When the heat gets turned up, keep your toppings on!

When the heat gets turned up, keep your pizza toppings fresh with Gastronorm (GN) pans. 

Summer is a good reminder that keeping a pizza kitchen organised isn’t just about looking tidy, it’s about making service easier, keeping ingredients fresh and helping your team work efficiently when the heat really is on. 

And one of the most practical and cost-effective places to start? Take a closer look at how you’re storing and preparing your ingredients. 

A well-organised topping station should almost work like a production line. The ingredients you use most should be easy to see and easy to reach, while everything else should have its own logical place. 

This is where Gastronorm pans can make a surprisingly big difference. 

Why choose a Gastronorm for storage? 

GN (Gastronorm) pans are not all one single size, but they do follow a strict, standardized modular sizing system used worldwide.  

So the base unit is a full-size GN 1/1 pan, which measures 530 x 325 mm. All other pan sizes are exact mathematical fractions or multiples of this base dimension, meaning they fit together uniformly into commercial ovens, fridges, and prep counters. 

GN pans are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment, and it doesn’t matter which brand or material you choose they will all fit your modular units or frames. 

Used for food preparation, storage and service, GN pans allow you to create a consistent system for handling ingredients throughout the kitchen. 

Think mozzarella, pepperoni, tomatoes, peppers, onions, olives, cooked meats, sauces and all the other ingredients that make up your menu. 

Instead of a collection of mismatched tubs and containers, a properly planned GN setup gives your kitchen a standardised way to store and organise ingredients. 

From fridge to topping station 

One of the biggest advantages of the Gastronorm system is that it can support your workflow from preparation through to service. 

Ingredients can be prepared and stored in appropriate GN pans before being moved into position for service, reducing unnecessary transfers and helping your team maintain a consistent process. 

That means your workflow can be designed around the way your kitchen operates: 

Prep → store → replenish → top → serve. 

It’s a simple concept, but getting those stages working smoothly can make a noticeable difference to a busy kitchen. 

Not every topping needs the same pan 

Here’s where a little planning can make a big difference. 

GN pans are available in a variety of sizes and depths, so choosing the right one for each ingredient is important. 

A popular topping that disappears during a busy service may benefit from a larger or deeper pan, while a less frequently used ingredient could be better suited to a smaller container. 

Similarly, a shallower pan may make more sense for ingredients that need to be accessed quickly and regularly at the topping station. 

Rather than simply asking “What size GN pan do I need?”, ask: 

“How does this ingredient move through my kitchen?” 

How much do you prepare? How quickly do you use it? How often does it need replenishing? Where will it be stored? 

Answer those questions and choosing the right GN pan becomes much easier. 

Keeping cool when the kitchen heats up 

Of course, GN pans aren’t going to make your kitchen cooler! 

Good organisation can make a hot kitchen feel much more manageable. 

When ingredients are clearly organised and easy to access, staff don’t need to spend unnecessary time moving around the kitchen or searching for what they need. 

That becomes particularly valuable during a summer service when temperatures are already putting additional pressure on the team. 

Good food storage and temperature control are also especially important during hot weather, making it essential that pizza businesses continue to follow appropriate food safety procedures and maintain suitable storage conditions.  

A simple way to tackle food waste 

There is another benefit to getting your GN setup right: better control over ingredients. 

Pizza toppings can represent a significant investment, particularly when you’re working with fresh vegetables, cheeses, meats and prepared ingredients. 

Using appropriately sized pans can make it easier to prepare sensible quantities for each service rather than automatically filling large containers. 

Matching preparation quantities to demand can help make stock easier to monitor and potentially reduce unnecessary waste. 

Combine this with good labelling, stock rotation and sensible portion control, and your GN system becomes part of a much bigger approach to managing food costs. 

Don’t forget the lids 

When talking about GN pans, it’s easy to overlook one important accessory: the lid. 

For storage applications, suitable lids can help protect ingredients and make containers easier to manage when they’re being moved or stored. 

Having a consistent selection of pans and lids also means your kitchen team doesn’t have to improvise when something needs covering or storing. 

It’s another small detail that can contribute to a more organised kitchen. 

Stainless steel or plastic? 

There isn’t necessarily one GN pan that’s right for every application. 

Stainless steel GN pans are a popular choice for professional kitchens thanks to their durability, versatility and ability to cope with the demands of regular commercial use. Plus you can reheat the contents straight from the fridge in a steel pan. 

Food-grade plastic GN pans can also be useful in certain applications, offering benefits such as being lightweight and, depending on the design, allowing ingredients to be easily identified. Heavy duty, no stick and food safe, they can be very versatile (allowing you to freeze contents without having to worry about changing the container) 

To arrange your GN pans together you will need the recommended stainless steel adaptor bars to keep the unit neatly organised.

And don't forget topping units, designed to hold your GN pans and keep them refrigerated. VRX Topping Units by Atosa are available with glass OR stainless steel lids and side mounted compressor units.

The important thing is to choose your equipment based on how you’re going to use it. 

A prep station may have different requirements from a refrigerated storage area, and the best setup is often a combination of equipment rather than one solution for everything. Call us for advice and we can find the best fit for your business.