Estimated Fair Values of Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed for the Maurer Acquisition (Detail) (Maurer, USD $) In Thousands	Jul. 22, 2011
Maurer
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Current assets	$ 1,673
Property, plant and equipment	628
Goodwill	870
Other intangibles	922
Current liabilities	(246)
Net assets acquired and liabilities assumed	$ 3,847

Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets

Name:	midd_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationIntangibleAssets
Namespace Prefix:	midd
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The total purchase price of the acquired entity. This includes cash paid to equity interest holders of the acquired entity, fair value of debt and equity securities issued to equity holders of the acquired entity, and transaction costs paid to third parties to consummate the acquisition.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationAssetsAcquiredLiabilitiesAssumedNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to current assets.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationCurrentAssets
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to current liabilities of the acquired entity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph e

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 37

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)

-Number 98-1

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationCurrentLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of goodwill arising from a business combination that is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 805

-SubTopic 30

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911361&loc=d3e6927-128479

-Subparagraph (d)

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 52

-Subparagraph c

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 53

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141R

-Paragraph 68

-Subparagraph k

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationGoodwillExpectedTaxDeductibleAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to property, plant and equipment to be used in ongoing operations.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationPropertyPlantAndEquipment
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant