5 Commercial Kitchen Maintenance Priorities
If you’re running a catering business, then it’s vital that you run a clean and well-maintained kitchen. Not only will this help to ensure that you meet the requirements for hygiene and cleanliness, but you could also save your business some money down the line too. Keeping up maintenance means that your equipment is less likely to fail which means there’s less chance you’ll need to replace expensive items.
When you’re running a busy business, it can be difficult to find the time for regular maintenance, especially when maintenance means that you can’t use the equipment for any given amount of time. Here are five pieces of equipment to prioritise when it comes to maintaining your commercial kitchen appliances.
1. Kitchen Extraction Equipment
A working and efficient kitchen extraction system is vital for any commercial kitchen. You should clean vents and ducts regularly yourself as part of your overall kitchen maintenance schedule, but you’ll also need to use a commercial kitchen extraction cleaning company regularly to ensure everything is cleaned out properly and working effectively. Over time, small particles of grease can accumulate which can lead to hygiene problems and an increased risk of fire.
2. Fire Alarm and Fire Suppression Systems
In a commercial kitchen, there are lots of fire hazards. Although you’ll have systems in place to minimise the risk of fire, you still need to be prepared just in case the worst happens.
Having a working smoke detector and fire alarm system is the very minimum you’ll need to have in place. These must be tested regularly in order to ensure they are working properly. In the event of a fire in a commercial kitchen, you need to be sure that the alarm will sound to give a warning to your staff and customers that they need to vacate the building.
Many commercial kitchens will also have a fire suppression system which is often a sprinkler system. It’s vital to get this checked and serviced regularly to ensure it is working properly. You need to know that the system will activate as soon as it’s needed in order to quickly extinguish a fire.
3. Deep Fat Fryers
Deep fat fryers are notoriously dangerous pieces of equipment. Fryers should be cleaned regularly and any oil changed regularly too. This must be part of your commercial kitchen cleaning routine. Many commercial kitchen fires could be avoided just by doing this.
4. Fridges and freezers
When you’re running a commercial kitchen, it’s vital that food is stored at the correct temperature before being cooked. A faulty fridge or freezer that doesn’t store food at the correct temperature could mean that thousands of pounds worth of food has to be thrown away as it is no longer safe for human consumption.
Should you use food that hasn’t been stored correctly, then you’re putting your customers’ health at risk as this could lead to food poisoning.
5. Floors
The floor of a commercial kitchen can be a real hazard. You must clean your floor daily with a high-quality cleaner designed specifically for use on commercial kitchen floors. You should also check regularly for any spills or dropped food as these can cause a slip hazard. You might want to invest in floor mats to minimise the risk of falls.
*This is a collaborative post.
