Tag: restaurant kitchen

When it comes to restaurants and their kitchens, we hope they are as clean as our own – if not cleaner!

No one wants to eat from a dirty kitchen and we are all familiar with Gordon Ramsay shutting down restaurant kitchens all over the world because of the filthy state he finds them in!

So to avoid being shut down by the Food Standards Agency, try some of these top tips to keep your kitchen looking spotless.

Cleaning Kitchen Equipment:

Equipment is something that must be cleaned daily to avoid a build-up of grease and grime and to keep your equipment in good working order.

Equipment such as mixers, grinders, slicers, and blenders all having multiple moving parts which come into contact with food products during use. This means that a simple wipe down with disinfectant spray is not enough to thoroughly sanitise the equipment, and this may leave food residue, which allows bacteria to breed in hard to reach places.

The equipment must be disassembled…

(That’s the equipment, not The Avengers!)

Once you have successfully disassembled your equipment (and had a short tea-break) here are some basic tips for how to thoroughly clean and sanitise the parts.

• Thoroughly wash off each part in hot soapy water to remove larger pieces of food in the bin. You may need to use the high-pressure hose to remove dried or sticky foods.
• Use a small hard-bristled brush to access hard to reach places such as the holes in your meat grinder plate.
• Do not use highly abrasive materials or corrosive cleaning products. Heavy-duty antibacterial dish soap is strong enough to remove most food and grease, without leaving an abrasive chemical residue.
• Rinse all parts with hot water. Or, if appropriate, run the parts through your Hobart dishwasher. The super-heated water will sterilise the parts.
• Ensure all parts are thoroughly dry before reassembling the equipment.

Cleaning The Kitchen Grill:

Grill plates become dirty because they are in direct contact with the food they cook. So, it is important for food to be scraped and removed several times during the service – preferably between orders. Commercial grills are easier to clean when they are still warm, so here are some tips to help you safely sanitise your commercial grill:

• Clean food residue from your grill with a wire brush or grill scraper.
• Switch off the grill and allow to cool slightly.
• Using heat resistant gloves, scrub the surface with a grill brick to remove finer food particles and grease. Note that this method is not suitable for grills with a chrome cooking surface.
• For chrome grills, use a specialised grill cleaner and a wet, non-abrasive cloth to remove grease. Follow that with a clean, wet cloth to remove chemical residue.
• Remove the waste drawer at the front of the unit. Empty the contents, and then soak in dish soap and hot water. Scrub and rinse thoroughly.

Cleaning Kitchen Extractor Hoods:

It is advisable to clean kitchen extractor hoods daily.  Grease can build up and drip back onto cooking surfaces, contaminating food and creating a fire hazard. Because they are difficult to access, they are often overlooked. For high volume kitchens, you may need to hire a professional exhaust cleaning service once a month. But, for most kitchens, these simple tips will make cleaning range hoods easy:

• Remove grease traps or drip trays, and dispose of grease as suggested by your local Restaurant Safety authority. Soak trays, then scrub and rinse with clean hot water.
• Spray the interior and exterior surfaces of the hood with heavy-duty de-greaser and wipe down with a damp cloth. Do not use abrasive products, as these can damage the surface of the range hood.
• Use a clean damp cloth to remove any chemical residue from the surfaces.
• Allow all components to dry completely before reassembling.

Cleaning Restaurant Kitchen Floors:

Put simply, this is a no-no.  Yes, of course it is inevitable but having food on the restaurant kitchen floor is can be a health hazard:

• Always sweep and clean up any mess throughout the day that has fallen on the floor. This will save time at the end of the day and keep your work space clean.
• Sanitise your cleaning equipment. Soak your mop and broom in chlorine to kill bacteria, then rinse thoroughly and leave to dry.
• If you have just mopped the floor make sure wet floor signs are put in place and communicated with colleagues to prevent trips or falls.

We hope that these tips have been helpful.  We hope that once you’ve tried these restaurant kitchen cleaning tips, you will think again and and call the professionals to do the job properly.

Call St Anne’s Cleaning now on: 0203 397 7495