Welcome back to our blog series The Power of Clean. We have been discussing the power of clean and sanitary facilities to make an impact on your foodservice establishment. So far, we have talked about cleaning and sanitizing cookware, food contact surfaces, and floors. If you have not already, be sure to check out the previous blog posts in the series. In Part 4, we will be discussing cleaning and sanitizing several aspects in the dining area, or front of the house as it is commonly known.
First, we will turn our attention to dinnerware and flatware. Dinnerware and flatware are the very last surfaces that food comes into contact with before your patrons consume it. This is the last step in the flow of food through your operation. The National Restaurant Association defines the flow of food as the path that food takes through your operation, beginning when you purchase the food and ending when you serve it. The flow of food has several steps including purchasing, receiving, storing, preparation, cooking, reheating, and serving, and you are responsible for food safety at every point of this flow. You and your staff put a lot of work and effort to maintain food safety throughout. But all of that work can be undone at the last step if food is served with unsanitary dinnerware and flatware.
Dinnerware and flatware are used in front of the house, but the flow of food takes them first through the back of the house. Proper sanitizing, drying and storage of these items will help prevent the spread of pathogens. High-temperature dish machines are very effective at sanitizing dinnerware. They utilize hot water during the last rinse cycle for sanitizing. In order for the heat sanitizing to be effective, the water temperature of the last rinse must be at least 180˚F. Low-temperature dish machines use chemical sanitizers at lower temperatures for the sanitizing process. For machines that use chemical sanitizers, always be sure to follow the dish machine manufacturer’s guidelines for proper sanitizing.
Flatware baskets ensure proper cleaning
Proper drying and storage of dinnerware and flatware will help prevent the spread of pathogens as well as the presence of water spots which can have an unsightly experience. This is especially true for flatware. Flatware is among the first details your patrons notice after being seated. If your flatware is blemished with water spots, it can negatively affect your guest’s perception of the cleanliness of your establishment and can also affect their perception of the rest of the meal. Dinnerware and flatware should not be stacked, stored, rolled, or put away before it is completely dry. Doing so can create a wet environment where pathogens can thrive. This is one advantage of a high-temperature dish machine. Dinnerware and flatware dry faster once they have been through the high-temperature last rinse cycle. Once dinnerware comes out of the dish machine, the hot plates can be left in the dishrack to quickly air dry. Your dishwashing staff can use clean cotton towels to dry off any remaining moisture before stacking and storing dishware. Flatware should initially soak in a presoak solution and hot water before being run through the dish machine. This will help break up any grease or tough foodstuff. It is then transferred to a flatware dish rack and run through the dish machine for an initial cycle. The flatware should then be sorted into a flatware washing basket with the handles facing up. The washing basket with the flatware is then placed on top of a flat
dish rack and run through the dish machine for another cycle. This will ensure that the flatware has been properly cleaned and sanitized and will help prevent bare hand contact with the food contact area of the flatware. The flatware can then be left to air dry in the flatware basket or it can be dried by hand with clean towels. Finally, before your flatware is stored or rolled, we recommend polishing the clean flatware with microfiber polishing cloths to remove any lingering water spots.
Next, we will turn our attention to glassware. Clean glassware has a great impact on the quality and profitability of your beverage program. For example, an improperly cleaned beer glass can leave behind soil or soap film that can prevent the formation of the “head” at the top of the beer glass. A draft beer served with about a one-inch head greatly enhances the aroma and flavor of the beer. A pristine glass promotes the formation of the head. It also increases the profitability of the beer itself. Without this one inch head at the top of the glass, you end up pouring a couple of extra ounces of beer into the glass to fill the void. With a one inch head, you serve a better product and save a couple of ounces per glass while still filling the glass to the top. This translates to about 24 or more units served per keg. If you do the math, with a 12-ounce beer being sold for $4 each, this actually means almost $100 more beer sales per keg with a head on the beer than without! Now that’s the power of clean! This applies not only to beer but also to wine. A spotless wine glass will allow the vibrant color of the wine to shine through and will not interfere with the aroma of the flavor profile of the wine.
Polish up to 350 glasses per hour
So what can be done to make sure your glassware is as clean as possible? At Dine Company, we recommend using the glass washing system from Bar Maid. The Bar Maid professional electric glass washer used with Bar Maid LoSUDS detergent will leave your glassware spotless and free of any soil or suds. The glasswasher sits down inside your bar sink with the rotating brushes submerged in the LoSUDS detergent, while the enclosed motor sits above the water level. The spinning action of the brushes cleans the glass quickly and efficiently. The glasses will dry virtually streak and spot free but you can also polish your glassware with a microfiber cloth to really make the glassware sparkle. Yes, we realize polishing all that glassware can be extremely time-consuming. That’s why we recommend using the Bar Maid Glass Polisher. Bar Maid’s Glass polisher uses absorbent, lint-free cotton fiber polishing heads with a constant stream of warm air to dry and polish the glass in five seconds. It can polish up to 350 glasses per hour, saving labor costs and cutting down on glass breakage and accidental cuts from broken glass.
Proper glassware storage will also promote efficient drying, reduce breakage, and prevent contamination. Glassware racks provide a convenient solution to both wash glassware in your ware washer and store them efficiently. They are stackable and can be used with a glass rack dolly for ease of mobility. Wine glass hangers are available for wine glasses for easy storage and accessibility behind the bar.
We will now turn our attention to the dining room. As we discussed in Part 2, any surface near where food is prepared or served is a potential food contact surface. Therefore, tabletops in the dining room should be treated with the same care as food contact surfaces in the back of the house. Tabletops must be cleaned and sanitized in the same manner between each seating. We recommend that the front of the house be equipped with separate sets of sanitizer pails and spray bottles so as to avoid any potential cross-contamination between the front and the back of the house. Dirty tablecloths should be exchanged for clean ones. It is also important not to overlook tabletop items. Salt and pepper shakers, sugar caddies, condiment caddies, condiment containers, etc. should be cleaned, sanitized, and rotated on a regular basis as a part of your cleaning schedule. If you use menu covers for your menus, you should sanitize these often as well. They are often overlooked and when you consider the fact that everyone handles them, they can carry more bacteria than bathroom surfaces.
It is an excellent idea to provide hand sanitizer in sanitary dispensers for your guests and staff. You can provide these in easily accessible and convenient locations such as the host stand, the bar area, the expediter’s station, cash registers, and service islands. At the same time, it is important to stress to your staff that hand sanitizer can never take the place or regular, consistent hand washing.
Finally, we will talk about restrooms. Do you want to talk about the power of clean? How about the power of clean restrooms to make an impression on your guests? This goes both ways. Just think of how many times you have read a restaurant review online and the patron mentions how clean (or filthy!) the restroom was. People are going to talk about the cleanliness of your facilities, and your restroom will be perhaps the number one topic. Perhaps more important than the impression clean restrooms can make, they also contribute to the health and safety of everyone who visits your establishment, whether employee or patron. Restroom checks should be a frequent part of your cleaning schedule. Every surface in the restroom needs to be cleaned and sanitized. To prevent cross-contamination, separate cleaning tools, such as detergent and sanitizer pails and mop heads should be designated for use in the restroom only. We recommend that these tools be color-coded, such as blue pails and blue mop heads, for example. Finally, your restrooms should be well-stocked with paper towels and dispensers or hand dryers, working paper dispensers, working soap dispensers, and air fresheners at all times.
That’s the power of clean, ladies and gentlemen. In this series, we have taken a comprehensive look at the fundamentals of how cleanliness makes a powerful impact in your establishment, from the front of the house to the back of the house. It is hard work, but that “A” score on your health department inspection is well worth it. A clean establishment is one you can take pride in knowing your reputation in the community is secure and the health and safety of your guests and employees are in good hands. You can find all the products mentioned in this blog post in our store at 3110 Preston Hwy in Louisville, KY, or you can shop online at shop.dinecompany.com. For more information, please call 1-877-346-3830 to speak to a customer care associate.
