Even Small Cafes Need a Regular Programme of Maintenance and Kitchen Deep Cleaning

Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers

You've dreamed of running a small, friendly café for years and now you've decided to go for it, but how did you see it?

Was it a place where friends and co-workers could mix and mingle for business and pleasure? Did your cafe have a planned special theme or type of food and drink?

Whatever the answers, you will have researched thoroughly, perhaps done business start-up courses and drawn up a business plan.

Now you've got the financing, found a great location and signed the lease you'll have got stuck into the detail of setting up the place as you want it - both in the area where your customers will be and in the kitchen.

That means deciding on the best equipment you can afford, the layout and complying with all the Health and Safety regulations some of which are listed here.

HSE advice is that you allow in layout of your kitchen for adequate maintenance, cleaning and/or disinfection to avoid or minimise air-borne contamination (i.e. contamination carried in the air) as well as providing enough working space to carry out all tasks hygienically

You also need to protect against the build-up of dirt, contact with toxic materials, shedding of particles into food and forming of condensation or mould on surfaces as well as contamination and, in particular, pest control.

Hand-washing basins should supply hot and cold running water,materials for cleaning hands and drying them hygienically. Washhand basis should preferably be fitted with lever, elbow, knee or automatic operation to avoid contamination.

Any windows opening directly into food preparation areas must be fitted with screens capable of resisting common flying insects.

Your kitchen may also have a ventilation system and over- cooker canopies for grease extraction through ducts and filters.

Perhaps you have included a daily cleaner in your budget but have you considered that all this equipment, screens, ducts and filters need regular cleaning and maintenance?

That's not something that can be altogether kept under control by a daily cleaner.

Even in the best managed kitchens, over time dust and grease can build up in inaccessible corners and around the feet of work stations, fridges and cookers. Filters can become clogged and dusts can accumulate a mixture of dust, grease, mould and become the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Your overheads can also be affected by the build-up - adding to the energy costs if it isn't working efficiently.

It makes sense, therefore to include a regular kitchen deep clean from a specialist service into your budget.

The best specialist companies will start from the top down, moving anything and everything to get into hard-to-manage corners and offer regular checking and cleaning out or replacing filters and keeping the air ducting clear as part of the service. Both are important not only for the system's efficiency but also because they can become a fire hazard.

Most services will be flexible enough to work around the pattern of your café's day to keep disruption to a minimum and if you include such a cleaning and maintenance system from the start you will have the peace of mind of both a clean, well-run establishment and the confidence that you have complied with all the public health, fire safety and other business regulations