Choosing the right cooking oil has a direct impact on taste, efficiency and operating costs in professional kitchens. Whether you run a takeaway, restaurant or large-scale catering operation, the right oil helps you deliver consistent quality while keeping maintenance and replacement costs under control. In this article, we explain what to look for when choosing fresh cooking oil and which options are best suited for professional use in the UK.
Why choosing the right cooking oil matters?
When selecting a cooking oil for professional use, several factors play a key role. The right choice ensures better performance, longer oil life and a consistent end result.
Taste
A neutral flavour ensures the taste of your food remains unchanged.
Maintenance
Long-lasting oil reduces replacement frequency and downtime.
Temperature
A high smoke point is essential for safe and efficient cooking.
Frequency
Oils used for intensive cooking need to remain stable over long periods.
Overview of cooking oils for professional kitchens
In the UK, professional kitchens mainly work with two reliable and widely used options:
Rapeseed
oil is one of the most popular choices in professional kitchens.
✓ Neutral taste
✓ High smoke point
✓ Excellent performance at high temperatures
✓ Long cooking life
✓ Suitable for intensive and continuous use
Vegetable oil is a practical and cost-effective solution for many foodservice operations.
✓ Blend of vegetable oils
✓ Neutral flavour profile
✓ Reliable cooking performance
✓ Suitable for a wide range of applications
✓ Cost-efficient for high-volume use
Sunflower oil is a versatile option for professional kitchens, valued for its clean taste and consistent performance.
✓ Sunflower oil & high-oleic sunflower oil
✓ Neutral flavour profile
✓ Reliable cooking performance
✓ Suitable for a wide range of applications
✓ Widely suitable for different dietary requirements
Which solution fits your type of foodservice business?
Every hospitality business has different needs.
-
Fast
food & takeaways
: Rapeseed
oil is ideal thanks to its stability and long lifespan during intensive use.
-
Restaurants: sunflower oil offers consistent cooking results and supports a clean, neutral taste.
- Large
kitchens & catering: Vegetable
oil provides a reliable and economical solution for high-volume cooking.
By matching the oil type to your kitchen’s workload and expectations, you optimise both performance and cost control.
Fresh cooking oil delivered and used oil collected
Alongside the delivery of fresh cooking oil, Quatra also collects used cooking oil.
Quatra takes care of everything for you: 2 services, 1 efficient collection route.
Still unsure? Call us on +44 3330 160 160 we’ll be happy to help.