KENYA · GUIDE 0141 · EDITION 4.2
Office Lunch Delivery Workflow: Kitchen to Desk
One final order list must drive production and dispatch
Assign an order cutoff and a person responsible for releasing the production list. Give the list a date or version so that a late change is visible to the kitchen, packer and delivery person. A meal added in a private chat without updating that list can be missing from purchasing, labels and the dispatch count.
Translate orders into a production sheet
For each dish, record the intended portion, ingredient quantities and measured usable yield from controlled trials. Keep production quantities separate from portions acceptable for packing. Do not apply a universal raw-to-cooked multiplier or assume every batch has the same usable output. Substitutions need a new cost and customer-information check.
Set controls for the actual menu and route
WHO provides general principles for food handling. A competent food-safety person must translate the relevant requirements into a suitable control plan for your menu, facilities, load, travel and receiving conditions. This article prescribes no blanket safe delivery duration or numerical holding limit.
| Checkpoint | Record before release |
|---|---|
| Production start | Approved recipe, supplier/batch references and final order version |
| Portioning | Accepted portion and actual packed count |
| Label check | Correct meal identification and relevant customer information |
| Dispatch | Ordered versus packed versus loaded meals |
| Handover | Time, recipient, accepted count and exceptions |
Include building delay in the process
Reaching an office gate is not the same as handing over a meal. Test security checks, lifts, parking, reception queues and the agreed recipient's availability. Agree who distributes meals after the delivery handover. If the required handling conditions cannot be maintained, redesign the route before taking recurring orders.
Keep exceptions traceable
Separate a missing order, wrong dish, leaking container, late arrival and food-safety concern in the incident record. They require different investigation and response. Do not let a customer reheating instruction substitute for an appropriate production and delivery system.
Reassess the arrangement when menu, packaging, vehicle, load size or stops change materially. Expansion should follow demonstrated control of the existing operation, not the cooker's theoretical maximum output or an encouraging number of enquiries.