A professional kitchen is almost entirely metal: stainless steel tables, ovens, hoods, sinks, cold rooms, copper pans, brass taps. When a restaurant closes, when a café renovates or when a caterer renews its equipment, this equipment becomes restaurant scrap metal — and it is a load worth selling rather than throwing away. MOUMETAL buys stainless steel and metals from restaurants, cafés and caterers all over Morocco, with on-site collection, transparent weighing and a free estimate. Here is what your kitchen contains, how to sort it and how to sell it.
What metals are in a professional kitchen?
A restaurant kitchen is first of all stainless steel — but not only that. The metals found there:
- Stainless steel 304 and 316: work tables, hoods, sinks, shelves, ovens, hobs, bain-maries. It is the dominant metal in a professional kitchen, and the most valuable in the load.
- Copper: pans and cookware, pipework, coils, some hob plates. Copper is sorted separately, never mixed with stainless steel.
- Brass: taps, mixers, plumbing fittings, valves. A small volume, but a metal that valorises well.
- Aluminium: utensils, trays, some worktops, refrigerated display frames, service trolleys.
- Steel: cold rooms, shelving, table frames, trolleys, furniture feet, grilles and bakery ovens.
- Motors and compressors: refrigeration units, cold-room compressors, hood and dishwasher motors — they contain copper and are valorised with used electric motors.
Our article on buying stainless steel in Morocco details the grades and valorisation of this metal, and our article on buying copper in Morocco does the same for copper.
Identifying stainless steel: 304, 316 and the others
Not all stainless steel valorises the same way: the grade makes the value. Two gestures are enough for a first sort:
- The magnet test: stainless steel 304 and 316, the most common in kitchens, are practically non-magnetic — the magnet does not stick, or barely. If the magnet sticks firmly, it is ordinary steel or ferritic stainless steel, less valuable.
- Marking and appearance: kitchen equipment often carries an "18/8" or "18/10" marking — 18% chromium, 8 or 10% nickel — which signals quality austenitic stainless steel. Grade 316, richer in nickel and molybdenum, is recognised by its use in harsh environments: seaside, acidic products, intensive cleaning.
- Do not mix: a load of 304 stainless steel mixed with ordinary steel or aluminium is valorised as the least noble metal in the mix. Keep stainless steel apart, clean and dry.
If in doubt, do not dismantle anything and do not scratch surfaces: describe the equipment at estimate time and we will check the grade on site. For hotel kitchens, our article on hotel scrap metal in Morocco covers the same topic on a larger scale.
Closing or renovating a restaurant: how to organise the clearance
The moment a restaurant produces the most scrap is its closure or renovation: everything leaves at once, and the premises must be emptied quickly to hand them over or start work. The method:
- Inventory first: list the equipment — stainless tables, ovens, hoods, cold rooms, sinks, shelving — with approximate dimensions. One photo per item is enough for a first estimate.
- Dismantling by a professional: hoods and cold rooms are fixed, sometimes heavy, and cold rooms contain refrigerants that must be recovered before dismantling — never released into the air. Our article on scrap from cold storage warehouses details this de-pollution.
- Sorting on site: stainless steel on one side, copper on the other, steel apart, motors and compressors apart. Sorting at dismantling time avoids re-sorting everything afterwards.
- Collection in a single visit: MOUMETAL comes with the right truck and removes the whole load — equipment, offcuts, cables — in one go, so work can start.
For a full site clearance, see also our article on factory clearance: the method is the same, at restaurant scale.
How is the value of stainless steel and kitchen metals determined?
This is the question every restaurant owner asks. The answer comes down to a few factors, with no published tariff, because the value of a load moves with the metals market. Every load gets a free estimate, on site or on description. Here is what counts:
- The stainless steel grade: grade 304 and especially grade 316, rich in nickel, valorise better than ordinary steel or ferritic stainless steel. This is the first factor.
- Weight and sorting: a clean, sorted stainless steel load always valorises better than a mix. Copper and brass, sorted separately, weigh heavily in the estimate.
- Nickel and chromium prices: these are the components that give stainless steel its value, and they are quoted on international markets. When prices rise, the value of your stock rises with them.
- Condition and cleanliness: equipment that is cleaned, without food residue or encrusted grease, without mixed plastic or wood, is weighed and valorised without deduction.
- Load volume: a complete kitchen — closure or renovation — valorises better than an isolated item, because collection is simpler to organise.
To understand more broadly how a scrap dealer sets its estimates, read our article on the price of scrap metal in Morocco: the same principles apply — weight, sorting, metal prices — with no published tariff.
Caterers and cafés: smaller but regular flows
Caterers and cafés do not produce a whole kitchen at once, but a regular flow: replaced stainless tables, coffee machines out of service, refrigerated displays, service trolleys, fryers, hob plates. Each renewal is a small load to sell, not clutter to store.
For these regular flows, MOUMETAL organises planned collections: you tell us when the stock is ready, we come, we weigh, we pay. Sorting by metal — stainless steel on one side, copper and brass on the other — is done from storage onwards. It is simple, it is regular, and it turns a cost item into an income item. Caterers who also work with central kitchens will find the same logic at industrial scale in our article on scrap from the food industry in Morocco. And if your equipment is only part of a larger load — cables, machines, furniture — we buy the whole lot in a single visit.
Selling your kitchen equipment to MOUMETAL: how it works
Entrusting your kitchen equipment to MOUMETAL is a simple four-step process:
- Contact: call us on +212 660 690 806, write to us on WhatsApp or via our form. Describe your stock: stainless tables, ovens, hoods, cold rooms, approximate quantities, city. One photo per item is enough for a first estimate.
- Free estimate: we assess the load — stainless steel by grade, copper and brass separately — and give you a no-obligation estimate, based on weight, sorting and metal prices.
- On-site collection: we come with the right truck and dismantling equipment if needed. Weighing is done on site, in front of you, in full transparency. For regular collections or full clearances, see our collection and removal and factory clearance pages.
- Fast payment and traceability: you are paid quickly, and you receive the tracking slip proving collection and destination to approved channels.
FAQ — Scrap metal from restaurants, cafés and caterers in Morocco
What should I do with the stainless steel equipment of a restaurant that is closing? Sell it to a professional metals buyer like MOUMETAL: tables, ovens, hoods, sinks, cold rooms — with dismantling, sorting by grade and on-site collection in a single visit.
Who buys professional kitchens in Morocco? Metal collection companies like MOUMETAL — stainless steel 304/316, copper, brass, aluminium, cold rooms — with on-site collection all over Morocco.
How do I sell a used stainless steel kitchen? Make an inventory of the equipment, with one photo per item, and contact us for a free estimate. We come to dismantle if needed, sort and remove the load, with weighing on site.
Is grade 304 stainless steel recyclable? Yes, fully and indefinitely: stainless steel is re-melted without losing its properties. It is one of the most recycled metals, and its value comes from its nickel and chromium content.
What should I do with used cold rooms and refrigeration units? Entrust them to a professional: their refrigerants must be recovered before dismantling, never released into the air. MOUMETAL organises de-pollution and collection, with a tracking slip.
Sell your restaurant's equipment to MOUMETAL
Stainless tables, ovens, hoods, sinks, cold rooms, copper and brass: MOUMETAL buys scrap metal from restaurants, cafés and caterers in Morocco, with on-site collection, transparent weighing, fast payment and a tracking slip. Contact us: +212 660 690 806 — contact@moumetal.com.