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Kitchen Opening and Closing Checklist 

Kitchens are high-pressure, intense working environments, and it’s all too easy to let things slip if you don’t have the right checklists in place. Missed checks lead to compliance failures, poor hygiene ratings, and reputational damage. Trail solves this.

With our hospitality checklist app featuring a simple kitchen opening and closing checklist template, it’s easy to stay on top of everything and meet HACCP principles, FSA Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) requirements, and EHO inspection criteria.  

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What should a kitchen opening checklist include?

Your kitchen opening checklist should include everything you need to make sure you’re following health and safety food laws and that you’re ready to efficiently start the day. 

 

In a busy restaurant, breaking up your opening checklist into front of house (FOH) and back of house (BOH) is a good strategic move. Front of house checklists primarily focus on guest interactions, dining ambiance, and customer satisfaction, key elements that can make or break a diner's experience.  

 

Back of house checklists streamline kitchen operations, ensuring food safety, precise preparation, and efficient resource management.  

 

By tailoring checklists to each domain, establishments can enhance overall service quality, maintain high standards, and provide a memorable dining experience from the kitchen to the table. 

Front of house (FOH) tasks 

  • Clean and sanitise all surfaces. This includes tables, chairs, menus, countertops, and restrooms. 

  • Set tables with place settings. Make sure each table has napkins (or serviettes), cutlery, plate, and glass. 

  • Restock table items. This includes salt and pepper shakers, sugar packets, sauce bottles. 

  • Check that all menus are in place and clean. This includes food menus, drink menus, and any daily specials. 

  • Turn on the point-of-sale (POS) system. Make sure that the system is working properly and that all of your menu items are programmed in. 

  • Review the booking list for the day. Make sure that you have enough staff to accommodate all of your reservations. 

  • Fridge and freezer temperature checks. Make sure that fridges and freezers are at the correct temperature to keep food safe.  

Back of house (BOH) tasks  

  • Check all food supplies. Make sure that you have enough food on hand to last for the day. 

  • Prep all food items. This includes chopping vegetables, cooking meat, and making sauces. 

  • Hot food temperature checks. Ensure hot food is kept at the correct temperature. 

  • Sanitise. Make sure all cooking equipment and surfaces are clean. 

Management tasks 

  • Review the day's bookings. This will help you anticipate the number of guests and make sure you have enough staff to accommodate them. 

  • Check the food and drink inventory. Make sure you have enough food and drinks on hand to last for the day. 

  • Assign restaurant positions to staff for the day. This will help to ensure everyone knows what they need to be doing and that all of the necessary tasks are completed. 

  • Brief your team ahead of the day. This is a good time to discuss any special instructions or requests, as well as to reiterate any important safety or customer service procedures. 

  • Walk around the restaurant to ensure everything is in order. This includes checking the toilets, the kitchen, and the dining area. 

What should a kitchen closing checklist include?

A restaurant closing checklist should be a structured list of tasks aimed at efficiently concluding the day’s operations. It’s vital for ensuring operational efficiency, cleanliness, security, and compliance with regulations.  

Front of house (FOH) tasks 

  • Clean and sanitise all surfaces. This includes tables, chairs, menus, worktops, and toilets. 

  • Empty all bins and recycling bins. 

  • Sweep and mop the floors. 

  • Turn off all lights and music. 

  • Lock all doors and windows. 

Back of house (BOH) tasks  

  • Check leftover food items. Label and rotate all leftover food items and store them appropriately following the "First In, First Out" (FIFO) principle. Dispose of any food that is out of date. 

  • Sanitise. Clean all cooking equipment and surfaces.  

  • Turn off kitchen equipment. Make sure to properly shut down all kitchen equipment, ensuring safety measures are followed. 

Management tasks 

  • Review the day's sales and bookings. This will help you identify any areas for improvement, such as menu items that are not selling well or times of day when the restaurant is particularly busy. 

  • Make a to-do list for the next day. This will ensure that all of the necessary tasks are completed, such as ordering food and supplies, scheduling employees, and preparing for any special events. 

  • Communicate with the next day's management team. This includes discussing any important issues that arose during the day, as well as any special instructions or requests. 

  • Close out the POS system. This includes balancing the cash register and printing out any necessary reports. 

  • Review the security system. Make sure that the system is turned on and that all of the doors and windows are locked. 

  • Cash up the day’s funds.

Food safety and general kitchen checks

Alongside your opening and closing checklist for your kitchen, it’s vital to have a food safety checklist to make sure you’re operating safely and you ace your EHO inspection whenever it comes around. Since your food hygiene score is quite literally on the door, getting top marks is crucial for your business.  

Why do I need a food safety checklist?  

You need a health and safety checklist to make sure you tick off everything you need to do to prevent accidents, protect you from legal action by ensuring you comply with food safety law, and of course, prepare you for EHO inspections.  

What do Environmental Health Officers look for? 

  1. How hygienically food is handled 

  1. The condition of your premises 

  1. How you manage and document food safety 

 

Environmental health officers can inspect your business without warning, so the only reliable way to prepare is to ensure that best practices are followed consistently every day. Our comprehensive EHO inspection guide includes more information on how to prepare, including insights from a former EHO.  

What should my food safety checklist cover? 

Your food safety checklist needs to cover: 

  • Opening and closing food safety checks 

  • Cooking and hot holding temperature checks 
  • Fridge and freezer temperature checks 
  • Allergen separation checks 
  • Allergic reaction reports 
  • Food poisoning reports 
  • Pest activity checks 

Food safety and hygiene checklist 

Use the food safety checklist below to do a food hygiene inspection of your own business. To achieve a 5 star food hygiene rating you’ll need to make sure you can put a tick next to each of the following: 

Food storage 

  • Is ready-to-eat food stored/separate from raw food? 

  • Are high-risk foods date coded? 

  • Are codes checked daily and stock rotated? 

  • Are food containers kept off the floor? 

  • Are foods in freezers covered? 

  • Are fridges and freezers working and at the correct temperatures? 

  • Are dried goods stored and covered correctly? 

 

Premises 

  • Do you have separate sinks for dishwashing and handwashing? 

  • Do you regularly clean equipment? 

  • Do you have clean and tidy storage areas? 

  • Do you have a pest control system in place? 

  • Is equipment easy to clean and kept in a clean condition? 

 

Food handling 

  • Do you have separate preparation areas for raw and ready to eat foods? 

  • Do you have colour coded chopping boards? 

  • Are frozen foods defrosted safely? 

  • Are separate utensils and equipment used for raw foods? 

  • Are vegetables/fruit/salads/ trimmed and washed thoroughly before use? 

 

Personal hygiene 

  • Do team members wear clean, suitable protective clothing? 

  • Do workers keep their hair back and/or wear a hair net or hat? 

  • Do staff regularly wash their hands? 

  • Do you keep staff sickness records? 

 

Food safety management system 

  • Do you have a food safety management system? 

  • Can you provide evidence of all your food safety procedures? 

  • Has appropriate corrective action been taken where necessary? 

What to include in a HACCP? 

Nowadays a food safety management system, often referred to as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), is critical in making sure your business is protected and your customers are safe. Our HACCP audit guide provides you with an in-depth guide to understanding HACCP audits, starting from preparations and HACCP system implementations all the way to the auditing process and certification.  

How to make sure you are health and safety compliant? 

Whether you’re a seasoned restaurateur, a new cafe owner, or a catering business supervisor, our Safer Food Better Business guide is designed to assist you in understanding the UK food safety regulations. You need to comply with the SFBB food safety management system to keep your food safe and your business running effectively. 

Why choose digital checklists?  

Digitising your checklist with an app like Trail helps you tick off all your jobs quickly and efficiently so you can get back to running your kitchen. With Trail’s primary authority assured app, our digital checklist gives you: 

  • Time-stamped records. Your secure records are all kept in one place with other checklists, reports and digital forms 

  • Real-time alerts. Stay on top of the game and know what you and your team need to do, and when. 

  • Corrective action prompts. Know straight away what actions need to be carried out. 

  • EHO-ready audit trail. Everything you need to be ready for an EHO inspection at your fingertips.  

  • Complete confidence in your food safety every day. With everything all in one place, it’s clear to see if you’re missing anything. 

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FAQs

How often are EHO inspections?

Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspection frequencies depend on the risk category of the food business, ranging from every 6 months to 3 years depending on the level of risk. An EHO will inspect the premises to ensure the correct standards are maintained and the food is safe to eat. 

What’s happens if you fail an EHO inspection?

If you fail an EHO inspection, you will receive a Low Hygiene Rating between 0 and 2 under the Food Agency Scheme. If there's an immediate danger to public health, the Environmental Health Officer can shut down your premises by serving a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice. Depending on how severe the failed inspection is, you may also be taken to court, which can lead to fines or up to two years in prison.  

What is a food safety checklist?

A food safety checklist is a step-by-step tool to make sure you tick off everything you need to meet a food hygiene inspection of your own business. It covers off food storage, premises, food handling, personal hygiene and your Food Safety Management System.  

What is HACCP and do I need it for my restaurant?

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. It is a preventative system to stop risks before they happen. If you have a restaurant in the UK, you need a food safety management system based on the principals of HACCP.