Personal hygiene + Proper cleaning = Kitchen hygiene
When it comes to kitchen hygiene, there is no area that can be kept unclean or left to be cleaned at a later stage. This also involves personal hygiene, says Chef Yogender Pal-Executive Chef, The Claridges, Surajkund, Delhi NCR.
There is no area in the kitchen that could be termed as less important. All the areas in the kitchen have to be kept clean and hygienic at all times. Each and every area has to be maintained through proper cleaning schedules, using good cleaning products and ensuring precautionary measures. This could be achieved through constant training of the hotel kitchen team on how to keep the areas clean. The food is the most critical area to deal with.
Maintaining proper personal hygiene ensures kitchen hygiene to a large extent. Some of the personal hygiene practices:
- Washing hands with hand wash and sanitizing with soft care gel
- Sanitizing hands after every 30 minutes or after every task performed
- Using laundered chef uniform which is provided by the hotel.
- The chef coat is changed twice in a day
- The chef cap is changed after every three hours
- Sometimes the chef has to use bare hands, especially in the hot kitchen, sanitizing hands before every such task
- After washing hands use of Diversey paper towels for wiping hands and also for wiping tabletops
- Using different shoes and aprons in the kitchen area
- Chefs have slippers which they wear when visiting the washroom
- The chefs in the kitchens always work with gloves which are changed after every task
- Periodic vaccinations are given to all the food handlers
Kitchen tools have maintenance schedule and specific procedures. Spatulas and knives are sanitized in the kitchen with 100ppm chlorine. Spatulas and knives used for different food are colour coded. The kitchen equipment is cleaned and sanitized regularly and also the designated piece of equipment is used for processing the appropriate item. Also after every use the equipment is dipped in the chlorine container kept in the various sections and used after cleaning for every new task.
Spillage at the time of cooking is inevitable. If there is spillage, say in the oven, it has to be cleaned as soon as they occur with the grease remover. Further, after every service ends, ovens are again cleaned thoroughly after dismantling them.
Special precautions are taken when it comes to handling raw food. At the time of receiving fresh fruits and vegetables, they are thoroughly washed in water solution with Suma tablets. This process has to be carried out at the receiving stage itself.
We also get microbiological testing done of the raw and cooked food samples by a independent lab (to check if the food items are being handled correctly or not).
Coloured stickers are used for storing the food items so that there is no mixing of cooked and uncooked items.
There are colour coded chopping boards and knives being used in all the kitchens which are used to avoid cross contamination.
Apart from these simple rules, use of pest control service is very important requirement to keep the kitchen free from rodents and insects. This service can be outsourced to a professional company and should be done twice in a week.
