Mediterranean / Middle Eastern / Kabob Conversion Inspection Manual

WHERE THIS CUISINE QUIETLY COSTS YOU MONEY

Mediterranean / Middle Eastern / Kabob-specific conversion gotchas

• 01 · Vertical broiler (gyro/shawarma) capacity

  A single 3-burner vertical broiler runs 60K–90K BTU at sustained operation. Two side-by-side (chicken + lamb) = 150K BTU concentrated on 4 ft of line. Add a charbroiler and you're at 250K BTU under hood. Inherited 4' hoods miss this; plan 8' minimum heavy-duty Type I with high-velocity capture.

• 02 · Charcoal kabob grill venting

  Authentic shish kabob is grilled over charcoal — a solid-fuel appliance under NFPA 96. That needs its own Type I hood with ember collector and spark arrestor, separate from the gas vertical-broiler hood. Two hood systems, not one. Combining them gets red-lined every time.

• 03 · Pita oven + dough handling

  In-house pita uses a deck oven at 700°F+ with a humidified chamber. Floor load + venting concentrate under a 4' x 6' footprint. Plan structural assessment and dedicated steam venting; combining the pita oven with a regular convection oven hood means undercooked, dense pita and a frustrated baker.

• 04 · Marinated-meat walk-in volume

  Mediterranean menus run 5–8 different marinated meat preps (chicken shawarma, lamb, beef kebab, fish, etc.) plus a yogurt and feta cold-room separation requirement. A single 6×8 walk-in won't hold the par. Plan 8×12 minimum with a separate dairy shelf zone to prevent garlic and lemon cross-contamination.

• 05 · Olive-oil + tahini drain load

  Hummus, baba ghanoush, and tahini-based sauces send heavy oil load to drains. Standard grease interceptors handle animal fats fine but plant-oil emulsions (tahini, olive oil) congeal differently and clog at the trap weir. Plan a properly sized interceptor (1,000+ gal) and monthly maintenance, not quarterly.