While the catering business has ground to a halt due to Covid-19, PRC Caterers has used this time to prepare for re-opening by building a new, production-based kitchen with 3000 square feet of sleek, state-of-the-art kitchen equipment.
Located at 240 Viceroy Road, the kitchen boasts 52 feet of cooking equipment, including commercial grade combi ovens and a brand-new Southern Pride smoker that will allow PRC to make its famous in-house smoked meat. The kitchen also features an impressive walk-in cooler with 800-square-feet of fridge space, 20-foot high freezers, and a pastry department that is outfitted to make the most delicious pastries, cakes, and desserts one has ever tasted.
Not only will the new kitchen ensure that food production is cleaner, safer, and more efficient than ever before, the kitchen will be ready to open during this Covid landscape with the most diligent safety protocols in place.
Greater Efficiency:
With the goal of increasing greater efficiency in mind, PRC decided to forgo the traditional way of allocating space for a new versatile design that utilizes space with maximum efficiency. The kitchen’s ergonomically-friendly space now allows PRC staff to move appliances freely throughout the kitchen through drop-down electrical outlets suspended throughout the open kitchen.
Health and Safety:
PRC Caterers has taken great pains to ensure that the highest standards of health and safety will be taken, including the following:
- Food is temperature controlled. This allows for the preparation of all kinds of food items, even raw fish without the need to move food prep to a cooler or to work with fans.
- Walls and ceiling are reinforced with fiberglass. This specialized material allows every corner of the premises to be power-washed and sanitized, preventing food and bacteria from attaching itself to surfaces.
Covid-19 Mitigating Protocols:
The elephant in the room when it comes to instituting health and safety protocols is how can this be done in a way that is safe during this time of COVID-19?
Israel Fisch, President of PRC Caterers, explains, “We have adopted the most stringent measures possible to ensure the safety of our workers and customers. We have consulted with the Public Health Department and have instituted guidelines that cover everything from temperature checks, clothing, sanitization, behaviours and more.”
Here’s a list of the protocols that PRC has and will has put in place to ensure that its premises are Covid safe.
Protocols to Mitigate Against Covid-19
Physical Distancing
- All physical contact is prohibited, including handshakes, high fives, fist bumps etc.
Clothing
- No outside street clothes will be allowed in the kitchen. Before staff enter the kitchen area, they will change into a clean and sanitized uniform that is supplied to them.
- All staff will change uniforms daily. At the end of shift, staff will discard the uniform and it will be sent to be cleaned and sanitized daily.
- All team members are to wear hair nets or hair coverings. The same will apply to beards.
- Everyone on the team will be required to have clean uniforms, as well as tidy hair and clean nails.
Temperature Checks
- Mandatory temperature checks will be provided to everyone on the team upon arrival. Anyone with a fever or other COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home.
- Mandatory temperature checks will be provided to anyone who visits our premises with deliveries.
Masks
- All team members are required to wear masks (face coverings) and gloves at all times.
Sanitation
- Handwashing every 30 minutes will be mandatory.
- Hand sanitizers and wipes will be made available everywhere.
- Scheduled sanitizing of all shared surfaces will take place every 30 minutes.
- Thorough cleaning of all surfaces and kitchen equipment will be carried out at the end of each shift.
- Increased cleaning with an external agency using deep sanitization will be executed every 10 days.
With the level of concern and worry that we are all experiencing during this uncertain and difficult time, it is good to know that when groups of people are permitted to gather together for small parties or larger affairs, PRC is ready to bring entertainment to a whole new and safer level.
