How to Choose the Right Gastronorm Size: The Complete UK Guide (2026)
Gastronorm is the single measurement standard that makes a commercial kitchen work as a system. Every fridge shelf, bain marie well, combi oven runner, prep-counter opening and serving tray is built around one European module — 530 × 325mm — and every named size is a fraction of it: 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9. Get the sizing right and a tray of food moves from walk-in to prep counter to oven to hot-hold to buffet without ever being decanted. Get it wrong and you buy pans that don’t tessellate, wells that sit half-empty, and lids that fit nothing you already own. This guide covers the full GN system, depths from 20mm to 200mm, litre capacity per size, how tessellation works, and when to mix sizes rather than default to 1/1.
- The module is 530 × 325mm. GN 1/1 is the full module; every other size divides it. This is a European standard (EN 631), so a 1/1 pan from any brand drops into any GN-dimensioned fridge, oven or bain marie made to the same standard.
- The size range: 1/1 (full), 1/2 (half), 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9 — plus the oversized 2/1 double module (650 × 530mm) for large combi ovens and blast chillers. Smaller number under the line = larger pan.
- Depth is the second dimension: standard depths are 20, 40, 65, 100, 150 and 200mm. Depth multiplies capacity without changing footprint — a 1/1 at 200mm holds roughly ten times a 1/1 at 20mm.
- Tessellation: the fractions add back to a whole. Two 1/2 pans fill a 1/1 space; three 1/3; a 1/2 plus two 1/4; six 1/6. Mix and match to split a well between dishes without dead space.
- Capacity in litres (approx, at 100mm): 1/1 ≈ 13L, 1/2 ≈ 6L, 1/3 ≈ 4L, 1/4 ≈ 2.5L, 1/6 ≈ 1.5L, 1/9 ≈ 0.8L. Scale roughly with depth.
- Cross-compatibility is the whole point: the same 1/1 pan fits a prep-counter saladette, an upright fridge with GN runners, a combi oven, a bain marie and a drawer counter such as the Polar U-Series four-drawer gastronorm counter fridge (£1,199.87 + VAT).
- Material matters for the task: stainless steel for heat and hot-hold; polycarbonate for cold prep and see-through storage; melamine and stoneware GN trays for front-of-house display, such as the gastronorm range.
- Food safety ties in: a GN pan in a fridge must hold food at 8°C or below and in a bain marie at 63°C or above, under the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995. Pan depth affects how fast the core reaches temperature — deep pans chill and heat slower.
Gastronorm is one of those standards that is invisible when it works and expensive when it doesn’t. A kitchen that buys pans, fridges, ovens and counters all built to the same GN geometry can move a single pan through every stage of the food’s life without ever tipping it into a second container — which saves labour, saves washing-up, and removes a cross-contamination step every time. A kitchen that buys “whatever fits” ends up with three incompatible pan systems, a drawer that won’t close on the wrong-depth insert, and a bain marie with gaps the heat escapes through. This guide treats GN as a decision, not a default.
This guide is for the trade buyer specifying pans, inserts, fridges, ovens or counters for a working commercial kitchen — head chefs, kitchen managers, contract caterers, pub and hotel operators, care homes, dark kitchens and catering procurement. It assumes you already know a bain marie from a blast chiller; the job here is to get the pan geometry right first time. Browse the gastronorm range or the full Craven Cooling catalogue when ready.
Table of Contents
- Decision 1: Understanding the GN Module & Sizes
- Decision 2: Choosing Depth for the Job
- Decision 3: Tessellation & Mixing Sizes
- Decision 4: Cross-Compatibility Across Equipment
- Decision 5: Material by Application
- UK Price Tiers
- Gastronorm Products We Stock
- Food Safety & GN Depth Checklist
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Buying Guides
The GN 1/1 module in millimetres — every other size divides it
Capacity of a GN 1/1 pan at 100mm depth — the workhorse size
20 · 40 · 65 · 100 · 150 · 200mm — same footprint, multiplying volume
The reason GN is worth understanding rather than guessing: a pan bought to the standard fits every stage of the food’s journey — walk-in shelf, prep counter, combi oven, blast chiller, bain marie, buffet well. Food never gets decanted, so you cut labour, cut washing-up, and remove a cross-contamination step at every handover. The kitchens that struggle are the ones running two or three pan systems that don’t talk to each other. Standardise on GN, standardise the depths you actually use, and the whole line becomes interchangeable.
Six GN 1/6 pans tessellate into one 1/1 well
Decision 1: Understanding the GN Module & the Sizes
Gastronorm (“GN”) is a European dimensional standard for food containers, first set in Switzerland and codified across Europe as EN 631. There is exactly one base module — GN 1/1, measuring 530 × 325mm — and every other size is a named fraction of that footprint. The number below the line tells you how many of that pan fit the full module: six 1/6 pans, four 1/4, three 1/3, and so on. Counter-intuitively, a bigger denominator means a smaller pan.
| Size | Footprint (mm) | Fits into 1/1 | Approx capacity (100mm) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GN 2/1 | 650 × 530 | Double module | ~26L | Large combi ovens, blast chillers, banquet holding |
| GN 1/1 | 530 × 325 | The whole module | ~13L | The workhorse — bain marie, oven, prep, hot-hold |
| GN 1/2 | 325 × 265 | 2 per 1/1 | ~6L | Split a well between two dishes, sides, sauces |
| GN 1/3 | 325 × 176 | 3 per 1/1 | ~4L | Saladette toppings, prep-counter inserts |
| GN 1/4 | 265 × 162 | 4 per 1/1 | ~2.5L | Garnishes, dressings, small batch sides |
| GN 1/6 | 176 × 162 | 6 per 1/1 | ~1.5L | Condiments, chopped herbs, prep-line pots |
| GN 1/9 | 176 × 108 | 9 per 1/1 | ~0.8L | Tiny garnishes, cocktail garnish, olives, capers |
The two sizes that carry most kitchens are GN 1/1 and GN 1/2. The 1/1 is the transport and hot-hold workhorse; the 1/2 is how you split a well or a fridge shelf between two products without dead space. Everything below 1/3 is prep-line and garnish territory — the pots on a saladette rail or a mise-en-place station. Buy the big two by the dozen, then add the small fractions to match your actual prep list.
Decision 2: Choosing Depth for the Job
Footprint tells you what fits the well; depth tells you how much it holds and how fast it heats or chills. The standard GN depths are 20, 40, 65, 100, 150 and 200mm. Because the footprint is fixed, depth is a pure capacity multiplier — but it also controls thermal behaviour, which is where food safety lives.
| Depth | Approx 1/1 capacity | Best for | Thermal note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20mm | ~2.5L | Display trays, flat items, oven-baking, pastry | Chills and heats fastest — thin food layer |
| 40mm | ~5L | Single-layer proteins, roasting, shallow sides | Quick to temperature; good for blast chilling |
| 65mm | ~9L | Buffet sides, replenish-often hot-hold | The half-pan rule — less sits on display, safer |
| 100mm | ~13L | Mains, stews, risotto, bulk sides, soups | The default — core temperature check essential |
| 150mm | ~19L | Deep braises, whole poached items, bulk sauce | Slow to core — chill/heat with care |
| 200mm | ~26L | Batch stock, bulk storage, high-volume production | Slowest core transfer — never blast-chill full |
The depth decision is a food-safety decision as much as a capacity one. A 200mm pan holds ten times the food of a 20mm — but the middle of a 200mm pan of hot stew takes far longer to fall through the danger zone when you chill it, and far longer to reach 63°C throughout when you heat it. That is why volume kitchens blast-chill in shallow 40mm pans rather than deep ones, and why a well-run buffet holds in 65mm and tops up little and often rather than loading a single 150mm pan at 11:45am.
The 8°C–63°C band is the danger zone — the temperature range where bacteria multiply fastest. A 150mm or 200mm pan of cooked food has a large cold or hot core that changes temperature slowly, so it spends longer in that band during cooling or reheating. For anything you need to chill fast, decant into 40mm or 65mm pans; for hot-hold, run 65mm and replenish rather than deep-loading. Depth is a capacity lever, but it is also a compliance lever under the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995.
Decision 3: Tessellation & When to Mix Sizes
Tessellation is the reason the fractions matter. Because every size divides the 530 × 325mm module, the smaller pans slot into a 1/1 opening with no dead space — provided you add them back to a whole. This lets you split a single well, shelf or runner between several dishes without wasting a square millimetre.
Two 1/2 Pans
Fills one 1/1 well
- The simplest split — two dishes, one opening
- Chips one side, veg the other
- Common on twin-well bain maries
- Each holds ~6L at 100mm
Three 1/3 Pans
Fills one 1/1 well
- Three sauces or three sides per well
- The saladette-counter standard
- Each holds ~4L at 100mm
- Good for a curry or carvery gravy line
1/2 + Two 1/4
Fills one 1/1 well
- Mixed-size split — one main, two garnishes
- Uses the fractions asymmetrically
- Ideal for a dressing-and-topping station
- No dead space if the maths adds to 1
Six 1/6 Pans
Fills one 1/1 well
- Six condiments or herbs in one opening
- The prep-line and toppings rail workhorse
- Each holds ~1.5L at 100mm
- Pizza and salad prep counters live on these
The rule to remember: the fractions in a single opening must sum to 1. Two 1/2 (½ + ½ = 1). Three 1/3. A 1/2 plus two 1/4 (½ + ¼ + ¼ = 1). Four 1/4. Six 1/6. Where operators go wrong is trying to force, say, a 1/3 and a 1/2 into one well — that leaves a 1/6-shaped gap the heat or cold escapes through, and a wobbly pan that spills.
Default to 1/1 for anything you cook, transport, and hot-hold in volume — it moves through every piece of equipment cleanly and washes up as one pan. Mix down to 1/2, 1/3, 1/6 where a station serves several small components at once: saladette toppings, a carvery gravy-and-sauce line, a mise-en-place rail, or a self-serve condiment section. The trap is over-fragmenting — every extra small pan is another lid to store, another item to wash, another thing to lose. Split only where the menu genuinely needs separated dishes in one footprint.
Decision 4: Cross-Compatibility Across Your Equipment
The commercial value of gastronorm is that the same pan fits every GN-dimensioned machine in the kitchen. A 1/1 pan of prepped chicken goes from the walk-in shelf, into the combi oven on a GN runner, out to the blast chiller, into a drawer counter for service, and up onto the hot-hold line — one pan, no decanting, the whole day. That only holds if you buy your fridges, ovens and counters to the GN standard in the first place.
| Equipment | Typical GN fit | What to check before buying |
|---|---|---|
| Combi & convection ovens | 1/1 and 2/1 runners | Runner pitch and how many levels — match your batch size |
| Blast chillers | 1/1 shelves, shallow depths | Use 40–65mm for fast core chill, never full 150mm |
| Drawer & prep counters | 1/1 and 1/2 inserts per drawer | Drawer clearance limits pan depth — check before ordering |
| Saladette / pizza counters | 1/3, 1/4, 1/6 topping pots | Rail cut-out sizes; match the fraction to the topping list |
| Bain maries & hot-hold | 1/1, split to 1/2 or 1/3 | Well count and depth clearance for the pan you’ll run |
| Upright fridges with runners | 1/1 shelves or GN-runner pairs | Static shelves vs GN runners — confirm the interior |
The most important compatibility check happens at the counter. Drawer fridges are height-limited: the drawer has to close, so the pan depth you can run is capped by the drawer clearance, not the GN standard. The Polar U-Series four-drawer gastronorm counter fridge is built around GN drawers precisely so your prepped pans drop straight in — but always confirm the depth a given drawer takes before you buy a stack of 150mm pans that won’t fit.
Some budget equipment is advertised as “GN-compatible” but is a few millimetres off the true 530 × 325 module, so genuine GN pans sit proud, rattle, or won’t drop fully into the runners. Before committing to a fridge, oven or counter, confirm it’s built to EN 631 gastronorm dimensions — not a lookalike. If you standardise your kitchen on real GN, one non-standard machine breaks the whole interchange. When in doubt, ask us to confirm the interior spec before you order.
Decision 5: Material by Application
The same footprint comes in different materials, and the material has to match the job. A stainless pan belongs on the hot line; a polycarbonate one belongs in cold prep; a stoneware or melamine GN tray belongs on the front-of-house display where customers see it.
Stainless Steel
Heat & hot-hold
- Oven-safe, bain-marie-safe, durable
- Conducts heat well for even hot-hold
- The default for cooking and holding
- Dishwasher-proof, decades of service life
Polycarbonate
Cold prep & storage
- See-through — read stock without lifting lids
- Light, won’t dent, food-safe for cold
- Not for ovens or high-heat hot-hold
- Ideal for walk-in and saladette storage
Stoneware / Quarry
Front-of-house display
- Restaurant-grade look on the buffet
- Keeps the GN footprint — drops into wells
- Ambient and chilled display sections
- See the Steelite Quarry GN trays below
Melamine
Ambient buffet display
- Durable, coloured display presentation
- Light for frequent buffet handling
- Cold and ambient only — not for heat
- Swaps with steel GN without re-planning
The pattern most kitchens land on: stainless 1/1 and 1/2 pans for the cook-and-hold line, polycarbonate 1/3 and 1/6 for cold prep and topping rails, and a set of stoneware or melamine GN trays for any buffet or display that customers actually look at. Because they all share the GN footprint, a stone display tray drops into the same well a steel pan came out of — the geometry never changes, only the finish.
UK Price Tiers — July 2026
£15–£90
1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9 pots and inserts, per pan or set
£68–£122
Steelite Quarry stone-effect GN 1/2 & 1/1 trays, per 2-pack
£90–£300
Stainless cook-and-hold pans and lids, sourced to spec
£1,200+
Polar U-Series four-drawer gastronorm counter fridge
Gastronorm Products We Stock
The Steelite Quarry GN trays below give you the gastronorm footprint in a stone-effect finish for front-of-house display, and the Polar U-Series drawer counter is built around GN drawers so your prepped pans drop straight in. All stocked July 2026. Prices ex VAT, 2-year parts warranty.
+ VAT — Craven Cooling price
Front-of-house GN
- Full GN 1/1 footprint — drops into standard wells
- 2 trays per pack
- Stone-effect finish, commercial durability
- Ambient & chilled display: breads, cheeses, desserts
- Swaps with steel GN pans without re-planning
The full-module display tray. Keeps the gastronorm maths — everything still fits the wells — while the display section looks deliberate rather than institutional. The 1/1 for hero sections on the buffet.
+ VAT — Craven Cooling price
Split-a-well size
- GN 1/2 footprint — two fill one 1/1 well
- 2 trays per pack
- Same stone-effect finish as the 1/1
- Split a display section between two products
- Tessellates cleanly — no dead space
The half-module partner. Run two 1/2 trays where a 1/1 would over-fill, or pair with the 1/1 to build a mixed display that still keeps the gastronorm geometry across the whole line.
+ VAT — Craven Cooling price
Built around GN drawers
- Four gastronorm drawers — prepped pans drop straight in
- Refrigerated prep counter, 8°C-capable storage
- Keeps pans at temperature at the point of service
- GN geometry throughout — no decanting
- Polar U-Series build, commercial duty
The GN system made physical. Prep into 1/1 pans, chill them, and slide the drawers closed — the food stays in the same pan from prep to plate. Confirm the drawer clearance for the pan depth you run.
Craven Cooling stocks or sources the full gastronorm range — stainless and polycarbonate pans in every size and depth, matching lids, and GN-dimensioned gastronorm equipment, plus refrigerated prep counters and combi ovens built to the standard. Call 01792 732702 or email [email protected] with the sizes, depths and quantities you run and we’ll build the pan set around your equipment.
Worked Example: Sizing a Saladette Prep Counter
A pizza-and-salad operation building a saladette prep rail wants to know how many pans, in which fractions, to run across a standard 1/1-well counter.
Because every fraction tessellates back to the 1/1 opening, the whole rail is interchangeable — a 1/3 can be swapped for three 1/9 garnish pots on a whim, and the wash-cycle spare set means a fresh pan is always ready without stalling prep. Standardise the depth (here 100mm) so a single lid range covers everything and drawers always close.
Food Safety & GN Depth Checklist
Gastronorm sizing is a food-safety tool, not just a storage one. Here is what an EHO-aware kitchen keeps in mind when it picks pan depths.
Decant hot food into 40mm or 65mm GN pans for blast chilling — the thin layer falls through the 63°C–8°C danger zone fast. Deep 150mm and 200mm pans chill slowly at the core and can breach the cooling guidance in the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995.
Whether hot-holding at 63°C+ or chilling to 8°C or below, the reading that counts is the centre of the deepest pan. The middle of a 100mm pan is the last place to reach temperature. Probe there, log it, and never assume the surface reading applies throughout.
A 65mm hot-hold pan topped up every 15–20 minutes keeps less food on display, fresher, and easier to keep above 63°C than a single deep-loaded 150mm pan. It also limits waste to half a pan if a temperature check ever fails.
Prepped GN pans in a saladette or drawer counter must sit at 8°C or below. Don’t over-fill above the pan’s cold-air line, and confirm the drawer or well actually holds the pan depth you’re using — an over-deep pan blocks airflow and drives the temperature up.
Standardise depths so a single lid range fits everything and pans stack and store cleanly. Date-label every prepped pan. Interchangeable geometry is only an advantage if the whole set is genuinely to the GN standard, top and bottom.
Which GN Sizes Should You Buy First? — Checklist
If you’re standardising a kitchen from scratch, buy in this order.
-
GN 1/1 stainless, 65mm and 100mm — the workhorse pair
Cover cook, transport and hot-hold. Two depths handle most of what a kitchen does. Buy by the dozen with matching lids. -
GN 1/2 stainless, 100mm — for splitting wells and shelves
The single most useful “second size.” Two 1/2 pans divide any 1/1 opening between two dishes. -
GN 1/3 and 1/6 polycarbonate — the prep and topping rail
See-through pots for saladette, mise-en-place and condiments. Match the count to your topping list, not the catalogue. -
GN 40mm shallow set — for blast chilling and single-layer roasting
Keep a stack of shallow pans specifically for fast core-chill and even oven results. -
Display GN trays (stone/melamine) — for anything customers see
Same footprint, better finish. The Steelite Quarry GN 1/1 and 1/2 trays drop into the wells your steel pans came out of. -
A wash-cycle spare set of every size you run
A pan in the dishwasher is a pan out of service. One spare set keeps prep and service moving without a gap.
Gastronorm is the one measurement standard that makes a commercial kitchen interchangeable. The base module is GN 1/1 at 530 × 325mm, and every other size is a fraction of it: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9, plus the oversized 2/1. The denominator is a tessellation count — six 1/6 pans, three 1/3, two 1/2 fill one 1/1 opening, and any mix that sums to 1 fits without dead space. Depths run 20, 40, 65, 100, 150 and 200mm; depth multiplies capacity (a 1/1 holds ~13L at 100mm) but also controls thermal behaviour, so chill and hot-hold in shallow 40–65mm pans and probe the core under the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995. Standardise on stainless 1/1 and 1/2 for cook-and-hold, polycarbonate 1/3 and 1/6 for cold prep, and stone or melamine GN trays for display — all sharing the same footprint so pans move from walk-in to oven to counter to buffet with no decanting. Craven Cooling stocks Steelite Quarry GN 1/1 trays (£121.89 + VAT) and GN 1/2 trays (£68.17 + VAT), and the Polar U-Series four-drawer gastronorm counter fridge (£1,199.87 + VAT) built around GN drawers — and sources steel and polycarbonate pans in every size and depth. Call 01792 732702 or visit the Swansea showroom; 2-year parts warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions
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