Butterflies love to check out gardens, and what about the foodies? Restaurants are the ultimate destination for food lovers. One of my foodie friends, Micheal, once made this comparison during our trip to Mexico. I do agree with my friend. Restaurants and eateries do matter a lot for foodies. The real foodie knows where they can satisfy their tongue and stomach. If you think that you can rule the hearts of foodies by only serving delicious foods, you are wrong. Nowadays, you can see a growing awareness on hygiene, especially among the younger generation. It is no doubt a good sign. Well, foodies nowadays are not only the great critics of your foods but also of your entire facility. Therefore, you need to take special care of the cleanliness of your restaurants.
There are huge differences between the kitchen in our house and the commercial kitchens (such as restaurants’ kitchens). It is a daunting task to clean a commercial kitchen where many chefs work together and prepare different items for a number of people on a regular basis. You need to keep your inventory always stored with cleaning supplies and put lots of efforts. Let’s make this daunting task quite easier for you. In this article, I am going to point out nine hotspots in a commercial kitchen to which you should pay special attention. Well, you will also get some effective tips to keep these particular areas clean.
1. Cupboards and Benchtops
Dirty and unhealthy cupboards invite germs and bacteria, including Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus. Cockroaches like unhealthy cupboards and benchtops where they can easily feed off. Cockroaches transmit pathogens that can affect human body badly. Apart from this, they spread allergens that cause asthma and other breathing problems.
- Cleaning Tips
You can use multi-purpose cleaners and wipes. You should make your staffs use hand sanitizer to avoid cross-contamination from the kitchen and clean the cabinet interiors regularly. Another thing you should keep in mind – never leave food on your benchtops.
2. Sinks
Sink is no doubt the most germ-infected place in a restaurant kitchen. We tend to throw everything into sinks, be it dirty dish, sponges, or food scraps. Since it’s wet in most of the times, germs find a comfortable and secure shelter in it.
- Cleaning Tips
Always keep commercial cleaning supplies like surface cleaners, cloths, and cream cleaners in your inventory. Spray the basin with disinfectant on a regular basis. Don’t hazard the sink with dirty dishes and sponges.
3. Fridge & Freezer
The fridge is one of the favorite breeding grounds for germs and bacteria such as Listeria Monocytogenes that can cause a malicious bacterial infection named Listeriosis. This kind of bacteria are detrimental to pregnant women, people with diabetes, kidney and live disease, and for young babies.
- Cleaning Tips
You should not allow any expired and smelly food in your fridge. Make your staffs clean the fridge regularly with hot soapy water and safe commercial cleaning supplies. Don’t forget to use sealable bags to keep the foods. Raw foods should always be kept separate from the cooked food.
4. Dishwasher
Almost 60% dishwashers contain dangerous fungi. Black yeasts, red yeasts, white yeasts, even the harmful molds, find the damp, and warm dishwasher is the best place for their breeding. Fungi can cause severe lung diseases, infections, and many other health-related issues.
- Cleaning Tips
You need to keep the filter of the dishwasher clean as per the instruction of the manufacturer. Keep the rubber seals always clean.
5. Sponges
A kitchen is incomplete without the sponges. You would be surprised to know that sponges are the ideal breeding ground for the harmful bacteria like Campylobacter, E. Coli, Staphylococcus, Listeria etc. Sponges are often not cleaned properly and left with lots of foods. Warm, moist, and these foods give birth to germs on the sponges.
- Cleaning Tips
Sponges should be replaced with the fresh and new ones frequently. It would be better to soak the sponges in a bleach solution on a regular basis. Keep them in a dry place and make sure that your staffs are not using these sponges to clean the benchtops as it can cause cross-contamination.
6. Degrease Fryer & Grill
Every day your fryer and grill build up greases that can turn into a fire hazard any time. Do your staffs pay attention to the cleaning of these appliances? You should assure they do it seriously. Grills gather carbon which is tough to remove.
- Cleaning Tips
Ask your staffs to unplug the appliances and drain the oil into a bowl. It would be better if you can soak the grills in the soapy water overnight. In the next morning, scrub and clean them. Don’t forget to use a grill stone whenever you need to lift any obstinate dirt.
7. Carpets
You like to cover the floor of your restaurant’s kitchen with a carpet, right? That’s fine. But, do you know that heavy wind can create wear and tear to your carpets and floors? Carpets gather dirt and germs coming with the wind and affects the hygiene of your kitchen. Therefore, you should make it mandatory for your cleaning staffs to clean and maintain the carpets properly.
- Cleaning Tips
You should provide your staffs with a reliable carpet shampoo machine that can keep your carpets clean and dirt-free. There are different tricks to deal with different types of dirt. Your staff should be well-aware of the most actual cleaning tips to get clean carpets.
8. Cooker Hood
A cooker hood is a place that gets grease and bacteria frequently. But in most of the cases, we tend to overlook cooker hood. Several studies have revealed that cooker hoods in most of the commercial kitchens are a great source of harmful germs and bacteria.
- Cleaning Tips
Steam cleaning is very effective to clean cooker heads. You should try heavy duty commercial cleaning products or degreasers to get a long-lasting effect.
9. Wheelie Bins
You should always make your bins (both inside and outside bins) clean to maintain the hygiene of the kitchen of your restaurant. During the summer, the rising temperature makes it difficult to mask the smell of refuge. Bin stores help you ventilate the bins. Since these are lockable, no one can steal your bins. You should assure your bins are not gathering water. Water invites some harmful animals like rats and pests.
- Cleaning Tips
Make your staffs throw the garbage gently in the bins. Bins are the place where garbage should be kept, it should not scatter here and there all over the kitchen floor. Cleaning staffs should clean the bins frequently.
A Final Takeaway
I believe your chefs cast a magical spell upon your customers every time they serve foods. After going through this article, you know everything you need to get a hygienic kitchen in your restaurant. Now, serve the foodies taste with health!
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