About 80% of new restaurants fail within the first five years. One way you can keep this from happening is by keeping your restaurant clean. The simple task of cleaning will ensure you pass your inspections.
Passed inspections mean your doors stay open to continue serving people. It also means your establishment won’t end up on a list like this one.
Follow this restaurant kitchen cleaning checklist and be confident that your restaurant kitchen is always inspection ready.
After Each Shift
After each shift, your kitchen team should do some basic tasks to keep the kitchen organized and neat.
- Brush the grill
- Wash and sanitize the work surfaces
- Gather the materials needing laundering
- Wash floor mats
- Sweep the kitchen and walk-in
Daily Cleaning
At the end of each day, you can have either your kitchen staff or a professional cleaner come in and get your kitchen ready for the next day of service.
- Clean hood filters
- Empty grease traps
- Clean grill, flattops, and range
Weekly Cleaning
For weekly tasks, you could pick one day a week where you do them all. This could be time-consuming, though.
Instead, schedule a few tasks each day and add them to the cleaning tasks. This will break up the tasks and spread out the workload over all of your shifts.
- Clean coffee machine
- Sharpen knives
- Clean floor drains
- Delime faucets and sinks
- Clean the ovens
- Empty the reach-in coolers and clean them.
Monthly Cleaning
Similar to your weekly tasks, you can spread out your monthly cleaning tasks throughout the month. This will keep these tasks from becoming overwhelming by spreading the work out over each of your shifts.
- Clean the freezers
- Wash the walls and ceilings
- Change out pest traps
- Empty and sanitize the ice machine
- Wash your hotline to remove grease
- Clean your dry storage area
- Empty and wash the bac plastique, that’s French for plastic bins
Annual Cleaning
The tasks on your yearly list typically require the assistance of a professional. It’s best to schedule these maintenance tasks during your slowest times. It’s even better if you can do it right before the busy season.
Clean the Hoods
This should be done twice a year. This is an extremely messy and time-consuming job, so leave it to the pros.
Fire Extinguishers
You need to check your fire extinguishers one to two times a year, depending on where you live. While you could do this yourself, let the professionals come in and check them while they check your entire fire suppression system.
Pilot Light
If you have gas equipment in your kitchen, then you need to have the pilot lights cleaned and checked. This will reduce the risk of fire.
Restaurant Kitchen Cleaning Checklist
By following this restaurant kitchen cleaning checklist, you can be confident that your kitchen is clean and ready for service. It will also help you breathe easy should you have a surprise inspection.
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