Things can get pretty hectic in a busy kitchen. Think about the kitchen operation in The Bear and try not to get sweaty palms. 😰
When things are moving pretty fast, it’s easy for opening and closing tasks to get overlooked. But these opening and closing checks are crucial to kitchen efficiency! They ensure everything is clean and ready before a shift, and that everything is safely locked up and secure when the day is over.
It’s ironic really — you feel like you don’t have time to do the tasks that will make your life easier. But the good news is that there’s a solution to this problem: Creating an opening and closing checklist.
Keep reading to find out how a kitchen checklist can make your restaurant more efficient, as well as how to write and implement an effective checklist.
But first, let’s clarify what a kitchen opening and closing checklist actually is.
What is a kitchen opening and closing checklist?
A kitchen opening and closing checklist is a structured list of tasks for staff to complete at the start and end of each kitchen shift:
- A kitchen opening checklist focuses on all the tasks that must be finished before the kitchen is open for business. For example, turning on equipment, setting up stations, and checking inventory.
- The kitchen closing checklist outlines tasks that must be completed at the end of the shift, like cleaning, turning off equipment, and securing the kitchen for closing.
Both lists ensure that the kitchen operates smoothly and safely and that important tasks aren’t forgotten.
What are the different types of kitchen checklists?
Everybody in your restaurant plays a different part in its operation. They have different roles, responsibilities, and skill sets. So it makes sense that each department should have its own checklist, right?
Here are the different kitchen opening and closing checklists you might want to consider in your restaurant:
- For back-of-house staff. These checklists ensure that back-of-house staff (like chefs and kitchen assistants) prepare and organise the kitchen effectively before and after service. This involves preparing ingredients, setting up equipment, cleaning surfaces, and securing the kitchen at the end of the shift.
- For front-of-house staff. Servers, hosts, and bartenders use this checklist to prepare the dining area for guests. For example, ensuring that tables, chairs, and service stations are clean and set up correctly.
- For management. Managers and supervisors use an opening and closing checklist to make sure that both front-of-house and back-of-house operations are running smoothly. They inspect cleanliness, equipment maintenance, and compliance with health and safety regulations to make sure that the restaurant is ready for service.
What are the benefits of having a kitchen opening and closing checklist?
Is creating a kitchen checklist more hassle than it’s worth? No, and here’s why:
Standardise processes
A checklist is a great way to make sure that all staff are following the same steps before and after service. This is beneficial for a few reasons:
- To enhance the customer experience. When you follow the same checklist each day, it provides customers with a consistent experience. This is especially helpful for franchises, where customers might dine in multiple locations. It builds trust with customers and enhances your brand reputation, which boosts loyalty. And when over half of adults say that a company’s reputation is a major factor when making purchasing decisions, this is pretty important for restaurant success.
- To improve quality. Checklists make it easier for restaurant staff to maintain the same level of high-quality service during every shift. Everything is cleaned to a high standard, set up in the same format, and stored in the right places to ensure that staff can quickly and easily access whatever they need.
- To increase efficiency. When you have a standardised list for everyone to follow, staff can efficiently make their way through it. This speeds up the entire process and ensures they don’t forget anything important. Result. 💪
Nory success story 🥳 Find out how CUPP improved efficiency across its entire franchise operation with Nory!
Having a centralised system also allows CUPP to streamline its franchise operations from a single location. They can align processes across locations, improve stock management, and give franchisees more control over their own stock.
As a result, the entire franchise operation is more efficient. Both executives and franchisees have more visibility of real-time performance and can make quick and informed decisions about each location.
“In the hospitality sector, you need everybody singing from the same hymn sheet. Having a central system like Nory helps us align our process across all our locations, which has been fundamental to our productivity and growth.” – Paul Tanner, Managing Director at CUPP
Improve health and safety
Checklists make sure that you don’t miss any vital tasks that are essential for the health and safety of your restaurant. For example, things like leaving appliances on or failing to clean up spills that could lead to slips. With the checklist in place, you have peace of mind that these things are taken care of.
It also improves your restaurant’s cleanliness and hygiene. If your checklist includes regular cleaning and sanitising (which it likely will), you know that you’re always on top of hygiene. This helps prevent contamination and maintains a hygienic environment for your staff and customers.
Fun fact 🤪 Studies show that when choosing where to order food from, hygiene rating has a greater impact than taste rating!
Identify problems or issues
When you’re doing opening and closing checks using the same list every day (and performing the same tasks before and after each shift), there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll notice if anything’s off. By quickly spotting these recurring issues or inefficiencies, you can make quick adjustments to improve your overall kitchen operation.
Let’s say that your checklist requires kitchen staff to check inventory before every shift. After checking inventory every day for the past week, one of your staff members comes to you to let you know that the kitchen is overstocked. There’s lots of food left over after every shift, and it’s going to waste.
This means you can update your inventory orders to minimise the items on your shelves. You spend less money on ingredients and reduce food waste in the process. 👏
Hot tip 🔥 Use a restaurant management system like Nory to track operations and inventory in real-time. Keep an eye on sales, stock levels, labour schedules, and gross profit margins to ensure everything’s on track. If it’s not, you can spot it in real-time and make changes to improve your bottom line!
Top tips for building a successful kitchen checklist
Let’s be honest, writing a checklist isn’t that hard. You make a list of all the things you need to do before and after a service, and that’s pretty much the gist of it.
But there are things you can do to enhance your checklist and ensure that staff can follow it without any issues. Let’s take a look:
- Categorise tasks. Group tasks into categories to make it easier for staff to navigate the checklist, like cleaning, equipment checks, and inventory. If you hand employees a huge list, it can be pretty overwhelming. But breaking it down into categories? It’s not quite as daunting.
- Prioritise the most important activities. Arrange tasks in order of importance so that employees know which tasks to tackle first.
- Confirm the frequency of tasks. Outline how often tasks should be performed (daily, weekly, monthly) so employees know how often to perform them. It would suck for people to complete a task every day when they only need to do it once a week. 🥴 Not great for morale!
- Create a check-off mechanism. Provide a way for staff to mark tasks as completed. This helps them track progress and ensures that nothing is missed. It also increases accountability, especially if staff complete the list digitally — this means you can track who completed the tasks.
- Be specific. Clearly define each task to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. That way, staff know exactly what needs to be done. For example, instead of ‘clean the oven’, you would write the following:
Clean the convection oven as follows:
1. Initial wipe down. Use a dry cloth or a vacuum to remove loose debris and crumbs from the oven’s interior.
2. Clean removable parts. Soak racks and trays in warm, soapy water. Use a non-abrasive pad to remove grease and food residues. Rinse thoroughly and dry.
3. Apply oven cleaner. Apply [add name of cleaner] to the interior surfaces. Allow it to sit for the recommended time to break down grease and grime.
4. Scrub interior. Use a non-abrasive scrub brush to clean the oven walls, floor, and ceiling. Pay special attention to areas with heavy buildup and avoid metal scouring pads that can damage surfaces.
5. Wipe the oven down. Wipe down all cleaned surfaces with a damp cloth to remove cleaner residue. Follow up with a clean, dry cloth to prevent streaks and water spots.
Best practices for implementing kitchen checklists
Launching a new process can be daunting for employees — especially if it means switching up the current way of doing things. Staff may be a little apprehensive at the beginning, so it’s up to you to show them why the checklist is worthwhile and how to use it effectively.
Here are some actions you can take to ensure the new checklist is successfully adopted by your team.
Involve and train your staff
Provide a clear guide for staff members that explains:
- What the checklist is for
- Why it’s necessary
- How to use it
This clearly explains the reasons behind the checklist, ensuring that all your staff understand its importance and the part it plays in restaurant success.
You can also involve staff in the creation of the checklists. After all, they’re the ones that will be performing the tasks. Ask them what they think should be included, how often to complete the tasks, and get their feedback on the finished list.
Be sure to also provide thorough staff training on the tasks and expectations outlined in the checklists. If employees are confident and well-prepared to perform all the tasks, they’re more likely to do them successfully.
Conduct regular reviews and updates
To ensure your checklists are as smooth and efficient as possible, make sure to regularly review and update them to reflect any changes in:
- Procedures
- Menu items
- Equipment
For example, if you lease a new piece of kitchen equipment, be sure to add how to clean and prepare the equipment on the checklist. This ensures that the checklist is relevant and effective.
Hot tip 🔥 Ask employees to give you feedback about issues or areas of improvement with the current checklist. Then, you can make adjustments as needed!
Customise checklists for different kitchens
If you’re running a central production kitchen, chances are that each of your restaurant locations is slightly different. Whether it’s the layout of the kitchen or the type of food on the menu, you may need to create custom checklists for each location.
To do this successfully, you’ll need to visit each location and walk through the checklist with a member of the team. They can show you how the kitchen operates, the layout of the space, and help you create a tailored checklist that applies to that specific venue.
Measure the impact of your checklists
Track and measure the effectiveness of your checklists by monitoring key performance indicators, such as:
- Efficiency. One of the main benefits of using a checklist is to increase efficiency throughout your restaurant, so it’s a helpful way to gauge its success. Are processes smoother than before you used the checklist? Are there any hurdles that are preventing tasks from being completed on time?
- Compliance. Ensuring that your restaurant is compliant with government regulations and guidelines can be a useful metric for measuring checklist success. Do you meet the required health and safety requirements? Are you achieving the necessary hygiene rating?
- Staff feedback. Gathering their feedback is a great way to ensure your checklists are effective. Are staff supportive of all the items on the checklist? Are there any challenges that they face?
After collecting and analysing this information, you can make informed adjustments to improve your checklist and enhance your kitchen processes.
Create the perfect kitchen opening and closing checklist with Nory
A well-designed kitchen checklist can improve the efficiency of your entire restaurant operation. It standardises processes, helps you identify issues within your current kitchen setup, and ensures that all the necessary tasks are completed before and after a shift.
To really enhance your checklist, you need data to back it up. Think about it — if you can measure restaurant performance, you can identify how well your kitchen checklist works.
Take a look at Nory as an example. As you implement your checklist, you use Nory to keep an eye on restaurant sales in real-time. Is revenue going up? This means that your checklist is doing its thing! Are sales dipping? Hop back to the checklist to find the source of the problem.
FAQs about kitchen opening and closing checklists
Who is a restaurant opening and closing checklist for?
A restaurant opening and closing checklist is for everyone. It applies to all the staff who support the kitchen and dining operations, including back-of-house staff (chefs, kitchen assistants) and the front-of-house staff (servers, hosts) who manage the dining area. They may have slightly different tasks as their roles are different, but the checklist applies to everybody.
Should there be different checklists for different roles?
Yes, different roles will benefit from checklists that address their specific responsibilities. For example:
- Back-of-house staff need checklists for food prep and equipment maintenance
- Front-of-house staff need checklists for setting up and cleaning the dining area
- Management needs checklists to ensure the restaurant is ready for diners
What are the benefits of digitising kitchen checklists?
Digitising kitchen checklists is undoubtedly a huge benefit. It offers real-time updates, easy access for all employees, and allows you to track progress. Digital checklists can also integrate with other systems (like POS platforms) to improve efficiency across your entire restaurant operation.
