Don’t have an island in the kitchen? Stainless steel kitchen carts can come to the rescue and take on that role. If you’ve ever been responsible for preparing a large family meal, you know how invaluable this service can be. It seems that no matter how big a kitchen is, when it comes time to prepare all the prep and meal portions, there just isn’t enough room to spread it all out, sort ingredients, mix things up, and get things ready to present on the table. If only you had an extra countertop. Some people have kitchen islands, but if you’re not one of those people, you can hire stainless steel kitchen carts.

If you just thought it was a way to get all the elements of a meal from one room to another, think again. Why limit them to one role when they can more easily serve? Instead of waiting until the end of meal prep to pull this cart out, pull it out early and enjoy the extra workspace you’ve created.

First, you can use the tops of these wonderful additions as a prep surface for mixing items. As long as you’ve made sure to purchase a cart with locking casters, you’ll be able to engage the locks and know your mobile counter will stay in place. Some come with attachable cutting boards that can allow you to use this surface to prepare more portions of food. The added bonus of stainless steel kitchen carts is that they are not only a place where you can put things together, but you can also roll the cart right up to the stove to move the items you have prepared onto the cooking surface.

When you’re initially considering these cars, you may want to look at ones with additional features. If a cart has shelves below the top, you’ve just created extra space to store the items you’ve completed, while preparing more on top. Other items come with attached spice racks, so you’ll always have the condiments you need close by when you’re cooking. No more crawling through cabinets looking for the right spice. Others have towel racks and napkin holders that will help you clean things up as you go.

The main thing to appreciate with stainless steel kitchen carts is the fact that they are stainless. Considering what you’re going to put them through in the kitchen, they should be. But this does not mean that you do not have to take care of them. You should always wash the surface of your kitchen carts after you have finished preparing a meal. Maintenance is fairly easy, a warm soap and water mixture should work fine. You may want to clean the top a little better if you’ve been preparing raw meat on the surface, for sanitary purposes. Just don’t use an abrasive cleaner or you could risk scratching the steel.