | Strictly ≤ $15,000, precise math, healthy emergency cash cushion. | Under $15k but $0 reserve or minor calculation error. | Over $15,000 budget or incomplete ledger lines. |
| Linear Workflow | 15 | Flawless progression from receive to dishwash; zero back-tracking. | Minor bottleneck in plating or prep transition. | Disorganized paths; staff constantly crisscrossing. |
| Equipment Inventory | 15 | 15+ items, all 8 must-haves checked, realistic cost benchmarks. | 12–14 items or 1 missing must-have pillar. | Fewer than 12 items or missing core sanitation/refrig. |
| Emergency & Pitch | 15 | Compelling 3-min pitch, robust crisis response, thoughtful $5k reflection. | Basic presentation; adequate crisis solution. | Incomplete crisis action plan or weak pitch defense. |
| Bonus: Multi-Use | +5 | Identifies and defends an item serving 2+ distinct operations (e.g. convection oven baking & roasting). |
Teacher Guide • Opening Day: Build The Kitchen Page 3 of 3
