Don’t Lose Customers – Keep Your Kitchen Clean

Don’t Lose Customers – Keep Your Kitchen Clean

It’s straightforward: a dirty kitchen is a turn off, and will cost you customers. You may have the most mouth-watering delicacies in your county, but the moment your customers discover that they are being prepared in a messy kitchen, they’ll walk right out of the front door. It can be one who caught a glimpse of it as the waiters swung open the kitchen door when bringing out the order, or gunk was dragged out clinging into the cutlery or clothing of your personnel. It can be signs like the occasional rodent scurrying across the floor, having come from gorging itself full from the kitchen, or disgruntled employees leaking photos depicting the sorry state of things- after all, no one likes working in a soiled environment. Remember that negative reviews spread fast, especially within the food service industry. Taking proactive steps to prevent things from going down that path is more effective compared to struggling to put out the flames that result due to complaints from your clients. It’s not just about the reviews. You want to ensure that things in your establishment are in the right condition for the health inspectors dropping by, otherwise there will be ramifications to contend with. Competition within the food service industry is fierce, and you don’t want to lose out on revenue and market share because of a compromised cleaning program. Here are ways to ensure that you adhere to food safety standards, create a healthy environment for your staff and patrons, cut down on waste, and cleaning products that will come in handy for the diverse aspects involved. 

Get your staff on board

To ensure that things run smoothly, the employees need to be trained on the strategies to be used. This includes everything from handling the equipment in the kitchen, the cleaning gear that will be used, all through to the waste management program to be out in place. You can have a handbook in place, or a shared document that they can access. Set up a mandatory meeting for your staff, in which you will give them a detailed breakdown of your operating procedures. Conduct routine follow-ups to ensure things and running accordingly.

Set a checklist of tasks

This includes the daily tasks, weekly operations, and those that will be carried out monthly. This checklist should be supplied to the shift managers or supervisors, who bear the responsibility of ensuring that everything has been completed within its required schedule. 

For instance, between (and even during) shifts, the surfaces – especially the counters, tables and food preparation areas, will need to be wiped and sanitised. The walls and floors also need regular passes within the day. The trash, on the other hand, is picked up and removed daily- or more frequently for those busy commercial kitchens. 

Equip your staff

Here, you want to ensure that your personnel have effective cleaning products to use. After all, the choice of products will be a make or break factor for the cleanliness standards of your kitchen. In this case, aspects like eco-friendliness and the sustainability of the products also comes into play. Price is also key- given that the kitchen cleaning is a regular task, and you don’t want to put undue strain on your budget. 

Remember to segregate the equipment. This is to prevent cross contamination. Aspects like colour coding come in here, where you have equipment of particular colours being limited to specific areas within the kitchen. A situation where the cleaning cloths used on the floors being the same as those used on the counters can be disastrous. The equipment also needs to be properly maintained and sanitised. After all, cleaning with soiled mops, cloths, and other tools will be counterproductive. You can have a system of daily, weekly cleaning or perhaps bi-weekly – for those kitchens that are not as busy, where the different cleaning materials are laundered. Staff uniforms and aprons fall in this category as well. 

Follow the instructions that come with the cleaning products to the letter

Different products are suited to different cleaning tasks. It’s vital that you use the right agents, with their stipulated dilution ratios. Variations in pH levels and the chemical formulations involved will determine the situations where the cleaning products can be safely used. Avoid using acidic products when working on natural stone surfaces, as they will corrode the structure, steer clear of the abrasive tools when cleaning your stainless steel units such as scratches can result, which increases the chances of rust being formed. 

As you buy local cleaning products, you’ll notice variations in the chemical setup of the units. For instance, Cleanfast degreasers are available in different concentrations. There are those that come ready-to-use, and others that come in diluted forms. Even the level of soiling factors in- such as for the heavily greased areas that will require more concentrated cleaning products. General purpose units, heavy duty products for those cases when you’re dealing with stubborn grime- ensure that you use the right formulation for your particular needs.

Mistakes like mixing incompatible cleaning products can result in issues like toxic fumes being generated, putting the persons in the kitchen at risk. 

Stick to industry regulations

Working with different chemicals comes with its risks. For instance, degreasers have varying target applications. There are those that are suited for the automotive industry, such as when working on engines. These are different from those that are part of the cleaning products formulated for kitchen use. As such, you should acquire kitchen-safe degreasers. This applies across the board. The equipment and chemicals being used should adhere to the regulations governing the food and beverage industry. 

Note that industry regulations and trends keep evolving, and you’ll need to ensure your commercial cleaning practices adapt to them too. This ranges from the diverse types of cleaning products that are released into the market to enhance the efficiency of the different processes- especially when it comes to dealing with the stubborn dirt and grease, to laws that stipulate the permissible range of supplies that can be worked with. When this changes, the onus will be upon you to implement them in your cleaning procedures. 

Don’t Lose Customers – Keep Your Kitchen Clean