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

  Two vertical broilers (chicken + lamb) plus a charbroiler stack up fast — add up the nameplate BTUs. Because a gas charbroiler is a heavy-duty appliance, the IMC applies the heavy-duty exhaust rate to the whole hood and requires the hood to extend at least 6" past the line on open sides (IMC 507), so check whether an inherited 4' hood covers that lineup before you sign.

• 02 · Charcoal kabob grill venting

  Authentic shish kabob is grilled over charcoal — solid-fuel cooking under NFPA 96's solid-fuel chapter. Its exhaust must be separate from all other exhaust systems, with spark arresters ahead of the grease filters, so the charcoal grill and the gas vertical broilers need two hood-and-duct systems, not one.

• 03 · Pita oven + dough handling

  In-house pita typically uses a deck oven at 700°F+, with floor load and venting concentrated under a 4' x 6' footprint. Plan a structural check and the hood the mechanical code calls for over that oven (IMC 507: Type I where it produces grease or smoke, Type II where it gives off only heat or steam) — don't assume it can share the convection-oven hood.

• 04 · Marinated-meat walk-in volume

  Mediterranean menus run 5–8 marinated meat preps (chicken shawarma, lamb, beef kebab, fish, etc.), and the FDA Food Code (§3-302.11) requires raw meats to be kept apart from ready-to-eat foods like yogurt and feta, and raw species from each other, by separate equipment or shelf arrangement. A single 6×8 walk-in won't hold the par; plan about 8×12 with a dedicated dairy zone, which also keeps garlic and lemon odors out of the dairy.

• 05 · Olive-oil + tahini drain load

  Hummus, baba ghanoush, and tahini-based sauces still send oil to the drains. Size the grease interceptor by the method in the plumbing code your city adopted (IPC: by flow rate; UPC: by drainage fixture units; some cities, such as Scottsdale, amend it), and pump it on the schedule your city's FOG program sets — an oil-heavy menu may need it more often.