PREVRA Restaurant Opening Checklist: Your Kitchen Is Safe Before the First Order Arrives
A daily restaurant opening checklist that covers every SFBB pre-service check. Ensures your kitchen is clean, your equipment is working, and your records are ready before service begins.
Why a structured opening routine matters for every shift
Every shift starts with a clean slate — literally and figuratively. If the opening check is rushed or skipped, you are serving food from a kitchen whose safety status is unknown. A fridge that failed overnight, a handwash basin with no soap, or a preparation surface that was not properly sanitised at close are all invisible threats that your opening checklist must detect before the first order.
The counter-intuitive priority: the handwash basin check should be the very first task, before any other check or task. If the hot water, soap, or paper towels are missing, every subsequent task performed by unwashed hands is a contamination event. The FSA reports that inadequate handwashing facilities are among the top five reasons for a food hygiene rating of 2 or below. You cannot operate a safe kitchen if your staff cannot wash their hands properly.
Using this opening checklist in your pre-service routine
The opening shift supervisor or head chef should complete this checklist before any food preparation begins. Work systematically through each zone: handwash facilities, fridge and freezer temperatures, cleaning standards, equipment function, and documentation readiness. Every item must be physically checked, not assumed from yesterday. Initial and time-stamp each section.
If any check fails — a fridge above 5°C, no hot water, damaged equipment — stop and take corrective action before service. Record the problem, the action taken, and the outcome. A digital SFBB opening checklist timestamps every check, photographs any issues, and notifies the manager immediately if a critical failure is recorded. Your EHO sees a complete, verifiable record — not a sheet of paper with identical ticks from a week ago.
Opening mistakes that start the day wrong
Checking fridges without recording. Looking at the display and mentally noting "it's fine" is not a check — it is an assumption. The temperature must be written down or digitally logged. In three months, your memory of "it was fine" will not satisfy an EHO.
Starting food prep before checks are complete. Once food preparation begins, the opening checklist becomes secondary. Staff prioritise the prep list over the safety list. The rule is: no food handling until the opening checklist is signed off.
Using the same opening routine for every day. Monday morning after a weekend closure needs different checks than Wednesday after a busy Tuesday. If the kitchen has been empty for 48 hours, all water outlets need flushing to clear stagnant water from the pipes — a Legionella risk that most teams ignore.
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