Running a school kitchen can sometimes be a very stressful job. Depending on the size of the school that you work in, you could be making hundreds of meals a day and serving them to all of the students. If you do not have good planning skills and a hard work ethic, you may not meet the standard to be a good school cook. In this article, we will give you some tips to help you run a smooth and efficient school kitchen.
The ordering process is a big part of running a school kitchen. Most schools change menus each week, which means that you will need to order different ingredients for each week. This is why it is important that you are organised and you know exactly what is needed each day. If you do order enough ingredients or order the wrong things, then this could result in students not getting their meals. You should also maintain an inventory stockist to keep track of everything that you have in your fridges. You should also keep track of everything’s expiry date, so you do not end up sending out bad food.
Keeping your kitchen clean and hygienic is paramount to running a successful kitchen. You will need to be constantly wiping down your work surfaces to avoid cross-contamination. You should also thoroughly wash your hands after touching raw meat. At the end of every day, you will need to wash up all of the equipment and give the kitchen a good clean. By doing this, you can ensure that your kitchen is sanitised and you are ready to start cooking the next day. You will want to ensure that you have a good supply of cleaning materials in stock. You can contact a Cleaning Chemical Supply company that can supply you with all you need. An example of one of these companies is simplehygienesolutions.co.uk/clover-cleaning-chemical-supplier
As a school cook, it is vital that you are aware of all allergies and intolerances that the students have. Serving food that students are allergic to can be very dangerous and you could be in a lot of trouble if you do this. This is why you will want to ensure you have foods that are gluten-free and have no traces of nuts.