Clean as You Go 

It only takes a few seconds to wipe down surfaces while cooking food. Taking a tidy-as-you-go approach to cleaning will keep things easier to clean.  

Maintaining a clean space takes less time and energy than waiting until the end of the shift to scrub your station down. 

Tips for Cleaning as You Go 

Both the front and back of the house need to clean up after themselves to stay ahead of the chaos of uncleanliness.  

Kitchen staff need access to food rags so they can easily wipe down surfaces. Strategically-placed sanitizer buckets and rags will make quick cleaning much easier.  

Cleaning as you go means cleaning whenever needed. If a spill occurs, no matter how small, it should be cleaned as soon as possible. This means sweeping as needed, wiping seats down, and going “grease hunting”. 

Deal with small spills and splashes right away to make cleaning easier for everyone. Not only will it make your job easier and safer, but it looks much better to customers, as well. 

Shift Change Checklist 

When your shift is over, make sure your coworkers aren’t inheriting your mess. Set them up for a successful service by doing some extra tidying.  

This process is typically more involved than just cleaning up behind you, and often involves reorganizing and restocking. 

Front of House Cleaning Checklist 

Your front of house is what customers are going to be seeing most. It’s important to keep this area tidy so no customers get the wrong idea about your cleanliness. Here are some things you should have on your change-of-shift cleaning checklist: 

  • Change sanitizing solution 
  • Sweep floors 
  • Thoroughly wipe down surfaces 
  • Restock silverware 

Sanitizing solution should be changed every 2-4 hours regardless of business levels. But to keep everyone on the same page, change it out when the shift changes. 

Kitchen Cleaning Checklist 

Just as important as the front of house, the kitchen should keep up with cleaning by following a shift change cleaning checklist. Your end-of-shift checklist could include: 

  • Change sanitizing solution 
  • Sweep floors 
  • Thoroughly wipe down surfaces 
  • Restock your station 

Change out any pans or utensils at your station so the next shift will be able to use fresh and sanitary equipment. 

Closing Checklist 

Closing checklists will be more involved than other restaurant kitchen cleaning checklists. Because the closing shift doesn’t have to focus on service at a certain point in the evening, they’re able to dedicate more time to making the restaurant spic and span. 

The morning shift is at the mercy of the closing shift. When closers do a thorough job cleaning, the morning crew won’t have to scramble to make up for it. 

Front of House Cleaning Checklist 

Each restaurant will have their own unique cleaning and closing needs. But at the minimum, when the front of house is closing they should: 

  • Thoroughly sweep and mop 
  • Thoroughly restock silverware 
  • Thoroughly wipe down tables and seats 
  • Clean bar mats 

These simple tasks are a great way to make sure your restaurant is a comfortable and clean place to eat. 

Kitchen Cleaning Checklist 

When you clean your kitchen daily, you are helping your kitchen stay safe from cross-contamination and maintain food safety. 

Here are some cleaning tasks to add to your end-of-day kitchen cleaning and sanitizing: 

  • Thoroughly sweep and mop 
  • Cover and refrigerate leftovers 
  • Clean your mats 
  • Thoroughly wipe down all  kitchen equipment 

The kitchen equipment you’ll want to focus on wiping down are: 

  • Stovetops 
  • Flattops 
  • Fryers 
  • All stainless steel surfaces 

It may seem like a pain, but maintaining these cleaning procedures will save you from headaches down the road. 

Another way you can save yourself from headaches is by partnering with Darling Ingredients Canada. Dealing with used cooking oil can be a hazardous mess. We can take that off your plate by offering industry-leading used cooking oil storage systems as well as used cooking oil collection on your schedule. 

The “If You’re Bored” Checklist 

The little details might not be able to be addressed until spring cleaning, but they should get some attention throughout the year. A great time to clean is when there is a lull in service. 

Create a checklist of tasks that can be done whenever people find time for it. Some things that should be on your “if you’re bored” checklist are: 

  • Audit ingredients in walk-ins and reach-ins 
  • Wipe down interiors of freezers and fridges 
  • Deep-clean vent hood 
  • Wipe and dust light futures 
  • Clean windows and glass doors 
  • Dust surfaces in front of house 

Building a daily, weekly, and monthly kitchen cleaning schedule to keep track of everything you need to do. 

One More Cleaning Tip: Trust Your UCO to Darling Canada 

Used cooking oil is a difficult waste product to deal with. You may need to dedicate a lot of time toward transporting it outside and getting it to where it needs to go.  

Instead of going through the arduous task of disposing of used cooking oil yourself, trust it to Darling Ingredients Canada. Our systems make it easy and fast to get oil from fryers to your storage container. 

Let us take used cooking oil off your plate so we can use it for renewable ingredients. Reach out today for your used cooking oil system. 

 

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