FIRST, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

A good businessman, when investing in restaurant equipment, certainly does not assume that in a few months he will have to cover the cost of repairing catering equipment or replacing a broken machine. Unfortunately, breakdowns and malfunctions do happen, and many of them are due to improper handling of equipment. Leaving aside factory defects or short circuits in the electrical system, many such problems can be avoided.

One of the first rules of any restaurateur after buying a new dishwasher or coffee maker should be to read the instructions carefully. In fact, it would be a good idea to know it even before you buy it, due to the fact that not every piece of equipment can be installed anywhere.

If you have already designated the location of a dishwasher or convection oven, it may be that they cannot be located there for technical reasons. The manual also includes details on power supply, loads, operation, and what foodservice cleaners can be used to wash the selected equipment.

TRAIN EMPLOYEES – BOTH OLD AND NEW

If you buy a new catering equipment then even if you read the instructions carefully, you can’t guarantee that others will know how to operate it. To solve this problem, take some time before or after work and instruct your crew on how they should handle the equipment.

Training should not only cover new employees. People with many years of experience often have bad habits or have used other, less modern machines over the years. A good way to solidify the principles is through hands-on operation of the equipment.

REGULAR CLEANING OF EQUIPMENT WITH PROFESSIONAL MEANS

Proper handling or knowledge of operation is still not enough to ensure that the service of catering equipment will not be needed for a long time. An important part of taking care of machines is cleaning them.

This should be prompted by the very fact that they are used for food processing. Putting more ingredients into an unwashed wolf or blender certainly carries not only the risk of damaging the equipment, but also of food poisoning.

Food products also contain many substances that are ideal breeding grounds for bacteria or fungi. Even grinding dry bread crumbs can be a problem, because although they are preserved and resistant to mold, all it takes is a little kitchen moisture for microorganisms to emerge. Leftover residue can also dry out and block moving parts of machines, leading to damage when they are turned on.

Catering equipment cleaning and periodic maintenance should also follow the rules. Particularly important are the right catering cleaning products. They are safe for machines and people, and at the same time extremely effective.

The use of appropriate preparations promotes the dissolution and removal of residual fats and other substances. These can shorten the life of equipment and alter the taste of food, not to mention hygiene and epidemiological risks. It is also worth remembering that specialized cleaners for food service do not cause damage to equipment such as dissolving protective coatings or scratching surfaces.

REGULAR CHECKING AND SERVICING OF EQUIPMENT

Taking care of restaurant equipment should also include regular maintenance by a qualified employee or by a catering equipment service such as Sperto.

Inspections can quickly detect minor problems, such as a compromised electrical system, chipped knife blades or a worn-out gasket. In the aforementioned situations, often immediate repair of catering equipment will save the company from a major equipment failure and hours of downtime and the need to limit the number of guests.