Kitchen Planning Form
Example Data Table
| Prison Size | Prisoners | Cookers | Fridges | Sinks | Cooks | Serving Tables | Suggested Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small block | 50 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Early prison with one canteen |
| Medium wing | 120 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 4 | Stable prison with shared meals |
| Large complex | 240 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 8 | Multiple canteens and higher risk |
| High security | 300 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 10 | Extra buffer for lockdown delays |
Formula Used
Peak prisoners = Total prisoners × Peak percentage
Target meals per service = Peak prisoners × Portion multiplier × Safety buffer
Cooker capacity = Cookers × 30 × Meal quality speed factor
Fridge capacity = Fridges × 55
Sink capacity = Sinks × 85
Prep capacity = Prep tables × 42 × Meal quality speed factor
Serving capacity = Serving tables × 48
Labor capacity = (Cooks × 27 + Prisoner workers × 13) × Security efficiency
Total capacity = Lowest value among cooker, fridge, sink, prep, serving, and labor capacity
Coverage = Total capacity ÷ Target meals per service × 100
Daily operating cost = Daily food cost + Daily labor cost
These are planning estimates. Adjust the capacity factors to match your own gameplay style, regime design, and modded objects.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your current prisoner count first. Then add your kitchens, canteens, staff, equipment, and meal schedule.
Use peak percentage for the busiest eating period. For example, use 85 when most prisoners eat together.
Set a safety buffer if your regime includes long travel routes, lockdown risk, or large prisoner waves.
Choose a meal quality mode. Better meals can cost more and may reduce preparation speed.
Press the calculate button. The result appears above the form and below the header section.
Review the bottleneck. Upgrade that item first because it limits the whole kitchen chain.
Use CSV for spreadsheet tracking. Use PDF for sharing or saving your prison expansion plan.
Kitchen Planning Guide
Why Kitchen Capacity Matters
A Prison Architect kitchen can fail even when it looks large. The problem is often flow. Food must move from storage to cooking, then to serving, then to the canteen. Each step can slow the next step. A single weak area can create hunger, complaints, and danger. This calculator checks the whole chain.
Plan Around Peak Demand
Average demand is not enough. Most prisons feed many prisoners in one tight schedule. Use peak prisoner percentage to model that rush. A large safety buffer helps when prisoners walk far, workers arrive late, or security blocks movement. It also helps when you expand cells before expanding services.
Watch Equipment Balance
Cookers, fridges, sinks, prep tables, and serving tables work together. More cookers will not help if fridges cannot hold enough food. More serving tables will not help if cooks cannot prepare meals in time. This tool compares each part and shows the lowest capacity as the bottleneck.
Use Labor Carefully
Paid cooks are reliable. Prisoner workers can reduce cost, but they may be affected by safety, regime timing, and access rules. A high security kitchen may need more paid cooks. Set security efficiency lower when searches, staff doors, or danger slow work. Raise it only for smooth layouts.
Control Daily Cost
A kitchen is not only a room cost. It has daily food and labor pressure. High meal quality improves satisfaction, but it can increase spending. The calculator separates upgrade cost from operating cost. This makes it easier to compare a cheap expansion with a safer long term design.
Improve Layout Before Buying
Distance matters. A kitchen placed far from the canteen creates delivery delay. Split kitchens can help large prisons. Extra canteens can reduce crowding. Keep storage, cooking, cleaning, and serving zones close. A balanced room with clear movement usually beats a crowded room with too many objects.
FAQs
1. What does this kitchen calculator estimate?
It estimates meal demand, appliance capacity, staffing needs, cost, shortfall, and bottlenecks for a Prison Architect style kitchen layout.
2. What is peak prisoner percentage?
It is the share of prisoners expected to eat during the busiest meal period. Use a higher value when most prisoners share one regime.
3. Why is the lowest capacity used?
Kitchen output is limited by the weakest step. If sinks, cookers, labor, or serving tables are low, the whole kitchen slows down.
4. Should I add cooks or prisoner workers?
Add cooks when reliability matters. Use prisoner workers when cost matters, but reduce security efficiency if movement or safety slows them.
5. What does the safety buffer do?
The buffer adds extra demand above the expected meals. It protects against delays, route issues, late workers, and sudden population growth.
6. Why does meal quality affect speed?
Higher variety meals are modeled as slower and more expensive. Basic meals are faster, but may not support comfort goals.
7. Can I use this for multiple canteens?
Yes. Enter the number of canteens. The calculator estimates meals per canteen and helps judge whether distribution is balanced.
8. Are these exact game values?
No. They are planning estimates for layout decisions. You can change inputs and cost values to match your own prison rules.