--- title: "Sandwich Prep & Production Checklist" canonical: "https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/sandwich-prep-production-checklist/" --- > Source: https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/sandwich-prep-production-checklist/ [Checklists](/checklists/) / [Sandwich Shop & Deli](/checklists/sandwiches-delis/) / Time-of-Day Production & Grab-and-Go # Sandwich Shop & Deli Prep, Day-Part Production & Grab-and-Go Checklist In a Sandwich Shop & Deli, prep to the next two hours, not to fill the case at open: **times of day, a par level per filling, and a held-back share of every batch**. These 9 checks cover production planning, the grab-and-go case, cooling of in-house cooked components and the near-date recovery ladder. Across 114 restaurant sites in 12 countries, kitchens that attacked food waste cut it 26% on average in the first year and returned an average $7 for every $1 invested - this checklist is the daily version of that programme. [Run this checklist - free](/run/sandwiches-delis/?list=production) [Download PDF](/checklists/pdf/peakscale-sandwiches-delis-checklists.pdf)[Download Excel](/checklists/excel/peakscale-sandwiches-delis-checklists.xlsx) The checklist · 9 checks ### Build to the next two hours **1\. Split the day into dayparts and prep each filling for the next two hours of demand** Making too much is waste you already paid full price for. Restaurants that worked on cutting kitchen waste cut it by 26% on average in the first year. **2\. Hold back an agreed share of every batch for the next part of the day** The batch you make at 9am to fill the case is the batch you bin at 4pm. **3\. Set a stock target (par) for each filling at each part of the day, and prep to that target, not to the size of the pan** A stock target (par) is what stops a bestseller selling out at 12:15 while a slow filling sits until close. ### Keep the case selling **4\. Refill the grab-and-go case and turn everything forward at every part of the day** Stock left in the back fridge cannot rotate or sell. Refilling it at each part of the day keeps your counted stock matching your actual stock. **5\. Combine stock and turn it forward as it sells down, with the oldest date at the front** Keeps the case readable at a glance and makes the oldest pack the easiest one to pick up. **6\. Check the temperature of the grab-and-go case at every part of the day, not just at open** Display case temperatures can rise during the day. Nearly a third of pre-packed sandwiches checked at retail sat above 5°C (41°F). ### Get value back before you throw it away **7\. Work through your near-date steps in order: cut the price (markdown) → staff meal or donation → throw away** Throwing food away should be the last resort, never the first choice. Every step before that gets back cash you already spent. **8\. Log unsold items by filling and by part of the day, with a reason code** Unsold counted by filling is the only number that changes tomorrow's prep sheet. **9\. Keep cooked ingredients (chicken, bacon, roast veg, eggs) on their own cooling and holding schedule** Cooling is the second-biggest temperature mistake in delis. A slow-cooled chicken becomes tomorrow's discard, or worse. ## Frequently asked questions **How do you cut sandwich waste without running out at lunch?** Split the day into times of day, set a par level per filling per time of day, and hold back an agreed share of every batch for later rather than filling the case at open. Champions 12.3 found that across 114 restaurant sites in 12 countries, sites cut kitchen food waste by 26% on average within the first year, every $1 invested returned an average $7, and 75% recouped the investment inside one year. The number that drives it is unsold logged by filling and by time of day - without that, tomorrow's prep sheet is a guess. **How often should a grab-and-go sandwich case be temperature-checked?** At every time of day, not only at open. In an FSAI survey of 780 pre-packaged sandwiches at retail, 71% were stored at 5°C (41°F) or below but 29% were above it, 11% were above 8°C (46°F), and one was on display at ambient 17.9°C (64°F). The same survey found 1.4% of sandwiches already past their use-by date at the point of collection, which is why the date re-check runs on the same time-of-day clock as the probe. **What is a realistic waste or shrink target for a deli counter?** Set it from your own logged number, because no published benchmark exists for this format. ReFED reports the US retail sector generated 4.45 million tons of surplus food in 2023 worth $28.7 billion, and that 51.6% of retail food waste (1.34 million tons) went to landfill, but it does not break out deli or prepared foods. A widely circulated trade article uses 14% deli shrink and roughly $74,000 of annual loss as an illustrative example - it is not a measured industry average and should not be quoted as one. Log unsold by filling for four weeks, then set a target below what you find; this pack ships with a 4% default. ## More Sandwich Shop & Deli checklists [Goods-In & Receiving](/checklists/sandwich-shop-receiving-checklist/)[Opening & Cold Line Set-Up](/checklists/sandwich-shop-opening-checklist/)[Slicer, Boards & Cross-Contact](/checklists/deli-slicer-cleaning-checklist/)[Date Marking, Rotation & Shelf Life](/checklists/deli-date-marking-checklist/)[Closing, Waste & Overnight Cold Chain](/checklists/sandwich-shop-closing-checklist/)[Weekly Checks](/checklists/sandwich-shop-weekly-checklist/) One free app has all of them: [open the Sandwich Shop & Deli Checklists app](/run/sandwiches-delis/) - offline, no account, add it to your home screen. ## Sources Every statistic on this page comes from public inspection and food-safety data: - [FDA Retail Delis 2015–2016](https://www.fda.gov/media/148247/download?attachment) - [CDC EHS-Net, Retail Delis practice summaries](https://www.cdc.gov/restaurant-food-safety/php/practices/retail-delis.html) - [CIDRAP report on FDA risk factor study](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/foodborne-disease/disease-hazards-common-food-operations-fda-says) - [FDA Trend Analysis Report](https://www.fda.gov/media/157225/download) - [FDA Food Code 3-501.17, Date Marking](https://www.fda.gov/media/127796/download) - [CDC MMWR, Retail Deli Slicer Cleaning Frequency](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6512a2.htm) - [FDA/FSIS Comparative Risk Assessment, Lm in RTE Deli Meats](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2020-07/Comparative_RA_Lm_Exec_Summ_May2010.pdf) - [FSAI, Microbiological Safety of Pre-Packaged Sandwiches](https://www.fsai.ie/getmedia/efcf5ec9-2b81-45dc-835c-7a28a2887f16/prepackaged_sandwiches.aspx?ext=.pdf) - [Champions 12.3, The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Restaurants](https://champions123.org/publication/business-case-reducing-food-loss-and-waste-restaurants) - [ReFED Fact Sheet: Food Waste by Sector - Retail](https://refed.org/uploads/by-sector-retail.pdf) - [Harrison, Peters & Fielding, J Appl Microbiol 2000](https://agris.fao.org/search/en/records/65dfa7130f3e94b9e5daeb5e) - [Purdue University release on Simmons/Oliver retail deli Listeria studies](https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/archive/releases/2015/Q1/study-listeria-pathogen-is-prevalent,-persistent-in-retail-delis.html) - [Chilled Food Association, The 10 Day Rule for Shelf Life](https://www.chilledfood.org/the-10-day-rule-for-shelf-life/) - [CDC Vital Signs: Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks](https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/norovirus/) - [Hong Kong CFS, Microbiological Quality of Higher Risk Buns and Sandwiches](https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fm_01_18.html) - [EFSA/ECDC EU One Health 2024 Zoonoses Report](https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/plain-language-summary/european-union-one-health-2024-zoonoses-report) - [Bartsch et al., Public Health Reports 2018, via Johns Hopkins BSPH](https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/a-foodborne-illness-outbreak-could-cost-a-restaurant-millions-study-suggests) - [IGA, 4 Ways To Reduce Deli Shrink](https://www.iga.com/insights/4-ways-to-reduce-deli-shrink)