The Ad Hoc Kitchen at the new Middleby Innovation Kitchens, or MIK, is a designer’s palette for culinary testing and innovation. This “facility within a facility” at the MIK in Lewisville, Texas, gives Middleby visitors the opportunity to set up a kitchen specifically for their testing or training purposes.

Chef Russell Scott, CMC, Corporate Chef and Vice President of Culinary for Middleby, explains how the Ad Hoc Kitchen differs from, yet compliments, the Middleby Innovation Kitchens. “All of the 150 pieces of equipment in the MIK are fully operational,” he says. “But if our customers want us to bring a piece of equipment or experiment with a variety of kitchen configurations and different cooking solutions we are able to accommodate them. Our customers have access to all Middleby equipment, even pieces not displayed in the MIK. We would have that sent in and the Ad Hoc Kitchen is where we’d set it up.”

The Ad Hoc Kitchen can also help operators efficiently design their kitchens. For example, if a customer wanted to test how a particular piece of equipment might work in their existing kitchen layout, “we are able to set up their specific kitchen configuration in order for their team to give it a test,” Scott says. 

Guests have found many uses for the Ad Hoc Kitchen. Recently, a quick-serve chain worked on its pizza program, using the kitchen to film a training session with its new oven. Another client, a ghost kitchen company, planned out and set up its latest kitchen design in the Ad Hoc Kitchen.

The basic setup in the Ad Hoc Kitchen includes all necessary electrical, gas and water connections, with some basic refrigeration and tables as well. Users can design, build, test and tear down their kitchen setup in the Ad Hoc Kitchen until it meets their expectations. It’s really the ultimate “blank slate” for end users to test new pieces of equipment and updated kitchen designs…and it’s only at the Middleby Innovation Kitchen.