When it comes to your restaurant, the kitchen is undoubtedly the core of your business. A clean, well-organized kitchen is an absolute must for any successful restaurant. If your kitchen isn’t staying as clean as it should be, it is usually a sign of other underlying issues in management that need to be addressed in order to keep your business running smoothly. Here are some ideas that can help keep your kitchen exceptionally clean.
Live By The Checklist
Whilst some employees may not like having to fill out a checklist throughout the day, this tool is of immeasurable importance to the cleanliness of your restaurant’s kitchen. Why is keeping a checklist so important?
- Having an itemized list as a visual aid and reminder for your staff is an easy way to make sure they are getting the job done. For the employee, this is a great way to make sure their boss knows they have completed their daily job duties to the employer’s standards. There is nothing worse than not knowing what to do on the job and being penalized when tasks aren’t completed.
- Accountability is the key to management. If your staff signs off that they have cleaned and sterilized the dishwashing station, but you find the job isn’t done to your specifications, you have a direct reference to bring up when you speak with them about their performance.
- Timing is everything. Planning your checklist according to how busy your restaurant is and targeting times when it’s not will make sure your staff is consistently working to keep your kitchen as clean as possible.
Outsourcing For The Win
In some cases, it’s simply not possible to keep up with the strain of a popular restaurant while also keeping all of your kitchen cleanings in-house. Hiring a London restaurant and commercial kitchen cleaning can make a massive difference in this case. Of course, your staff will be required to keep up with daily cleaning duties. But leaving the deep cleaning to a specialist after hours is a sure-fire way to keep your kitchen spotless and ready for the next rush.
If There Is Time To Lean
The old saying will always hold true in the restaurant business. “If there is time to lean, there is time to clean.” If your staff have downtime, make sure that it’s being used to keep your kitchen sparkling clean. There is simply no reason why kitchen staff should be standing around either on their phones or doing nothing at all. Make sure that your management is paying attention and putting those idle hands to good use by scrubbing down the kitchen equipment or scouring your kitchen’s surfaces.
A Little Bit Applied Often
Make sure your staff knows that the more often they clean your kitchen equipment, surfaces, floors, and utensils, the easier keeping their work area clean will be. The more they work in between the lunch and dinner rush will translate to less work overall at the end of their shift. It’s easy to keep a clean kitchen clean, but it’s a lot more work to sit and scrub the grime left from eight hours of fast-paced cooking. In this case, the frequency of cleaning is the key to your kitchen’s success.
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