Kitchen cleaning schedule template for Irish restaurants, pubs and cafés

A cleaning schedule is one of the documents an HSE Environmental Health Officer will expect to see, and poor hygiene is one of the fundamental breaches the FSAI cites behind enforcement orders. The FSAI's definition is simple: the schedule lists all the equipment, fixtures and fittings to be cleaned and how you clean them, and your cleaning records show when it was done.

This template follows the FSAI's own sample cleaning schedule, with daily, weekly and monthly tasks for a typical Irish restaurant, pub or café kitchen.

The six stages of cleaning (FSAI)

For food contact surfaces and equipment, the FSAI sets out six stages:

1. Pre-clean. Get rid of loose material and food scraps.
2. Clean with detergent. Hot water and detergent to remove grease and dirt.
3. Rinse.
4. Disinfect. Apply disinfectant following the manufacturer's instructions (dilution and contact time).
5. Rinse.
6. Air dry. Let surfaces and equipment dry in the air.

The FSAI notes that detergent and disinfectant often come combined as a sanitiser. If you use one, follow the manufacturer's instructions for that product. The principle holds either way: disinfectant can't do its job on a surface still covered in grease, so clean first.

What your schedule needs to say

The FSAI's sample cleaning schedule uses these columns:

• Item to be cleaned
• Frequency: after use, every shift, daily, weekly, other
• Precautions, e.g. wear gloves and goggles
• Method of cleaning
• Chemicals used, including the dilution
• Person responsible

Then add the record: signed and dated each time it's done. A schedule without sign-offs only shows what you meant to do.

The FSAI also says to keep the schedule in a conspicuous place so staff can see what needs cleaning and how often, and to review it regularly in case something needs adding, such as new equipment.

Kitchen cleaning schedule template

Copy into a spreadsheet or print it. Fill in your own chemicals, dilutions and names. Adjust frequencies to how busy you are: a café closing at 4pm and a hotel kitchen doing three services won't need the same.

After use and during service

Daily (end of day)

Weekly

Monthly (or quarterly, by risk)

How to use the template

1. Walk the kitchen and list everything. Every surface, every piece of equipment, every fixture, plus the bar and the bin store. The FSAI's definition is "all the equipment, fixtures and fittings".
2. Fill in the method and chemical for each. Use the manufacturer's dilution and contact time. Write it down so the Saturday KP does it the same way as the head chef.
3. Name a person or role for each line, not "staff".
4. Put it on the wall where it's seen, as the FSAI recommends.
5. Sign and date every task when it's done, not at the end of the week.
6. Check it. A manager reviews the sign-offs weekly and spot-checks a few items.
7. Review it whenever you add equipment or change your menu, and at least every few months.

Chemicals and cloths

The FSAI's Safe Catering SC5 Hygiene Inspection Checklist asks whether:

• suitable cleaning chemicals are available, stored correctly and used with the proper methods;
• cleaning cloths are suitable for their use, regularly cleaned and disinfected, and used properly;
• the cleaning schedule is reviewed and discussed with staff.

Practical points:

• Store chemicals away from food, in a designated area, in labelled original containers.
• Use the dilution on the label. Too weak doesn't disinfect; too strong can taint food and harm skin.
• Colour-code cloths and equipment (for example, separate cloths for raw food areas, ready-to-eat areas and toilets) so they don't cross over.
• Keep safety data sheets for each chemical where staff can find them.

Cleaning and pests

Clean kitchens give pests less to live on. The FSAI's pest control advice for caterers: keep the building in good repair, proof it (mesh, sealed holes, drain covers), fit insect screens on windows and doors that open into food rooms, keep external areas tidy, use bins with close-fitting lids, and check regularly for droppings, smear marks, egg cases and dead insects. If you find a problem, contact a pest contractor immediately, contact your EHO, clean and disinfect anything pests may have touched, and throw away any food they may have touched. Add a pest check line to your weekly schedule.

Cleaning records and your EHO

An EHO assesses your hygiene prerequisites, and the FSAI counts cleaning and sanitation among them. Expect them to look at your schedule, your records and, most of all, the kitchen itself. A signed schedule with a dirty extraction canopy tells the EHO the records aren't real. Our EHO inspection checklist has a walk-round to do before they arrive.

Or let ShiftComplete run it for you

In ShiftComplete, your cleaning schedule becomes a set of checklists: opening, during service, closing, weekly and monthly. Tasks can differ by weekday (deep-clean the fryer on Mondays, the walk-in on Wednesdays), and one-off priority tasks can be added when something needs doing now. Every tick is named and timestamped, and you can make a photo required for the tasks that matter, such as the extraction filters or under the fryers. A 2am close still counts as today. Managers see missed tasks on the dashboard, and the weekly report shows completion rates. Maintenance problems spotted while cleaning can be logged with a photo and tracked until fixed.

It helps you keep the records an EHO asks to see; it doesn't clean the kitchen. ShiftComplete costs €1.99 per active staff member per month, free for 60 days, no card and no contract. Start a free trial.