What is a Restaurant Cleaning Checklist?
A restaurant cleaning checklist is a tool used to maintain a hygienic and organized restaurant facility. It helps to identify defects and damages that need to rectify immediately. Unable to perform restaurant cleaning inspections can cause unsanitary business that may lead to regulatory fines and, worse, business closure.
Importance
Having a dedicated checklist for restaurant cleaning is an important aspect of running one. With a restaurant cleaning checklist, you can ensure that all areas are safe, the ambiance is great, the facilities are operational, and the staff is implementing food safety procedures.
Documenting all restaurant operations and cleaning procedures can also help you stay organized with maintaining your restaurant. By having records you can easily access anytime and anywhere, you can track and identify problems in your restaurant and learn how to better address them. Additionally, having documentation of your restaurant cleaning operations can also help you stay compliant with certain food standards, health regulations, and more.
Restaurant Cleaning Crucial Areas
Restaurant businesses aim to promote a clean and hygienic environment to keep high-quality services. Maintaining cleanliness in the following areas help ensure the health and safety of employees and patrons as well as stay compliant with regulations.
- Kitchen – is the most significant area of a restaurant where food is handled, prepared, and processed. Keeping it clean and sanitized helps to avoid food contamination, health risk incidents, and insect invaders.
- Storage – is where raw materials or manufactured goods are kept. Maintaining it clean and organized helps to track food stores to avoid spoilage and overstock.
- Dining – is one of the factors to consider in providing high-level customer service. A clean, safe, and secure environment promotes the overall appearance of the restaurant and decreases unsatisfied customers.
- Restroom – is an added factor to the restaurant ambiance and presentation. Sanitizing it frequently prevents cross-contamination from employees to food products and eating utensils, as well as the spread of diseases. In many cases, a dirty restroom can turn off guests.
How to Write a Restaurant Cleaning Checklist
There are multiple ways to create and use a restaurant cleaning checklist. To create your own, you must first consider the main areas of the restaurant that needs to be cleaned, as mentioned earlier. From there, you need to decide what needs to be cleaned first and how often.
The order in which you clean your restaurant is entirely up to you. However, it is important to note that you and your staff stick to the schedule for this to ensure your restaurant is consistent.
What to Include in a Restaurant Cleaning Checklist
A good restaurant cleaning checklist is one that is easy to follow, understand, and use. While there is no one right way to create one, an efficient restaurant cleaning checklist prompts you to inspect the following:
- Employee uniform
- Food handling processes
- Floor cleaning practices
- Freezer, refrigerator, and dishwasher temperatures
Here is an example report of a restaurant cleaning checklist in use:
General Restaurant Cleaning Checklist Sample Report
FAQs about Restaurant Cleaning Checklists
Restaurants should clean tables, other furniture, and surfaces with a soapy solution and disposable paper towel. After that, they should be sanitized with bleach or any other disinfectant, which should be left alone to air-dry.
Restaurants should be cleaned daily as much as possible, every after food service done. Cooking utensils and equipment should also be washed and wiped daily. However, deep cleaning can be done weekly or monthly instead.
It is mostly the restaurant supervisors and managers who create and manage restaurant cleaning checklists. These checklists are then usually used by everyone involved in the cleaning process.
