Daily & Deep Cleaning of Bar & Restaurant Kitchens

The Food Safety Act 1990, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 (supported by European Regulation 852/2004) set out certain minimum standards for food preparation areas, and a failure to adhere to these can result in serious penalties.

Why it’s important, and what needs doing

Weekly Rotation

Set out a daily rota to cover these jobs every week:

• Oil cast iron pots and pans
• Empty, wash and disinfect fridges and freezers
• Clean ovens, microwave ovens, toasters and other cooking appliances
• Descale sinks and taps
• Clean (and sharpen) slicers and knives
• Cleaning bin area
• Clean cupboards and shelves
• Cleaning walls, skirting, tiles and sills

Business Obligations

The Food Safety Act 1990, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 (supported by European Regulation 852/2004) set out certain minimum standards for food preparation areas, and a failure to adhere to these can result in serious penalties and damage to business reputation. Poor cleaning can lead to bacterial contamination, pest infestation leading to business closure.

There is a requirement that a regular cleaning schedule is in place. Scheduling regular kitchen deep cleaning, as well as daily cleaning, gives peace of mind that these regulations and business obligations to customers are satisfied.

The list of equipment and areas needing cleaning in a commercial kitchen environment is extensive. The duties therefore are best split into daily, weekly, and deep cleaning jobs. 

Daily Cleaning

Daily cleaning routines can maintain levels of hygiene on easily accessible surfaces and areas.

During shifts

Keeping on top of smaller jobs ensures a constant level of hygiene throughout a service – duties such as:

• Cleaning grills between cooking poultry, fish and meat
• Regularly wiping down and disinfecting all working surfaces
• Regularly cleaning all pots, pans, dishes, utensils and chopping boards

Between shifts

Once a service has ended, cleaning should begin ready for the next service, including:

• Clean and disinfect sinks, surfaces, floors
• Wash all aprons, hats etc
• Clean grills, emptying out grease trays
• Clean hobs and fryers 

Deep Clean

The gradual accumulation of grease and fat on less accessible areas can provide a potential breeding ground for bacteria. Deep cleaning should be scheduled at least once or twice a year to minimise this risk and improve the equipment life. It is the total strip down and thorough clean of every item in the kitchen, top to bottom. A kitchen deep clean includes tasks such as:

• Cleaning extractors and vents – Kitchen extractors are a common cause of fires due to grease build up so this is extremely important, and easily overlooked
• Cleaning floors, walls, doors, ceilings and tiled areas
• Cleaning fridges (including seals), sinks, storage units, shelves and around the feet of units
• Stripping down all ovens, grills, hobs, thoroughly clean and reassemble
• Cleaning behind and underneath all units, ovens and fridges – Very important part of the deep cleaning schedule, bacteria can build up in these areas out of sight and fast become a regulatory problem

Deep cleaning can be very time consuming, and is usually a job that kitchen staff dread. In house it’s best carried out between seasons where there may be some down time.

There is another option of course. Fluid Hygiene are experts in kitchen deep cleaning. We can send in a team of highly experienced deep cleaning staff who will carry out all of the duties listed above and more, in very little time. With specialist staff and specialist deep cleaning products we can carry out a deep clean minimising disruption to your service, but ensuring your kitchen is VPS clean. We’ll also issue you with a Certificate of Environmental Hygiene that you can display as evidence of the work that has taken place.

Kitchen Deep Clean Case Study

See our case study on Carluccio’s restaurants cleaning service for more information about our kitchen deep cleaning. 

Contact us today for your initial consultation and a competitve deep cleaning quote!