A cloud kitchen is a commercial kitchen that is used exclusively for the preparation of food for delivery or takeout, without customers eating in it. This type of kitchen, also known as a 'ghost kitchen' or 'dark kitchen', is rented out to restaurants and other food businesses to help them grow their business. By using a cloud kitchen, restaurateurs can focus on food preparation and product marketing, while minimizing the administrative and logistical problems that often burden food companies. Cloud kitchens usually have fixed prices that include administrative functions such as cleaning fees, waste collection and kitchen equipment.
They do not have a traditional storefront or seating area, but may include a self-service or takeout area. Cloud kitchens offer users private commercial kitchen spaces, but they also distribute the costs of common items such as utilities and maintenance. There are different approaches to managing a cloud kitchen, ranging from adding an opportunistic brand that only delivers to the kitchen of an existing restaurant to managing a police station kitchen specially designed to house several brands. Going forward, advances in kitchen automation, drone delivery and the continuous growth of the collaborative economy seek to give cloud kitchens a greater advantage by further reducing their costs. Ghost kitchens allow restaurateurs to increase profitability by maintaining the essentials of a restaurant while reducing labor costs, overheads and food waste, while reaching a greater volume of customers who order online.
Companies such as Virtual Kitchen Co and Kitchen United are leading the way in cloud cooking, with plans to open dozens of new kitchens in the coming months.
