The restaurant landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. With the rapid rise in food delivery platforms like Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat, a new model has emerged from behind the scenes: the dark kitchen.
Also known as ghost kitchens or cloud kitchens, these are commercial kitchens designed exclusively for fulfilling online orders. No dine-in space. No foot traffic. Just a tightly-run food production machine optimised for speed, scale, and delivery.
It’s a model that’s booming — and with good reason. But beneath the surface, dark kitchens bring their own unique set of challenges. And this is where Plasma Clean Air comes in.
What Is a Dark Kitchen?
A dark kitchen is a food preparation facility that exists purely to serve delivery customers. These kitchens can house multiple food brands or operators under one roof, sometimes sharing equipment or operating from modular pods.
You’ll find them in urban backstreets, industrial estates, converted containers, or even old car parks. Efficiency is the name of the game — but that often comes at a cost.
Common Problems in Dark Kitchens
1. Odour Complaints
Dark kitchens are often tucked into residential or mixed-use areas. That makes odour control not just a matter of comfort — it becomes a legal and planning requirement. Without proper odour filtration, cooking smells drift into homes, offices and streets, leading to complaints and, in some cases, enforcement action.
2. Grease and Smoke Build-Up
High-output kitchens producing everything from burgers to curries often operate multiple fryers, grills, and ovens simultaneously. The result? Grease-laden air, smoke, and particulate matter that clogs up ductwork, coats fan blades, and becomes a serious fire risk.
3. Planning and Compliance Challenges
Many operators underestimate the importance of environmental controls when applying for planning permission. Local authorities are increasingly strict about emissions, odour mitigation, and noise — and without suitable filtration systems in place, kitchens can be shut down or denied approval altogether.
4. Downtime and Maintenance Issues
If your extraction system fails, your business stops. Dirty or inefficient filtration means more frequent call-outs, costly maintenance, and an increased risk of equipment failure — not to mention a poor working environment for staff.
The Plasma Clean Air Solution
At Plasma Clean Air, we specialise in clean air solutions for commercial kitchens — and we’re uniquely placed to support dark kitchen operators with scalable, efficient systems that tick all the boxes.
Whether you’re a start-up operating from a single unit or a national brand managing a network of cloud kitchens, our equipment and services help you stay compliant, safe and operational.
✅ Odour Control: Keep the Neighbours Happy
Our range of activated carbon filters and ozone-based odour control systems (Xtract ozone injection units) remove cooking smells before they leave the building. They’re compact, efficient, and essential for sites near residential properties.
✅ Smoke & Grease Removal: Reduce Fire Risk
Our Electro-clean electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) capture fine grease particles and smoke from the airstream — preventing build-up in ducts and protecting your fans, fans and carbon filters from contamination. ESPs also improve energy efficiency and reduce cleaning intervals.
For kitchens with high grease output, we recommend a multi-stage approach combining Ecofleece flame retardant baffle filters, Electro-clean ESPs, and Carb-clean activated carbon to deal with pollution at every level.
✅ Maintenance & Compliance Services
Planning approval or Environmental Health Officer on your back? We provide expert guidance on planning applications, including air quality reports and odour impact assessments.
We also offer:
- TR19 Grease inspections and cleaning
- LEV testing
- Fire damper testing
- Filter supply and replacement
- Planned preventative maintenance contracts
In short, we help dark kitchens stay compliant, stay safe, and stay open.
Who We Work With
We’re already supporting commercial kitchen operators across the UK — from independent burger brands to large cloud kitchen providers.
Our systems are ideal for:
- Deliveroo Editions
- Karma Kitchen
- Foodstars (CloudKitchens)
- Growth Kitchen
- Shared kitchen spaces
- Operators with planning permission challenges
And if you’re a facilities manager, landlord, or kitchen-as-a-service provider, we can help design a system that meets regulations, reduces complaints, and protects your asset.
Why It Matters
Air quality might not be the first thing on your menu — but it’s critical to your success.
A well-designed, well-maintained extraction and filtration system protects your staff, your neighbours, your brand, and your bottom line. It keeps the grease in the filters (not the duct), the smoke out of the air, and the odours where they belong — nowhere.
At Plasma Clean Air, we understand that every kitchen is different. That’s why we offer expert advice, bespoke design, and ongoing support — all from a team that lives and breathes commercial kitchens.
Need Help with Your Dark Kitchen?
Whether you’re setting up your first unit or scaling up across multiple sites, Plasma Clean Air is here to help.
📞 Get in touch today for a free consultation
📧 [email protected]
🔗 www.plasma-cleanair.com
