Michelin-starred restaurants are some of the world’s best restaurants serving delectable dishes made with top-quality ingredients. But aside from offering the best meals, these restaurants are also expected to abide by food hygiene standards. Unfortunately, some of these restaurants failed to impress hygiene inspectors during food hygiene checks.
Dining at Michelin-starred restaurants comes with a hefty price, so they must provide customers with dishes that are not only top-notch but also prepared in a clean and safe environment.
If you’re curious to know what some of these restaurants are doing to address hygiene issues, read on to find out how Michelin-star restaurants are improving food hygiene standards.
1. Reducing Cross Contamination
Cross-contamination due to unsanitary practices in the kitchen can damage the reputation of Michelin-star restaurants. Customers could get sick if they don’t follow the proper steps to prevent contamination since it can trigger foodborne illnesses. Therefore, all aspects involved in preparing food in the kitchen should avoid causing contamination.
Hundreds of people are getting sick yearly due to foodborne illnesses from contaminated food. As an owner of a Michelin-star restaurant, the last thing you want is to hurt your reputation, which can have a devastating financial loss for your business.
There are many ways to minimise cross-contamination in the kitchen and keep bacteria from spreading. Always separate raw food from cooked food, even during storage and preparation. Use separate utensils for preparing raw food and cooked food. Chefs and kitchen staff must practice good personal hygiene, such as washing hands immediately after handling food. Ensure that they wear different gloves for every type of food they prepare.
It’s essential to keep kitchen surfaces clean at all times. Thoroughly wash and clean all surfaces and sanitise every corner of the kitchen. Before and after preparing food, kitchen staff should be diligent in the cleaning methods to prevent cross-contamination.
2. Creating a Cleaner Environment
Cleanliness should be a top priority for all businesses involved in food. Ensure you maintain cleanliness from the start, from storage to meal preparation and serving. More importantly, keep the kitchen and dining area as clean and hygienic as possible, and get everyone involved. Not only will you maintain your Michelin-star rating, but your customers will enjoy dining if they find your space sparkling clean.
Cleanliness should start in storage. So, clean and sanitise the fridge and freezer where you store raw food. You must clean these things regularly to ensure the ingredients remain fresh and germ-free. After preparing a dish, your staff should clean the cooking surfaces and use new utensils for the next food. It’s even more essential to cook on sanitised surfaces when handling raw meat.
Running a restaurant can be physically demanding, especially during peak times. Because of this, restaurant staff often ignore cleaning. It’s therefore essential to implement a scheduled time to clean up so as not to neglect it.
3. Better Training for Employees
Every business in the food industry must take the responsibility to train staff on food hygiene and safety. Although it’s not a legal requirement, more restaurants are now letting staff undergo training in food hygiene and safety to improve their food hygiene overall. It’s even more essential for Michelin-star restaurants to invest in training since they cater to high-end diners lured by the appeal of excellent food quality and service.
Food hygiene training will require you to invest money, but it’s well worth it. For one, it helps build a positive reputation for your business. The training will equip your staff with knowledge and skills to carry out the best practices in food preparation, which will not go unnoticed by customers.
If your staff receive proper food safety and hygiene training, they can carry out their tasks more effectively. As a result, your business will more likely receive a top rating. A lack of knowledge can result in poor efficiency. If your staff know how to work most hygienically, productivity will improve.
4. Better Equipment
Many restaurant owners tend to put off investing in high-quality equipment because they are trying to avoid capital losses. But upgrading to better equipment for Michelin-star restaurants is a must. Certain foods must be cooked or stored at certain temperatures, and this will only be possible with good-quality equipment.
Aside from food hygiene and safety, another reason to upgrade to better equipment is to reduce maintenance costs. You won’t have to spend much to maintain high-quality equipment. As time goes by, old equipment will decline and operate less efficiently. Worse, they could break down at a time you least expect. The last thing you want is to disappoint your customers since your kitchen equipment broke down and you cannot serve their favourite dishes.
In addition, purchasing better equipment can help increase the quality of the food you prepare. Sure, high-tech kitchen machinery can cost a lot to invest in, but you will earn back your investment. Using the latest kitchen technology can significantly improve your kitchen’s overall output, improving your reputation and attracting more customers.
5. Cooking Fresh Food
Some restaurants would try to minimise operating costs by opting for the cheapest and easiest ways of preparing their dishes and making them desirable to customers. However, that can also mean neglecting hygiene and safety.
Cooking fresh food is the best way to maintain food hygiene and safety, which is what most Michelin-star restaurants do. They do not reheat food, which minimises the risks associated with food hygiene and reheating. In addition, fresh foods are healthier and taste better.
There are many advantages to eating food made from fresh ingredients, but the most apparent is the superior flavour. There’s nothing more delicious than fresh food made from in-season ingredients taken directly off the vine. Michelin restaurants usually cater to high-end consumers, and these consumers don’t mind splurging money to savour the genuine wholesomeness of dishes prepared from fresh ingredients. In addition, they will feel great knowing they are eating well, especially those trying to live a healthy lifestyle.