Challenges in the hospitality industry are diverse, and no two operations are the same. Successful kitchens rely on tailor-made answers instead of off-the-shelf solutions. That’s why we offer individual, practical, data-driven recommendations for action. To help boost efficiency, quality, and future-proofing in your kitchen.
New study: Current challenges in professional kitchens.
And strategies for overcoming them.
Restaurant and hotel kitchens are under enormous pressure: while staff shortages, rising costs, and volatile supply chains are making everyday life more difficult, customers still expect top quality.
Growing challenges require well-founded decisions – for which the Statista and RATIONAL Kitchen Barometer provide valuable information.
What drives kitchens today? Five topics in focus.
Sustainability, skilled staff shortages, operating costs, digitization, and quality assurance.
notice that guests are placing more and more importance on sustainability. 
see skilled staff availability as the biggest challenge. 
report significantly increased energy costs. 
are already using digital HACCP documentation. 
notice the skilled worker shortage reducing the quality and consistency of food preparation.
Request your individual concept proposal now – free of charge and with no obligation.
Kitchen appliances for catering and commercial kitchens.
You don't need lots of appliances to equip a professional kitchen in the catering industry. RATIONAL offers appliances that combine several conventional commercial kitchen appliances. For example, the iCombi Pro combi oven and the iVario Pro intelligent tilt skillet together cover up to 90% of all conventional cooking applications. Supplemented with the ConnectedCooking digital kitchen management system, the full potential of intelligent cooking can be realized in your kitchen.
FAQs.
The 2026 Kitchen Barometer is a data-based study by RATIONAL in collaboration with Statista on the situations and challenges restaurant and hotel kitchens currently face; in particular, it focuses on costs, sustainability, skilled staff shortages, quality assurance, and digitization.
The study surveyed 250 decision-makers at restaurant and hotel kitchens in five markets (Germany, France, Japan, United Kingdom, United States).
The study evaluates five subject areas: operating costs, sustainability, skilled staff shortages, quality assurance, and digitization.
Rising energy prices (67%) were cited most frequently, followed by inflation or general price increases (63%) and then the lack of skilled workers (59%).
Globally, respondents most frequently report sharply increased costs in food/commodities (56%) and energy (52%); many also mention packaging/logistics (50%) and personnel costs (44%).
67% of respondents consider sustainability central or important. Moreover, 62% report increased customer demand for sustainable products and processing.
Among kitchens making sustainability a priority, 87% are focusing on reducing food waste. 84% have an eye on disposal/recycling, and 83% are emphasizing regional/seasonal products.
64% of kitchen operators report that the skilled staff shortage has had a significant impact in the last 12 months. The most common effects include higher workloads (57%) and longer customer wait times (39%).
Employee retention measures were the most frequent response (50%). Other approaches include optimizing kitchen logistics/layout (34%) and recruiting efforts (32%).
The most frequently cited measures were quality checklists/internal audits (61%) and central training courses (61%). Additionally, 52% rely on multifunctional/intelligent kitchen technology to standardize processes.
Nearly all respondents (98%) are using digital systems in some form, but only 35% are fully networked, while 46% are partially networked and 17% work mainly with individual solutions.
Respondents frequently mentioned digital ordering & POS systems (48%), digital shift/personnel planning (43%), kitchen management/production control (34%), and digital recipe standardization (34%).
86% of digital solutions users reported substantial benefits in kitchen management/production control; 85% reported benefitting from automated inventory/warehouse management.
The most commonly cited planned investments: modernizing kitchen technology (78%), training and development (77%), additional food safety measures (76%), and energy-efficient equipment (75%).