Olympics of the Chefs 2016: monitored cleaning in all demonstration and competition kitchens
The visit of the International cookery exhibition (Internationalen Kochkunst-Ausstellung, IKA) in Erfurt, Germany, October 21st to 25th, offered impressive experiences. The 24th IKA Olympics of the Chefs-event was bigger than ever, with 59 nations and more than 2,000 cooks competing against each other. The 60 jurors had a lot to do to evaluate 32 national teams, 20 youth national teams, 20 communal feeding teams and more than 60 regional teams.
The communal feeding teams cooked 150 servings a day in 18 glass competition kitchens. It is clear that the kitchen hygiene must be operated with the same accuracy as the cooks show when preparing the food. The hygiene and functioning of the teams were thus also assessed by the jury. The kitchen hygiene was assured by Ecolab. They did not only take samples and carry out temperature checks, but they also took care of the correct handling of the cleaning and disinfectant agents offered by Ecolab. An important part was also the monitoring and evaluation of the daily cleaning. Each team left their kitchens clean in the afternoon / evening. A quick check was necessary. This year, the Clean Card® PRO test was used for the first time by Ecolab. The Association of Cooks provided the rapid test and Ecolab, as a partner, used it for hygiene control.
Robert Diede (Ecolab): "Clean Card PRO quickly offered a brief indication of the cleaning. It was especially important at the Olympics of the Chefs to be able to make a fast decision if the kitchens were hygienically cleaned. The competition kitchens had to be approved by members of the German Association of Cooks before they could be released for the next nation."
Dr. Barbara Hildebrandt, amfora healthcare GmbH, who is the distributor for Clean Card PRO in Germany, was able to convince herself in one of the many show-cooking kitchens.
"In the random samples taken in this kitchen, there was only one case where an area was not thoroughly rinsed. This could be corrected immediately by the staff."
The advantage of Clean Card PRO is that not only protein residues, but also remaining traces of cleaning and disinfecting agents, are determined. Besides testing work surfaces, the flexible card can also be used for checking e.g. the corners of the GN-containers or handles of e.g. convectomats. Additionally, the test can be used for controlling the proper cleaning of the dishwashers.
Original information in German: http://www.amfora-health-care.de/fileadmin/dl/Gesehen_bei_der_IKA_2016_in_Erfurt.pdf
Published December 5, 2016