The Telure Standard for a kitchen

Probe thermometer accuracy check against an ice bath

Take every probe the kitchen uses, including the ones in drawers and in aprons, and check each one in a fresh ice bath: stem seated in the ice and water, reading settled, and the reading written down as read rather than as expected. Adjust or retire anything outside the tolerance in the manufacturer's manual for that probe, and record which probe it was. Weekly rather than monthly because probes get dropped, run through the dish machine and left on a hot surface, and a probe that has drifted silently invalidates every temperature record made since the last time anybody looked at it. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Floor, mat and drain walk

Walk the whole floor with the mats up: tile and grout sound with no cracked, lifted or missing pieces, no worn smooth patch at the fryer, the pass or the dish return, floor drains and trench grates running and seated, no ponding anywhere and no standing water under equipment. Then the mats themselves, laid flat with no curled edge, no gap at a doorway or a sink, and none missing from a station that has one. Weekly because this is the hazard that resets every shift and the one that puts staff on a claim, and because a curled mat edge and a slow drain both announce themselves long before somebody goes down on them. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Sanitizer concentration and warewash rinse check

Read the sanitizer where it is actually used rather than at the dispenser: the bucket on the line, the third sink, and the final rinse at the machine. Test with a strip that is in date, record the concentration you read, and check the strips themselves for a legible date and dry storage. Then the machinery behind the reading: dispenser tubing not collapsed or crystallized, the pickup tube in the drum and not resting above the liquid, the drum the one the dispenser is set for, and the machine's gauges reading through a full cycle. Weekly because concentration drifts with the tubing and the drum change rather than failing outright, and it can be wrong all week without looking wrong. Telure does not test anything: the person tests, and Telure records who read what. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Hood filter and grease removal device check

With the line cold, look at the hood the way a person can without opening the duct: every baffle or filter in place, seated in its track, tight to its neighbor with no gap and none missing after a wash; grease level in the filters, in the drip trough and in the collection cup; the canopy lip and the visible plenum edge; and the exhaust and make up air fans audibly running with the hood pulling at the face. Record what the filters looked like, not just that you looked. Weekly because grease accumulates on your cooking calendar and not on your contractor's, so the filters are the early warning for a duct nobody can see. The cleaning frequency your contractor's schedule and your fire authority set governs. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Refrigeration, cold holding and ice machine condition check

Unit by unit, walk-ins, reach-ins, prep tables and the cold holding wells and drop-ins on the line, and about the unit rather than the number on it: door closing and latching on its own, gaskets seated with no torn, hardened or missing section, hinges and closers sound, condenser coil and fan clear of dust and lint, drain line running with no ice build up or standing water in the pan, interior surfaces and shelving intact, and the unit's own thermometer visible and readable from outside. Then the ice machine on the same pass: interior curtain and deflector clean with no visible film, scoop stored in its holder outside the bin, bin lid closing, drain line air gapped, and the filter change date on the unit. Monthly because these are the slow failures a daily reading cannot see: a gasket lets go over weeks and a fouled condenser is a compressor call three months from now. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Suppression system and Class K extinguisher readiness check

Walk up to the system and answer what a person can see: service tag present, legible and dated; cylinder gauge in its range where the system has one; nozzle blow off caps all present and unobstructed; fusible links and detectors not coated in grease; manual pull station unobstructed with its instruction plate readable; and the Class K extinguisher in its place, charged, sealed, and mounted where somebody backing off the line reaches it. Then the check that actually catches things: stand at the hood and confirm each nozzle still points at the appliance that is under it now. Monthly because the failure here is almost never the system aging, it is the line being rearranged around it when a fryer is swapped or a range is moved. Anything doubtful goes to the service visit, not to somebody on a ladder tonight. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Powered equipment guarding and cleaning shutdown check

Machine by machine, cold and unplugged, on every slicer, mixer, processor, chopper and can opener in the room: guards, ring guards and blade covers present and fitted; gauge plates and carriages returning to zero and staying there; bowl guards, lid interlocks and safety switches actually stopping the machine rather than being taped, wedged or worn past working; cords, plugs and switches sound; and the machine's cleaning card saying who takes the guard off and who signs that it went back on. Confirm each machine can be unplugged or isolated at a point the person cleaning it can reach and see. Monthly because guarding is a state that is reset by whoever last cleaned the machine, and a defeated interlock is invisible until somebody's hand is in it. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Chemical store, labeling and eyewash check

Inspect the chemical store and the route chemicals travel: concentrates stored away from food, from single use articles and from each other, containers closed, upright and undamaged, every container and every secondary spray bottle labeled with what is in it, nothing decanted into a food container, safety data sheets accessible to the people on shift, spill kit complete, and the eyewash flushed with the flush dated. Confirm the PPE staff are expected to wear for the strongest thing in the room is stocked, the right size and serviceable. Monthly because a chemical store degrades continuously and every delivery is a fresh chance for something unlabeled to enter it. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Grease interceptor and drain line check

Lift the lid and look, because nothing about this is visible with it closed: interceptor lid seated, gasket sound and fasteners present; grease and solids depth read against whatever mark or dipstick the unit carries and written down; inlet and outlet baffles in place; no odor, backup or slow drain at the floor sinks and the trench; and the date of the last pump out recorded against the unit rather than remembered. Monthly because an interceptor announces a coming backup weeks ahead in the depth reading, and a backup takes the kitchen out of service on the worst possible day. The pump out frequency your hauler's contract and your jurisdiction set governs. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Allergen separation and labeling walk

Walk the storage and the line as though you were the person who cannot eat one of these things. Dedicated allergen boards, utensils and containers stored where they belong and distinguishable at a glance; allergen ingredients stored so nothing can fall or drip into open food below; every decanted bulk container labeled with the product and the date, with its own scoop kept in it; cleaning cloths for that station kept apart; and the posted allergen card or menu matching what is physically on the shelf today. Monthly because this degrades through substitution: the day a product is swapped for a different brand is the day the posted card quietly stops being true. The product itself belongs in the food and beverage module, which is where its brand, lot and any recall against it live. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Serving line, sneeze guard and self-service station check

At every counter the public reaches: guards fitted, undamaged, and still positioned over the food at the height they were installed at rather than pushed back for a deep pan; brackets and glass tight with no cracked or missing panel; hot and cold wells holding at the setting with the well water and the pans where they belong; serving utensils stored in the food with handles out and one per pan with nothing shared across an allergen; and lids, tongs and covers present at every self-service station. Monthly because the geometry is what drifts here: guards get nudged, pans get swapped for deeper ones, and a guard that no longer covers what is under it looks exactly like one that does. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Food contact surface and cleanability inspection

Go over the surfaces food actually touches with a light and a hand: cutting boards for deep scoring, staining and cupping; tables, counters and shelving for lifted seams, split welds, rust and rough edges; can opener blade and mount for wear and for a bearing surface that has gone rough; sink drainboards, pan racks and speed racks for chipped coating; and every gasket, seal and splash guard on the equipment for hardening and gaps. Anything that can no longer be cleaned back to a smooth surface comes out and gets recorded as replaced. Quarterly because wear here is cumulative and nothing ever fails: a board does not break, it just quietly stops being cleanable, which is only visible when somebody compares it against what it should look like. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Hood and suppression system service visit (qualified person)

Book a qualified person for the exhaust system and for the suppression system, and have the visit cover the parts nobody in the kitchen can reach: the canopy, plenum and accessible duct run cleaned and the access panels refitted with their gaskets; the fan hinged back, cleaned and its grease containment emptied; and on the suppression side the cylinder, the detection links, the nozzles checked against the appliances actually under them, and the manual release proved to drop the fuel or power. File the report against this task, record who performed it and the qualification they hold, confirm the service tag at the hood was updated to match, and open a corrective-action item for every cited deficiency naming who owns it and when it is due in the item note, so the closure of each one is on the record. Where your fire authority, your jurisdiction or your insurer sets the frequency or the inspector's qualification, that governs. Telure records the service; it does not issue, verify or endorse anybody's qualification. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Food handler and manager certification currency review

Go person by person through everyone who works in the kitchen, including the casual and shared staff who cover a shift a month: food handler card in hand and in date, the manager or person-in-charge certification your own health jurisdiction or your own policy expects somebody to hold, allergen training, chemical handling training, and any first aid the organization requires. Record the date each was completed and the date it lapses against that person, mark the topics that do not apply to somebody rather than leaving them looking overdue, and schedule renewals before anything lapses instead of after. Twice a year because a card is a year or several years long and the failure mode is a lapse discovered at an inspection. Telure records what you tell it and when it lapses; it does not issue, verify or endorse anybody's credential. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.

Annual exhaust system, gas connection and appliance inspection

Once a year, walk the whole cooking system with the service vendors while they are on site, and look at what only comes apart on a visit like this one: the full duct run and its access panels, the fan on the roof with its hinge kit, curb and grease containment, the make up air balance at the hood face, appliance gas connectors and their restraining cables, quick disconnects, shut off valves reachable and labeled, and the clearance to combustibles behind and above every appliance that has been moved since the last look. File each vendor's report against this task and open a corrective-action item for every deficiency, naming who owns it and when it is due in the item note, so its closure is on the record. Where your jurisdiction or your insurer sets the frequency or the qualification, that governs. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.