Gas Safety in Commercial Kitchens: What Restaurant and Café Owners Need to Know
- Ahoud A
- Sep 7, 2025
- 2 min read
Running a restaurant, café, or takeaway brings many responsibilities — from food hygiene to staff training. But one area that is sometimes overlooked is gas safety. By law, proprietors of commercial catering premises are responsible for ensuring that any gas appliances, pipework, or installations are worked on only by qualified Gas Safe registered engineers who hold the correct commercial catering
qualifications.
What Does “Commercial Catering” Mean?
Many business owners assume commercial catering qualifications only apply to restaurants — but in Gas Safe terms, it’s much broader.
Commercial catering gas work covers any professional kitchen where food is prepared for the public or staff. This includes:
Restaurants, cafés, pubs and bars
Takeaways, fast food outlets and food trucks
Hotels and B&Bs with kitchens
School, college and hospital canteens
Workplace staff kitchens and catering facilities
It also applies to a wide range of appliances: ovens, ranges, grills, fryers, tandoori ovens, bratt pans, steamers, woks, kebab grills, and more.
Because these appliances operate at high loads and with specific safety requirements (like ventilation, interlock systems, and CP42 certification), only engineers with the commercial catering qualification can legally install, repair, or maintain them.
Why This Matters
Faulty installation or maintenance in a busy kitchen can lead to gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, or even explosions. The law is clear:
All gas work must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
The engineer must also hold the specific qualifications for commercial catering. A domestic-only gas engineer is not legally allowed to work on your kitchen appliances.
Failure to comply can lead to prosecution, invalidated insurance, or closure of your business.
How to Check an Engineer or Company
The simplest way to protect your business is to use the Gas Safe Register. It’s the official list of qualified gas engineers in the UK.
Here’s how you can check:
Go to the Gas Safe Register website.
Enter the company name in the search bar.
Click on the company profile.
Select the “Commercial” tab.
Check the categories of work the company is registered and qualified to do (e.g., commercial catering, pipework, boilers, etc.).
If “Commercial Catering” does not appear on their profile, they are not legally allowed to carry out gas work in a professional kitchen.
Example: Wirral Gas
Take Wirral Gas, a local Gas Safe registered company. If you search our name on the Gas Safe Register and view our profile, you’ll see under the Commercial tab the list of qualifications we hold. This gives proprietors confidence that they are employing engineers who are fully certified for commercial catering gas work.
By choosing a properly qualified company like Wirral Gas, business owners can be assured that their kitchen appliances are installed and maintained safely and legally.
As a restaurant, café, takeaway, hotel, or canteen proprietor, you carry the legal responsibility for gas safety in your premises. Always check your contractor’s credentials on the Gas Safe Register before allowing any work to take place. It only takes a few minutes but could save lives, protect your staff and customers, and safeguard your business.
For more information on our commercial catering services, visit our commercial caterting page
or call or WhatsApp us on 0345 548 4080 — we’re here to help!