Commercial Kitchen Cleaning Checklist: Daily, Weekly and Pre-Christmas Tasks

December is the busiest month of the year for most restaurants, pubs, cafés and caterers. Longer services, bigger bookings and seasonal staff all put pressure on kitchen hygiene, and that is exactly when routines slip.

This guide gives you a ready-to-use commercial kitchen cleaning checklist: what to do during service, at the end of each day, every week, and before the Christmas rush begins. Use it as a starting point and adapt it to your own food safety management system, risk assessment and equipment instructions.

Quick answer: clean as you go during service; carry out a full two-stage clean of food-contact surfaces at close; deep-clean equipment and storage weekly; and check your chemical, paper, and PPE stocks in November so you are not caught short in December.

Printable commercial kitchen cleaning schedule

Print this table, pin it up in the kitchen and add names to the “Responsible” column. A signed-off schedule shows your team what is expected and gives you a record if an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) asks how you manage cleaning.

 

During service: clean as you go

Cleaning during service stops dirt building up and reduces the risk of cross-contamination when the kitchen is at its busiest.

• Food-contact surfaces: clean and sanitise prep areas and chopping boards between tasks, and always after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or unwashed vegetables.
• Hand-contact points: wipe handles, taps, fridge doors, light switches and till screens regularly. These are touched constantly and are easy to forget.
• Spills: deal with them straight away, using a wet floor sign until the floor is dry. A busy kitchen floor is a slip risk as well as a hygiene one, and our slips and trips checklist covers floor safety in more detail.
• Cloths: use colour-coded cloths for different areas and change them often. Disposable cloths are the safest choice for raw food areas. Our guide to commercial cleaning cloths explains which type suits each job.
• Waste: do not let bins overflow. Change liners when they are full, not just at close.

End of day: the full clean-down

The end-of-day clean resets the kitchen for the next service. Work from top to bottom and from cleanest areas to dirtiest.

1. Clear surfaces and put away food, labelled and dated.
2. Remove loose debris and food waste.
3. Carry out a two-stage clean of all food-contact surfaces: clean with detergent, rinse if needed, then disinfect (see “Cleaning versus disinfecting” below).
4. Degrease hobs, griddles, fryer exteriors and splashbacks. Our guide to cleaning grease from kitchen surfaces covers stubborn build-up.
5. Clean sinks, taps and handwash stations, then refill soap and paper towels.
6. Empty all bins, clean bin lids and pedals, and fit fresh liners.
7. Sweep, then mop floors, paying attention to corners and under equipment.
8. Wash, rinse and dry mops, buckets and reusable cloths, or dispose of single-use items.
9. Sign off the day’s tasks on your schedule.

Weekly tasks

Weekly tasks cover the areas that do not need daily attention but quickly become a problem if ignored. Adjust the frequency to your own risk assessment: a high-volume kitchen may need some of these twice a week, and equipment manufacturers’ instructions always come first.

• Fridges and freezers: empty shelves in rotation, clean and sanitise inside, check door seals and discard out-of-date stock.
• Ovens and combi ovens: deep clean using a suitable oven cleaner, following the manufacturer’s guidance, particularly for self-cleaning combi ovens.
• Canopy grease filters: remove and soak or wash in degreaser. Clogged filters let more grease into the extract system.
• Walls, splashbacks and shelving: clean from top to bottom, including the backs and legs of shelving units.
• Dry stores: check for spills, pest activity and damaged packaging.
• Dishwashers and glasswashers: clean filters and spray arms and descale as the manufacturer recommends.
• Drains and grease traps: check floor drains and gullies are flowing freely.
• Stock check: confirm you have enough chemicals, cloths, gloves, liners and paper for the week ahead.

Pre-Christmas checks: do these in November

The best time to prepare for December is before the bookings peak. Running out of sanitiser or paper towels mid-service puts hygiene at risk, and suppliers’ lead times can stretch close to Christmas.

• Chemical stocks: count detergents, degreasers, sanitisers, oven cleaner and floor cleaner. Order enough for your busiest weeks, plus a buffer.
• Check your sanitiser: confirm it meets BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697, and that you have the product data sheet to hand.
• Soap and paper: stock up on hand soap, paper hand towels and centrefeed rolls for handwash stations and spills.
• Cloths: check you have enough colour-coded and disposable cloths for extra shifts.
• PPE: order disposable gloves in all sizes your team needs, plus aprons and heavy-duty gloves for chemical handling.
• Waste capacity: order extra bin liners and refuse sacks, and check your waste collections over the bank holidays.
• COSHH: make sure safety data sheets and risk assessments are up to date, and that seasonal staff know how to use each chemical safely. Our complete guide to COSHH explains what you need.
• Train temporary staff: walk new starters through the cleaning schedule, colour coding and two-stage cleaning before their first busy shift.
• Book specialist cleans: if your extract system or other specialist cleaning is due, book it now rather than in December.

Cleaning versus disinfecting: get the order right

Cleaning removes dirt, grease and food residue. Disinfecting reduces bacteria to a safe level. Disinfectants cannot work properly through grease and food debris, so surfaces must be clean first.

The Food Standards Agency recommends a two-stage process for food-contact surfaces, especially where raw and ready-to-eat food are handled in the same kitchen:

1. Clean: remove visible dirt and grease with a detergent or degreaser.
2. Rinse: if the product label says to.
3. Disinfect: apply a disinfectant or sanitiser at the correct dilution.
4. Leave for the full contact time: the label tells you how long the product must stay on the surface to work.
5. Rinse or dry: rinse with clean water if the label requires it, then air dry or use a disposable cloth.

A combined detergent-sanitiser can be used for both stages, but it must be applied twice: once to clean and once to disinfect.

The FSA advises that disinfectants and sanitisers should meet BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697. Look for these codes on the label or product data sheet, and keep that information where an inspector can see it. Always follow the manufacturer’s dilution and contact time: a product that meets the standard will only perform as tested if it is used as directed.

When to call a specialist

Some kitchen cleaning is not a job for your own team. Leave these to trained contractors:

• Extract ductwork and fans: grease builds up inside ductwork where you cannot reach, creating a hidden fire risk. In the UK, extract cleaning is generally carried out to the BESA standard TR19 Grease, with frequency based on how many hours a day the kitchen runs and how much grease it produces. Your insurer may also set a minimum frequency and ask for a certificate.
• Gas appliances and fryer internals: anything involving dismantling gas equipment should be handled by a Gas Safe registered engineer or the manufacturer’s service agent.
• Refrigeration systems: condenser and compressor maintenance should be done by a refrigeration engineer.
• Pest problems: if you see signs of pests, call a professional pest control service and review your cleaning schedule.

Your team’s job is to keep canopies, filters and visible surfaces clean between professional visits, and to report any damage or unusual build-up.

Commercial kitchen supplies checklist

Use this list when you place your pre-Christmas order:

• Food-safe detergents and degreasers from our food-safe cleaning range
• Sanitiser or disinfectant meeting BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697 (check the product data sheet)
• Oven cleaners
• Floor cleaners, plus colour-coded mops and buckets
• Colour-coded and disposable cloths
• Disposable and chemical-resistant gloves
• Hand soap, paper hand towels and centrefeed rolls
• Heavy-duty bin liners and refuse sacks
• Wet floor signs and a spill kit

Ordering in bulk before December keeps costs down and means you will not be caught short during your busiest weeks. Our guide to buying commercial cleaning supplies in bulk explains how to plan quantities.