Put food deliveries away

The summer and warmer weather is coming and while we spoke about how you can help your customers at this time of the year in a previous blog post, you also need to think about how you can support your kitchen during these warmer months.

Below we have listed three ways to cope with the warmer weather in your kitchen;

Food Deliveries

Restaurant kitchens are busy places. This means that sometimes deliveries are not properly checked on arrival or staff members aren’t able to store items away when food deliveries arrive. The summer heat can increase the risk of food not being right so you need to check the food on arrival.

Make sure you check the temperature of the food being delivered to make sure it has been stored correctly and is at the right temperature. If it isn’t do not be afraid to turn the delivery away. Make sure that high risk foods such as chilled and frozen foods are put away quickly to reduce the risk of bacterial growth or spoilage. Even if you put it in the freezer as it is, then when you have time later in the day unpack it.

Look After Your Team

The kitchen is often a hot place within your restaurant, and even more so in the warmer months. If the ventilation in your kitchen is poor then your staff members will become hot and tired, even stressed and dehydrated. If you can afford to upgrade the ventilation system in your kitchen this would be a good idea. Alternatively ensure windows can be opened, but with suitable screens to stop insects flying in.

Also make sure there are plastic drinking vessels and a constant supply of soft drinks for the kitchen team. This could be in the form of ice cold water or squash that is constantly updated by your front of house team.

Keep the Temperatures in Check

Fridge and freezer doors will be opened and closed constantly. In a hot kitchen this can result in warm fridge and freezers. This means the internal temperature goes up and motors have to work harder, which can result in overheating equipment or faulty equipment.

We would recommend that all equipment such as fridges and freezers are serviced before the summer period as this will help to avoid breakdowns. In turn this will help reduce energy costs, food wastage and food safety risks. We would recommend that temperatures of the fridges and freezers and checked continuously throughout the day.