Refrigeration & Ice

It covers every piece of cold-side equipment a foodservice kitchen needs. That includes upright and underbench fridges, display and bar refrigeration, commercial freezers, prep tables with refrigerated bases, blast chillers, ice machines, coolrooms and the accessories that keep all of it running. With close to 4,000 products on site, your team can spec an entire cold chain in a single order.

Start with what the unit needs to do. Commercial Refrigerators and Commercial Freezers handle bulk cold and frozen storage. Prep & Bench Refrigeration puts chilled ingredients right at the cook's hands. Display, Bar & Merchandiser Refrigeration faces the customer. Underbench & Counter Refrigeration fits tight spaces. Ice Machines & Ice Dispensers, Blast Chillers & Shock Freezers and Coolrooms & Walk-In Refrigeration cover the rest.

An upright from the Commercial Refrigerators range gives you more storage volume and is easier to organise with full-height shelving. An Underbench & Counter Refrigeration unit saves floor space and doubles as a prep surface, which suits a tight pass or a bar run. Most small cafés end up running both — an upright for bulk stock and an underbench close to the point of use.

A rough starting point is matching internal capacity to your daily prep volume and delivery frequency. A kitchen taking daily deliveries can run leaner than one restocking twice a week. Factor in the footprint too — door swing, ventilation clearance and aisle width all affect which model fits. Check the product dimensions carefully before you order, and if you're unsure, size up rather than down.

Self-contained plug-in units generally need only a correctly rated power outlet and adequate ventilation clearance, so your team can usually position and commission them without a tradesperson. Remote condenser systems and coolrooms are a different matter — refrigerant work must be carried out by a licensed refrigeration mechanic in Australia. Always check local requirements and the manufacturer's installation guide before you start.

A blast chiller rapidly drops the temperature of cooked food, moving it through the danger zone quickly enough to meet food safety requirements for cook-chill production. If your kitchen batch-cooks, preps ahead or operates a catering run, a unit from the Blast Chillers & Shock Freezers range can protect food quality and reduce waste. Brands like Williams and Polar offer models suited to smaller operations as well as high-volume production kitchens.

Clean the condenser coils regularly — dust build-up forces the compressor to work harder and shortens its life. Check door gaskets for tears or gaps that let warm air in, and make sure staff aren't leaving doors open longer than necessary. Keep the interior organised so air circulates freely around stored product. Schedule a professional service check at least once a year, or more often in a high-use kitchen.

Ice machines need more attention than most kitchens give them. The bin, water distribution system and any removable components should be sanitised on a schedule recommended by the manufacturer — typically every few months, though usage and water quality affect this. Scale build-up from hard water is a common problem; a descaling cycle keeps output consistent. Check the air filter on air-cooled units and clean it regularly to maintain efficiency.

You'll find Williams, SKOPE, True Refrigeration, Atosa, Polar, Bromic, Scotsman, Turbo Air, Hoshizaki and Cossiga across the range. Each brand has its strengths — Hoshizaki and Scotsman are well regarded for ice machines, Williams and True Refrigeration are popular for upright and prep refrigeration, and SKOPE and Bromic cover a broad spread of display and underbench applications.

Prices vary widely depending on type, capacity and brand — a compact underbench unit sits at a very different price point from a multi-door upright or a coolroom. Chefs Depot members save off RRP across the refrigeration range, so registering before you buy is worth doing. All orders ship Australia-wide, and the full pricing for every model is shown on the product page once you're logged in.