Keeping commercial kitchens clean is one of the biggest challenges faced by many food and catering businesses. Kitchen spaces need to be able to cope with a variety of processes and activities every day, which means that a considered cleaning system is required to ensure that health and safety remain a priority without disrupting workflow.
On Shift Cleaning
As the Food Standards Agency details very specific food hygiene requirements, there are a range of cleaning tasks that professional kitchen teams will already subconsciously complete as part of their everyday routine. These include:
-Wiping down line and preparation areas
-Switching cutting boards
-Changing sanitising water and cloths
-Emptying bins
-Brushing grills between cooking poultry, fish and red meat.
Post-Shift Cleaning
Most commercial kitchen teams will find designating particular times of the day to clean specific items valuable to the cleanliness of the kitchen and beneficial to their workflow. These tasks include:
-Cleaning fryers
-Sanitising all surfaces
-Emptying the steam table
-Washing meat and cheese slicers
-Sweeping walk-in refrigeration units
-Mopping kitchen floors
Every Day Cleaning Tasks
Some commercial kitchens will employ a night porter to ensure that the kitchen is ready for service the next day. Amongst other things, night porters will:
-Clean stainless steel grease traps, examples of which can be seen at https://www.ukgreasetrapsdirect.co.uk/stainless-steel-grease-traps
-Thoroughly clean hood filters
-Replace foil linings of flattops and grills
Weekly Cleaning Tasks
Many cleaning duties can be rotated weekly to ensure that every on-shift team is required to complete an equal amount of work. These include:
-Cleaning coffee machines, faucets and sinks
-Cleaning ovens
-Oiling cast iron cookware
-Emptying, cleaning and sanitising reach-in coolers
-Sharpening knives
Monthly Cleaning Tasks
Again, the following tasks can be rotated monthly to ensure that hygiene standards remain high and no service team is required to complete all cleaning duties.
-Washing behind the hotline to remove any grease
-Cleaning and sanitising freezers and ice machines
-Calibrating ovens and thermometers
-Sharpening cheese and meat slicers
-Wiping down dry storage areas
-Updating data sheets
-Restocking first aid kits
Annual Cleaning Tasks
The following tasks should be completed at least once a year to ensure that your kitchen is operating as safely and effectively as possible.
-Checking fire suppression systems and fire extinguishers
-Employing a professional hood cleaning service to clean all kitchen hoods
-Cleaning pilot lights on all gas-powered equipment
