Commercial Refrigerated Prep Counters
A refrigerated prep counter, also known as a saladette, puts chilled ingredients directly under the hands of the person building the dish. Rent one from Rental+ and you get a Williams, Foster, True, Tefcold or Interlevin counter on a fully maintained plan, with no upfront capital outlay. Restaurants, cafes, delis, pizzerias, pub kitchens and canteens across the UK use our plans to keep a prep line at temperature through service, while the servicing and the parts stay our responsibility rather than yours.
Why rent a refrigerated prep counter from Rental+
Renting keeps your capital in the business rather than in refrigeration that depreciates from the day it is installed. You pay a fixed weekly amount by direct debit on a multi-year plan, and every plan includes inclusive service and maintenance: call-outs, routine servicing, parts and Planned Preventive Maintenance at no extra cost. Our nationwide network of engineers covers you wherever you trade, and our fix or replace commitment means a counter that cannot be repaired is replaced. There is no upfront capital expenditure and no hidden costs.
What is a refrigerated prep counter?
A refrigerated prep counter is chilled storage beneath a working surface, usually gastronorm compatible so standard pans drop straight in. The point of it is reach: the ingredients for the dish sit under the board the dish is being built on, so nobody walks to a fridge in the middle of a ticket. In a tight kitchen it also does two jobs on one footprint.
What is a saladette?
A saladette is a refrigerated prep counter with a chilled well or topping section set into the top, holding open gastronorm pans of prepared ingredients ready to assemble. Salad, sandwich and pizza lines all use them for the same reason: everything the dish needs is visible, cold and within one movement. The trade uses saladette, prep counter, prep top and topping unit almost interchangeably, and they describe the same family of equipment.
Types of refrigerated prep counter
Saladette and sandwich prep counters
These are the counters with a chilled top section, built for assembly work where speed and visibility matter more than bulk storage. Our range includes True salad and sandwich prep tables designed for exactly that job, with the cabinet below holding backup stock while the top holds what is in play. If your kitchen builds to order in front of a customer, this is the configuration to ask for. Find freezer prep counters here if your looking for frozen preparation storage.
Pizza and dough counters
A pizza pass has a particular problem: the dough needs space and a different handling temperature from the toppings. A dough counter answers it with a section sized for dough trays alongside the chilled cabinet, and our Tefcold PT1310 two door plus dough model is built for that layout. Pair it with a topping section and the whole pass sits in one run.
Gastronorm prep counters
The workhorses. Gastronorm counters take standard pans throughout, which means your prep moves from the walk-in to the counter to the pass without being decanted. Our range covers Williams Onyx counters from two to five doors and 355 to over 1,000 litres, Foster EcoPro G3 counters in two, three and four door configurations, Tefcold PT1200 and PT1300 counters, and Interlevin gastronorm counters.
Slimline and specialist counters
Where the line is narrow, a slimline counter gives you chilled storage and a work surface in a shallower footprint: our Tefcold SK6210 and SK6310 two and three door units are built for that. For butchery and deli work, the Interlevin PH40 four door meat counter is a specialist variant of the same idea.
Choosing the right prep counter
Doors and capacity
Door count is the practical way to size a prep counter. Two doors covers a small station or a satellite prep point; three doors suits a standard restaurant line; four and five door units serve high volume kitchens and long passes. In litres that runs from around 355 to over 1,000. Size to your prep volume rather than to the gap in the line, because a counter that runs out mid-service costs you more than the extra door would have.
Gastronorm compatibility
Decide your pan sizes first and let them choose the counter, not the other way round. If your prep already lives in gastronorm pans, a gastronorm counter means nothing gets decanted, nothing gets double-handled and nothing sits out of temperature while it is moved between containers. It is a small specification detail that changes how the kitchen runs.
Top type: solid, well or topping section
A solid top is a work surface with cold storage underneath, and it is the right answer where the counter is mainly a bench. A chilled well or topping section holds open pans in the top itself, which is what makes a saladette a saladette. Pizza and sandwich lines almost always want the top section; a general prep bench often does not.
Fitting it into the line
Measure the run, then check depth as well as width, because a standard counter is deeper than a slimline and a few centimetres decides whether a door still opens. Allow ventilation clearance at the grille and keep the unit away from an oven or a fryer if you can, because ambient heat is what makes a prep counter work hardest. Tell us your dimensions with your enquiry and we will confirm what fits.
Prep counter or undercounter fridge?
A prep counter is a work surface first and chilled storage second. An undercounter fridge is chilled storage that happens to be under the counter. If what you need is capacity rather than a working top, look across our wider commercial fridges range, which covers upright and undercounter refrigeration alongside the prep counters here.
What is included in every rental
Every refrigerated prep counter rental is fully maintained. Your plan covers call-outs, routine servicing, parts and Planned Preventive Maintenance, including the door gaskets and seals that take the punishment on an open-topped unit in a hot kitchen. Our fix or replace commitment means a unit that cannot be repaired is replaced. There are no hidden costs. Rental plans use new or reconditioned equipment, and reconditioned units are fully quality checked and maintained to the same standard as new stock.
How prep counter hire works
- Choose your counter and request a quote, or build an indicative quote in the basket with no payment taken.
- We run a soft credit check and confirm the plan that fits your business.
- You set up a security deposit and your weekly direct debit.
- We deliver and commission the unit, and from that point the plan covers service, parts and maintenance.
Ready to rent a refrigerated prep counter?
Tell us what you are preparing, how much of it and how long the line is, and we will specify the counter around it. Get a quote for firm pricing, build an indicative quote in the basket with no payment taken, or request our brochure to compare the range.
FAQs
Frequenty Asked Questions
What is a refrigerated prep counter?
A refrigerated prep counter is chilled storage built underneath a working surface, so ingredients stay at temperature within arm’s reach of whoever is assembling the dish. Most are gastronorm compatible, which means standard pans drop straight into the cabinet and the top. It replaces the walk to the fridge that slows every ticket down in a busy kitchen.
Is a saladette the same as a refrigerated prep counter?
In practice, yes. A saladette is a prep counter with a chilled well or topping section set into the top, holding open gastronorm pans of prepared ingredients ready to assemble. The trade uses saladette, prep counter, prep top and topping unit more or less interchangeably, and manufacturers are no more consistent than anyone else. If you need the chilled top section, say so and we will specify it.
How many gastronorm pans does a prep counter hold?
It follows the door count. A two door counter typically covers a small prep station, three doors suits a standard restaurant line, and four or five doors serves a high volume kitchen or a long pizza pass. Our range runs from two door units of around 355 litres to five door units over 1,000 litres, and the product specifications above give pan capacity per model.
Can I rent a pizza or dough prep counter?
Yes. A dough counter is a prep counter configured for pizza work, with a section sized for dough trays alongside the chilled cabinet, and our range includes a two door plus dough model. If you are running a pizza pass, tell us your throughput and the pan sizes you use and we will specify the counter and the topping section around them.
Who services the prep counter while I am renting it?
We do. Every plan includes inclusive service and maintenance: call-outs, routine servicing, parts and Planned Preventive Maintenance at no extra cost, from our nationwide network of engineers. That matters on a prep counter, because the door gaskets and the lid seals on an open-topped unit in a hot kitchen are the parts that fail first. If it cannot be fixed, it is replaced.
Is the equipment new or reconditioned?
Plans use new or reconditioned equipment. Reconditioned units are fully quality checked and maintained to the same standard as new stock, and every plan carries identical inclusive service and maintenance cover whichever you receive. Tell us if you have a preference when you request your quote and we will confirm what is available.
