Starting A New Catering Business - Some Tips

Starting A New Catering Business – Tips To Get You Started From Duct Work Cleaning Company Ingot Services

In the course of carrying out duct work cleaning and other types of cleaning for commercial kitchens, we at Ingot Services have gained an extensive knowledge of the elements that are needed to make a successful catering business, especially when it comes to setting the right standards in hygiene, health and safety.

Tips When Starting Your Commercial Catering Business 

Whether you are starting up from scratch or taking over an existing catering business, it can pay dividends to make sure that your business is run efficiently and effectively. Once you have registered your premises with the environmental health service – something which needs to be done at least 28 days before opening – making sure you have good working practices in place is paramount, especially for health and safety. You need to bear the following factors in mind:

General hygiene: Hand-washing and toilet facilities must obviously be hygienic and suitably situated, and there are special requirements including making sure that toilets don't open straight into rooms where food is prepared and having washbasins used only for cleaning hands, as well as a separate basin for washing food.  

There must be hygienic and suitable arrangements for waste disposal and other rubbish, covering it up properly to avoid attracting pests, while the regulations also cover ensuring an adequate supply of drinking water and making sure it can't be contaminated, for instance by water from your refrigeration system.

Another area which must be remembered is your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and here regular duct work cleaning is vital to ensure that pipes stay clean and do not become clogged with grease and dust where mould and bacteria can breed. 

Food preparation: Hygiene is paramount in your areas for food preparation and you need to make sure staff are trained and supervised in handling food properly to avoid any risk of cross-contamination or other health risks. Any surfaces where food is prepared must be easy to clean, so you need smooth work surfaces which can be washed easily and any worn ones with corners where dirt can collect will not be approved. Facilities to clean all your cooking equipment and disinfect it where necessary are also essential, and both equipment and surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected in between preparing different items, especially raw and cooked food. 

Insect screens are needed on any windows which open straight on to areas where staff prepare food, and any doors which are open a lot of the time will also need screens. Equally vital is hygienic storage of food at a safe temperature and in a place where it will be safe from pests. Fridges and freezers need regular checking to make sure they are at the correct temperatures, and chilled food should only be removed from the fridge for as short a time as possible before it is prepared. It's also obviously vital to make sure that food is thoroughly cooked before it is served to customers, especially with dishes like pork and poultry. 

Fire safety: There are strict rules to make sure commercial kitchens comply with fire safety, including ensuring that staff are properly trained in fire prevention and know what to do if a blaze does break out. You also need to have appropriate fire extinguishers to hand and keep them properly maintained. Smoke detectors are important too, and more sensitive models are now available which will not constantly go off as a result of normal cooking. 

By law, also, anyone operating a commercial kitchen needs to ensure that fire risk assessments are carried out and updated regularly. An important part of fire prevention is regular duct work cleaning, to prevent any build-up of grease and dirt which could be a fire hazard. Many insurance companies now require duct work in kitchens to be professionally cleaned at least once or twice per year as a fire safety measure.

Health and safety: Risk assessments need to be carried out regularly to protect both your staff and customers. The aim is to identify any hazards which could cause injury or illness and then decide on action to deal with the risks. In a kitchen this could, for instance, include taking precautions to guard against staff being injured by knives or cooking equipment. Cleaning ventilation systems is another element to consider here too, to avoid any risk of staff being made ill by bacteria breeding in pipework. 

There are numerous laws and regulations which anyone running a catering business needs to comply with, including the Food Safety Act 1990, Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991, Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995, Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995, and Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which include regulations on regular cleaning of HVAC ducts.

Ingot Services – Duct Work Cleaning and Kitchen Cleaning Services To Help Meet Your Regulatory Requirements

Ingot Services offers a range of services to help catering businesses to meet their regulatory requirements. We are accredited by three professional organisations and will carry out deep cleaning of your kitchen, including duct work cleaning, using the correct equipment, as well as issuing you with full paperwork and keeping records to show that you have conformed with the legal regulations.

Duct Work Cleaning – Contact Ingot Services for more information.