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Whether you have never stepped into kitchen before or you are an experienced chef that spends most of the time awake in the kitchen, you always need to be aware of the processes that need to be undertaken when preparing food and preventing foodborne illnesses, no matter how many people you are cooking for – food cleanliness should always feature highly on the priorities list. No one likes throwing a party and finding out people got ill overnight least of all a chef in a professional kitchen!
There’s no shame in not knowing the proper precautions that need to be taken when cooking a meal and for some people it may be easier to learn visually at one of our food safety courses. According to WHO… not The WHO but WHO – World Health Organization – there are five key principles to follow to avoid food poisoning which they also claim in theory is 100% preventable:
1)Avoid the food from becoming contaminated with the spreading of germs from people, pets and pests. Always be aware of the sneaky cats, they pretend to be asleep and as soon as you turn your back your food is gone.
2)Always keep raw and cooked food separate, don’t want to contaminate that delicious cooked food you got.
3)Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and right temperature to kill germs. If your chicken comes out charred black it’s usually a safe bet that the germs will have been killed but so will your taste buds after trying the chicken. It’s a good bench mark though, so work your way back from charred.
4)Store foods at the right temperature, utilise your fridge for food and not just to keep your drinks chilled.
5)Use safe water and cooked materials.
It is often well documented that over Christmas time there is a notoriously high rate in food poisoning. This may be down to the ‘chef’ on the day forgetting how long the turkey has been cooked for as they get caught up in the celebrations, or it simply doesn’t fit and the attempted re jigging hasn’t quite worked out. But it should be known that food poisoning can happen anytime of the year with a whole range of food and these precautions should be taken every time we prepare to cook a meal.
Many countries have different regulations for food safety and the UK falls under the EU guidelines where they tend to lean towards the more cautious side then the ‘5 second rule’ side, which for most of the people that eat out at restaurants isn’t such a bad thing.
At Tutorcare we offer some great food hygiene courses at an introductory level for those that may work in kitchens or front of house at restaurants such as waiters or bar staff with the course covering:
– Food Safety (hygiene, hazards, responsibilities)
– Personal hygiene
– Cleaning
– Contamination
At the end of the assessment you will be given a 15 question multiple choice exam and once you pass you will have received your level 1 certificate.
We have a number of advanced courses which cover different areas, but areas that those in the industry need to know. So whether you need some gentle reminding on the procedures that need to be taken when working in the kitchen or you have recently got a new job and this sort of information is new to you why not come along to one of our courses and gain the experience you need to be qualified for your role.