Kitchen Hygiene Checklist: Daily, Weekly and Monthly
Kitchen hygiene fails in the gaps between the big clean-ups: the cloth used on the wrong surface, the sanitiser mixed too weak, the filter nobody remembered. Splitting the work into daily, weekly and monthly tasks means the small things happen every day and the big things have a date.
Use this as a starting point and add what is specific to your kitchen. If you hold a food licence or a HACCP plan, keep the checklist consistent with it.
- When
- Daily, weekly and monthly
- Who
- Kitchen lead, reviewed by the outlet manager
- Time
- 10 minutes daily, longer for weekly and monthly tasks
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Daily
- Check each team member before they start: clean uniform, hair covered, nails short, no illness.
- Check handwash stations are stocked and in use, and are not being used for anything else.
- Sanitise prep surfaces between raw and cooked food, and use separate boards or colour coding.
- Test sanitiser strength with a test strip, and replace it when it is weak or dirty.
- Cover and label all food, and discard anything past its date.
- Check the final rinse or sanitising step in the dishwash area.
- Clean and sanitise probe thermometers before and after use.
- Empty bins, close the lids and clean the bin area.
- Look for any sign of pests and note it.
Weekly
- Deep-clean fryers, ovens, grills and the areas behind and under them.
- Clean the extraction hood filters.
- Empty, clean and sanitise the inside of fridges and freezers, including the door seals.
- Check pest-control devices and baits.
- Calibrate probe thermometers, for example with an ice-water check.
- Clean walls, ceilings and corners that daily cleaning does not reach.
- Clean the grease trap if you have one.
Monthly
- Check the pest-control service record is up to date.
- Check water-quality and tank-cleaning records are current.
- Check the expiry dates on fire extinguishers and the first-aid box.
- Review staff health and training records.
- Check that equipment servicing, such as chillers and the water purifier, is up to date.
- Review the checklist itself and remove items nobody does or add the ones that keep being missed.
Common mistakes
- Relying on how clean the kitchen looks. Sanitiser strength, probe calibration and pest records are invisible and have to be recorded.
- Doing the weekly and monthly tasks when someone remembers. Put them on a schedule with a named owner.
- A checklist that has grown to 80 items. If it takes an hour, it will be skipped. Keep the daily list short.
Run this checklist on WhatsApp
Roundzo sends this checklist to the right person at the right time over WhatsApp. They answer step by step in the chat, with nothing to install. Steps that need proof ask for a photo, and the time and location are recorded. A manager sees what was done, late or missed at every outlet, and only the exceptions need a decision. Good steps to ask proof for:
- A photo of the sanitiser test strip.
- A photo of the cleaned prep area and the dishwash area.
- A photo of the cleaned hood filters or fryer on weekly tasks.
- A photo of the pest-control service record on the monthly check.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a commercial kitchen be deep cleaned?
Most kitchens clean surfaces and equipment daily, deep-clean heavy equipment and filters weekly, and review records and servicing monthly. Heavy-use items such as fryers may need more often. Follow your own food safety plan where it sets a frequency.
What should I record for kitchen hygiene?
At minimum, who did each check and when, sanitiser and temperature readings, pest-control and servicing dates, and any problem found with what was done about it. Records matter most when an inspector or franchisor asks what happened on a given date.
Does this replace a food safety plan?
No. It is a practical checklist to build a routine. Your licence conditions, HACCP plan and local regulations come first, and this checklist should follow them.
Related checklist templates
- Restaurant Closing Checklist
- Fridge and Freezer Temperature Log Template
- Outlet Audit Checklist for Area Managers
Used by: Restaurants and QSR, Cloud kitchens
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