COVID-19 Sanitary Policies

Community is central to everything that Wheelhouse stands for. Bringing people together through local food is our mission. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has changed our industry. We are committed to making sure every guest who attends our events feels safe, secure, and confident — in the preparation and service of our food,  and also in our attention to health and safety.
Here are our COVID-19 Work Place and Food Safety Policies:

Our sanitation and safety policies are based off recommendations from the following sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
World Central Kitchen

Staff Cleanliness
Policies

All Wheelhouse event staff will take extreme precautions in handling food and interacting with guests. These precautions and measures will include:

  • Frequent hand-washing per the CDC guidelines, with warm water and soap.

  • Following CDC and local board of health guidelines for using gloves and face coverings during food preparation and service.

  • Dedicating special attention to avoiding hand contact to the eyes, face, and mouth.

  • following social-distancing to ensure that we are fastidious in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Currently these measures include:

    • Limiting not more than three Wheelhouse team members at a time to be present at our kitchen space.

    • When circumstances require more than one team member to work in close proximity to each other, a 6 foot distance will be maintained between the individuals working at all times.

  • Any staff member who displays symptoms of illness will be granted paid sick leave.

Kitchen/Venue Cleanliness Policies

The cleanliness of our kitchen space has always been of the utmost importance to us. We are fortunate to be working in our newly renovated kitchen space — and we are committed to stringently following sanitary policies to ensure the safety of our staff and clients.

We will follow the FDA safe food handling policies:

  • Wash, rinse, and sanitize food contact surfaces, dishware, utensils, food preparation surfaces, and cooking equipment after use.

  • Disinfect surfaces frequently touched by employees such as door knobs, equipment handles, light switches, etc.

  • Frequently clean and disinfect floors, counters, and other facility access areas using EPA-registered disinfectants.

  • Prepare and use sanitizers according to label instructions.  

  • Ensure that our dishwashers are operating at the required wash and rinse temperatures and with the appropriate detergents and sanitizers.

We will follow the World Central Kitchen COVID-19 Health and Saftey guidelines:

  • All employees will wear the face coverings, gloves, and clean aprons while preparing food.

  • Food preparation stations will be set up more than 6 feet apart.

  • We will change gloves when switching tasks, handling different foods, and after touching any contaminated objects such as cell phones, clothing, cardboard, etc.

Per CDC guidelines, we will educate our employees on correct cleaning practices and sanitation policies.

Per Massachusetts Restaurant Associations best practices, we will provide food safety training for our kitchen staff.

Event Cleanliness Policies

All of the above policies will be implemented stringently at each and every one of our events. All sanitary, handwashing, and social distancing policies will be our top priority when it comes to event safety.

Though our current event season has been pushed back into summer -- and we very much hope that the threat of COVID-19 will have waned by that point -- we will post updates to these policies as we gain more information on the virus and how it will affect events. 

If you have questions or concerns about any of the above, we urge you to contact us info@wheelhousefarm.com. We are nothing if not committed to ensuring your safety as well as that of our team.