Running a restaurant comes with significant responsibilities, especially when it comes to maintaining a safe and efficient kitchen. Federal and provincial legislation, such as Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act, require equipment to be soundly constructed, kept in good repair, and suitable for its intended purpose.
Maintaining commercial restaurant equipment prevents risks like kitchen fires, food contamination, and environmental hazards. A well-maintained kitchen also promotes the safety of your employees and the overall success of your operations. To help you achieve this, we’ve compiled 6 essential tips for keeping your commercial restaurant equipment in top condition.
1. Daily, Weekly and Monthly Cleanings
Your professional kitchen equipment should be cleaned daily (once every 24 hours). And then a monthly deep clean should be implemented. Cleaning ensures that all debris and food particles are removed from your equipment.
You want to book your cleaning regularly and have the cleaning team or in-house staff on a consistent cleaning schedule to reduce health and fire risks. Cleaning includes washing and cleaning the commercial oven, separately cleaning racks, and more. Also, make sure that anyone cleaning your appliances follows stainless steel cleaning instructions.
Follow stainless steel cleaning instructions, too. Most commercial restaurant equipment is made of or includes stainless steel parts, which can corrode, stain, and tarnish.
2. Get Professional Repair
Don’t attempt DIY (do-it-yourself) repair, especially if your commercial cooking equipment is still under warranty. Even if it isn’t, repairs are best done by a trained professional.
Most professional restaurant kitchen equipment has a manufacturer’s warranty. As long as you fill out your warranty card for new equipment on time, your parts and labour will be available. Lastly, you need to register your equipment to be eligible for future parts or new appliances.
3. Clean Vent Hoods and Ducts
Your vent hood and ducts collect a lot of built-up greases and food debris. Build-up means you need to hire a qualified contractor every 6 months or more to do a service cleaning. In addition to the certified hood cleaning, your team should also wipe down the hood to keep it looking visibly clean.
4. Educate Staff on Manufacturer Instructions
You and all your kitchen employees should read each appliance’s owner’s manual. If it is available online, make that a training requirement for new hires. Misuse is one of the leading causes of commercial restaurant equipment failure and can nullify the warranty. Include a hands-on training session for your employees, as well.
Make sure to schedule routine sessions to keep training fresh in the minds of staff, and to educate new staff as soon as they join.
5. Replace Parts and Equipment Without Delay
When an appliance part appears to be worn out, replace it sooner, not later. It may not be a problem now but can create a bigger problem if you delay. When appliance parts break, replace them immediately rather than waiting.
The longer you wait to replace parts, the more time your restaurant kitchen equipment has to further breakdown. The result is more damage and more costs to replace the appliance.
6. Clean Your Grease Filters
One of the easier ways to reduce grease fire in your kitchen is to clean your grease filters regularly. Most restaurant kitchens do grease filter cleanings once a week. However, restaurants who cook a lot of greasy foods may need to do this service more often or even on a nightly basis.
The grease filters collect grease and reduces the amount of grease that travels into the actual duct. Cleaning your grease filters regularly helps to cut down the amount of debris you clean off your restaurant kitchen equipment as well.
Maintaining Commercial Restaurant Equipment is Required by the Law
Canadian federal and provincial laws require equipment to be regularly cleaned and appropriately maintained. A failure to meet these standards can risk customer health, employee safety, and potentially invite a hefty fine.
The Canadian Food Safety Group adds that improperly cleaned and maintained equipment is also less energy efficient. Given energy can make up around 41% of a restaurant’s operating costs, maintaining commercial restaurant equipment is extremely important.
We Make Maintaining Commercial Restaurant Equipment Effortless
When you work with Celco Food Service Equipment Inc., you will gain a partner who can help you manage the complete lifecycle of your kitchen equipment. With a nationwide presence, we make servicing, repairing, and operating commercial kitchen equipment effortless.
Click here to learn how we help commercial kitchens minimize downtime. Get in touch with us to discuss your kitchen equipment and schedule on-site servicing today.