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Before you start preparing a meal, it is important to make sure that you are cleaned and well dressed as well as making sure that your workspace is sterile, clear and large enough. The first step is to put on the right clothing, you should be wearing a clean long-sleeved shirt or jacket, a clean pair of long pants and closed shoes. This is to prevent stray knifes and hot items from causing injury. You must also remove any watches or wristbands as the warm enviroment underneath them can contain possibly harmful bacteria. You must also cover your hair with a hairnet to prevent any of your hairs from falling into the food. The final step of self-preparation is put on a clean apron that covers the entirety of your chest, stomach and upper legs.

Before you start collecting your equipment and ingredients, you should first clean your worksurfaces. Note that only surfaces that come into direct contact with food need to be cleaned with anti-bacterial cleaners. On other surfaces you can use a standard multi-purpose spray. You should also consider cleaning your floors with a mop and hot soapy water every few months to prevent you from slipping on possible liquid or sticky substances. Something else that is important to note that if you use a anti-bacterial spray you must first wipe down the surface with a damp cloth. It is not nessesary when using an anti-bacterial cleaner.

Knives can be very dangerous objects should they not be handled correctly, using them incorrectly can result in serious cut injuries. Before using a knife, test its sharpness by by running your thumb ACROSS the blade, not along because that will cut you. If it doesnt feel sharp enough it will need to be sharpened. This is because using a blunt knife will require you to apply more pressure which increases the chance of the knife slipping and cutting you. When using the knife, make sure the handle is clean and dry and grip the knife by the bolster, this will make the knife an extention of your arm and won't tire it out as quickly. Don't have your fingers too far down to avoid cutting your fingers on the blade. When cutting something, insert the tip into the item and then press down for an easier cut.

Whenever your carrying hot items, like pans from the oven or saucepans from the stovetop, it is nessesary to either wear ovenmits or hold onto the item with a dry thick cloth to prevent burn injuries. When working with others in the kitchen, you should warn others when carrying around hot items to avoid bumping into anyone and causing injury to others.

Raw meats are covered in invisible bacteria which can cause food poisoning in large enough concentrations. While bacteria can be destroyed by cooking the meat properly, they can be hard to keep track of when your preparing multiple different types of ingredients in one area. If you prepare an ingredient that is going to be served raw using equipment that had previously been used to prepare high-risk foods, that ingredient will have been contaminated by those peices of equipment.

To prevent this it is a good idea to colour code which colours of chopping boards are used for different types of food. The standard colouor scheme for most workplaces is green for vegetables, red for meat, yellow for poultry, blue for seafood/fish and white for cooked foods and dairy products. This will help remind you what foods have been prepared on each board in the kitchen so you avoid using the same board for multiple types of ingredients.