How does color-coding everything help your kitchen become a stronger, more organized unit? Read on to find out.
It Keeps Things Sanitary and Safe
There are many reasons why you should color code your commercial kitchen. The most prominent among them is keeping all the items in your fridges, freezers, and pantries safe and sanitary. It’s no secret that adhering to food safety guidelines is essential for any kitchen serving the public. However, in the hustle and bustle of everyday operations, things can quickly become a mess.
Food items can end up on the wrong shelves or lost behind fresher items. Unfortunately, figuring out when each batch of product is about to expire feels like pulling teeth. That’s where using a color-coded system can help. For instance, you can use colored labels to quickly identify what goes on each shelf and avoid contamination.
Further, you can use color-coding dot stickers to identify which produce and meat products are which. Finally, you can use color-coded labeling to determine when specific batches of products will expire. For example, blue stickers could indicate that staff made the batch that same day, while red stickers could signify that the kitchen needs to use the food by EOD.
It Improves Kitchen Organization
Of course, color coding your commercial kitchen doesn’t just simplify the process of adhering to food safety guidelines. It also creates an organized system, making it easier for you and your staff to find what they need. We’ve already discussed how labeling your food can be helpful. Many of the same benefits of color coding can extend to kitchen utensils, dishes, and containers?
Commercial kitchens teem with various knives, storage units, and other kitchenware because they have to. After all, different dishes often require specific cutting and cooking techniques, which require unique utensils. A color-coded system can help novice staff members determine what knives and storage options are most appropriate for each dish.
Perhaps you have a steak dish that requires a particular kind of knife to cut the meat you use. If so, you could label these knives with color-coded stickers to indicate which knives suit which cuts of meat. You could also label storage containers to indicate whether the utensils within are best for produce, dairy, or proteins.
It Enhances Operation Efficiency
We can’t discuss why you should color code your commercial kitchen without mentioning that this additional organization helps enhance operational efficiency. There’s less room for delay-causing errors when you and your staff have a clearly labeled kitchen setup.
A simple organizational system for everything in your kitchen will undoubtedly speed things up. As a result, the people you serve will be more satisfied with the service, and your kitchen will continuously operate at optimal capacity.