Kitchen Safety, Food Handling Basics, and Knife Safety
The food-safety temperatures, hand-washing rules, and knife-handling basics every new kitchen worker needs before their first shift.
Table of contents
What the work looks like
A commercial kitchen runs fast, hot, and wet. Burns, cuts, slips, and foodborne illness are the four hazards every food-safety orientation addresses. The FDA Food Code (adopted state by state) is the rulebook, and the ServSafe course is the most common training vehicle.
Safety and tools
Hand hygiene: wash with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds, dry with a single-use towel, and use hand sanitizer as a supplement, not a replacement. Wash before starting work, after breaks, after handling raw protein, after touching your face or phone, and after any contamination event.
Temperature control:
- Hot hold at 135F or above.
- Cold hold at 41F or below.
- Cook to safe internal temperature: 165F poultry, 155F ground beef, 145F whole cuts, 135F vegetables for hot hold.
- Two-stage cooling: 135F to 70F in 2 hours, 70F to 41F in the next 4 hours. Total 6 hours.
Cross-contamination: separate raw from ready-to-eat in storage and prep. Store raw poultry on the lowest shelf of the walk-in, raw meats above that, produce and ready-to-eat on top. Use color-coded boards and dedicated tools.
Knife safety:
- Sharp knife cuts where you aim. A dull knife slips. Hone a chef's knife with a steel at the start of each shift.
- Claw grip with the guiding hand: fingers tucked, knuckles against the blade.
- Cut on a stable board with a damp towel underneath for grip.
- Pass a knife by setting it down on a board, not handing it through the air.
- A falling knife has no friends. Step back, let it drop.
- Never leave a knife in a soapy sink.
- Store knives on a magnet strip, a knife block, or a dedicated drawer insert.
Burn and fire: the three-compartment sink uses hot water, not just hand-hot. Fryers, flat tops, and salamanders stay hot during service and long after shutdown. Every kitchen has a Class K fire extinguisher for grease fires and an Ansul hood-suppression system overhead. Never use water on a grease fire.
Slip and fall: non-slip mats in front of every station, immediate cleanup of spills, and kitchen-specific non-slip shoes.
Your first exercise
Take a free ServSafe Food Handler practice quiz online. Review any questions you miss. On your first shift, identify where the hand-washing sinks, first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, and knife storage are.
Where to go next
Build from here into Food Safety & Sanitation, Line Cooking, Baking & Pastry, Butchery & Meat Cutting, Barista Skills, Catering & Banquet Service. Front-of-house and service crossovers: Customer Service, Cash Handling, POS System Operation. Broader safety: Workplace Safety, Fire Safety & Prevention.