The Deep Dive on Kitchen Restaurant Deep Cleaning

​Let’s face facts: deep cleaning a restaurant kitchen is not one of the most desirable tasks of the day, week or month. This is especially true if you just finished up a dinner shift and are trying to head to bed before you have to be back to cook for Sunday brunch.
 
But it’s critically important.

It’s important for consumers - a clean, well-kept kitchen signifies a well-run restaurant that’s serving great food. It’s great for inspectors too - obviously, ensuring that prep, cooking and storage areas are clean, sanitized and tidy is critical for keeping the restaurant open. And, in reality, it’s great for the restaurant worker too - a clean kitchen is much nicer to work in and an owner who expects a clean restaurant is much nicer to work for.
 
When you’re doing your deep kitchen cleaning, think about these best practices to organize your work:

1. Clean one area at a time and organize as you go. If you have to move things from the room as you clean and then return them, move them to an area that has not yet been cleaned.
2. Think and clean top to bottom. Mopping the floor before you wipe out the shelves of the built-in doesn’t make any sense!
3. In general, think of the sink last - after all, this is the last place you’ll wash the final dirty item.
4. Don’t forget under, in, top and behind. When you’re deep kitchen cleaning it's simple and straightforward to wipe the surfaces, but don’t forget that the hot box or fridge has an area under it, venting on top of it and an area behind it!
5. Before cleaning anything, ensure that ingredients and foods are stowed. Be sure you wipe off the bins and containers that hold your foods. Removing any food or ingredients that you will serve to customers is critically important to ensuring that the food remains free of chemicals and cleansers.
6. When putting ingredients away, ensure that clear plastic wrap is placed tightly over each bin or container as necessary. Additionally, ensure each container is marked according to your restaurant/state’s requirements. This may include the date prepared, the type of food, and when the food needs to be used or discarded.
7. Start in one area of the kitchen and work around in a logical order. We recommend starting with your prep area. Once this area is clean, proceed to your cooking surfaces. As you go, wipe any area above these areas that are visibly soiled.
8. Only after every piece of equipment is cleaned and sanitized should you sweep and mop the floor. Don’t forget to clean those mats!

 
Think of your cleaning as a building. A clean kitchen starts with a foundation of everyday tidiness. That means cleaning while you’re working just as carefully as after a cooking shift. If you’ve done a solid cleaning job at the end of each shift, then the end of the day deep clean won’t be difficult at all. If you’ve done a good job after at the end of each day, then weekly cleaning will be a breeze.

1. Perform your daily cleaning duties. Once these are entirely completed, you can move onto monthly cleaning, which focuses on deeper cleaning of specific areas.
2. Ensure that your packaged foods are well sealed - then clean the reach-in refrigerator and freezer.

 
Monthly deep kitchen cleaning is about washing and sanitizing areas that you may miss on your weekly cleaning routine. Here, it’s incredibly important to focus specifically on under, in, top, and behind. Think of your stove as an example. If you’ve been following your daily and weekly schedules, this cleaning shouldn’t be too difficult for the areas on the inside and front of the appliance. However, think about the areas next to it, behind it and on top of it. Ensure that these areas are well cleaned and sanitized.
 
It’s more important than ever to work top to bottom during your monthly kitchen deep cleaning. This is because you should be focused on all  areas of the kitchen, including high shelves, the ceiling, and areas above appliances.
 
Additionally, take the time to ensure your knives are sharp and your thermostats are calibrated. Both of these things will make your job easier and make your kitchen safer.
 
Finally, your annual kitchen cleaning (or bi-annual if needed) should focus on the big picture items. If you’re performing the daily, weekly and monthly deep kitchen cleanings carefully, your annual cleaning will be more about overall kitchen maintenance and safety checks.
 
The important thing to remember with annual cleanings is that many of the items you’d check off your list require the assistance of a professional. Keeping a clean kitchen all year round helps to ensure that the professionals you hire can get in and out safely and quickly. While performing your annual deep kitchen clean, consider going back through the list - perform all end of shift tasks, then daily tasks, then the monthly. This will ensure a clean, sanitary workspace to keep your food sanitary and your consumers happy!