What goes on a kitchen prep label?
A kitchen prep label says what the food is, who made it, when it was made, and when to use it by. Keep it short and readable, and check your local health department for the rules in your area.
Why do prep labels matter?
Open a walk-in at the end of a long shift. You see a tub of something white. Is it sauce? Is it potatoes? Who made it? Is it from today or from last week? Without a label, you are guessing.
A prep label answers those questions for the next person. It also protects the guest, because food that is old should not be served. A good prep label is small, fast to write, and easy to read from across the room.
What are the four fields on a prep label?
Four fields cover it. Add more only if your kitchen truly needs them.
- What. The name of the food, in the words your cooks use.
- Who. The name of the cook who made it. If something looks wrong, you know who to ask.
- Made. The day it was made, and the time if your kitchen wants it.
- Use by. The last day it should be used. This is the field that matters most.
Pick Carlos in the pretend kitchen and say “Maria prepped 4 quarts of mashed potatoes.” Try the demo
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What | The name of the food | Mashed potatoes |
| Who | The cook who made it | Maria |
| Made | The day it was made | Tuesday |
| Use by | The day your rules allow | Fill in from your own rules |
Notice the last row. We do not tell you how many days. That number comes from your local health department and from your own kitchen’s rules. Check your local health department for the rules in your area. Do not copy a number from a blog, including this one.
How do you keep labels clear and quick?
Labels fail for dull reasons. The marker is dry. The tape will not stick. The writing is too small. Fix the dull things and the labels get better.
- Keep the supplies together. Tape, markers, and a wipe cloth in one spot, close to where cooks pack food.
- Use a wide marker. Thin pens fade and cannot be read from the next shelf.
- Write on the tape, not the lid. Lids get swapped.
- Use the same words. If one cook writes “Mash” and another writes “Mashed potatoes,” people stop trusting the labels.
- Label it when you pack it. Not later. Later turns into never.
Make labels part of the job, not an extra. A prep job is not finished until the tub has a label. Say that out loud when you train new cooks.
What are day-colour dots?
Some kitchens use colored dots or tape, one color for each day of the week. A cook can look at a shelf and see which tubs are older without reading any words. It is a quick visual check.
Dots do not replace the written label. They sit next to it. If you use them, put the key somewhere cooks can see it. A color nobody remembers is useless.
Once labels are clear, the shelf is easier to run. Read about how to organize a walk-in cooler to see how labels and shelves work together.
What do you do with a tub that has no label?
Do not guess. A tub with no label is a question with no answer. You do not know what it is, who made it, or how old it is.
First, ask. Walk the line and say, “Whose is this?” Often a cook knows at once. If nobody knows, the safe move is to toss it. Check your local health department for the rules in your area.
Then fix the cause. Why was there no label? Was the tape empty? Was the marker dry? Was the cook rushed? Tell the cook, kindly, and fix the supply. A toss with no lesson will happen again next week.
How do you teach cooks to label?
Show, do not just tell. On a new cook’s first day, walk them to the label station. Pack a tub together and label it together. Then ask them to do the next one while you watch.
Tell them why, in one sentence. “The next person has to trust this tub, and the label is how they do.” People follow rules they understand. They skip rules that feel like paperwork.
Praise good labels out loud. When you open the walk-in and see a clear label, say so. When you see a bad one, fix it quietly and show the cook later. A kitchen learns what the chef notices.
How does Heard write the label?
You say who made it and what it is. Heard writes down the batch and takes its ingredients off the shelf. Then it makes a label with who made it, when, and when to use it by. The Prep screen shows what to use first and what to toss. Read more on the prep labels page.
Labels show on the screen only. Use by times are your kitchen’s own rules, so follow your health department. Try the demo, pick Carlos, and say “Maria prepped 4 quarts of mashed potatoes.”
Quick questions
What should a prep label include?
What the food is, who made it, when it was made, and when to use it by.
How long can prepped food be kept?
That depends on the food and on your area. Check your local health department for the rules in your area.
What are color dots for?
Some kitchens use a color for each day so cooks can see which tubs are older at a glance. They sit next to the written label.