While a load is going in the Hobart I’m working on the next load of dishes by hand. I also do all the biggest stuff first so it’s out of the way

My most important rule of thumb is that the Hobart is a commercial grade dishwasher and sanitizer. It can do a load of dishes in under two minutes. All you have to do is remove (and rinse off) the excess grime, prior to use. It will do the rest.

So you can work on one load of dishes by hand, while the Hobart works on the second load. Or focus on another task and basically “sequence” trays full of dishes in the background.

One of the biggest mistakes I see new(er) baristas make is washing dishes in the three-compartment sink, then *also* washing the same load in the Hobart. Basically, doubling the workload.

Also, never let dishes collect. Even if it’s one or two items at a time, every time you step to the back, throw something in the Hobart to wash.

What I do is fill the first sink with soap water, clog it with a rag if you don’t have a stopper. Let them soak if they’re grimy rinse them off and throw them in the Hobart.
For the stands blast them with hot water until the sugar is melted off and rinse with the sanitizer hose.
The mastrena pieces need to be scrubbed in the corners so that should be scrubbed then thrown in the Hobart to sanitize.

We do most of ours by hand, some people never use the Hobart. I use it as a supplement. I fill both sinks up, rinse stuff and toss it in the soap sink. Once it’s full I wash/scrub, rinse and toss it in the sani sink. Once I’m though with those, I go back to throwing stuff in the wash sink again and then transfer the sani stuff to the drying rack and then start washing again, keeping that pattern. As stuff dries, I put it away to make more room. Cubes, whip canisters, steaming pitchers and utensils like tongs and whisks go in the Hobart after being scrubbed (if necessary). That helps free up a lot of space and keeps things moving.

The other trick is not to wait until the end to wash everything. We try to pop back and wash a few things whenever we get a chance. There’s nothing worse than a mountain of dishes at the end of the day. It’s mentally overwhelming and winds up taking longer because you’re sorting through stuff trying not to knock shit over and make space. If I can, I’ll run back for 5 minutes and get something going in the Hobart which at least clears the space a little and has something going while I run back out front to keep doing other stuff.

Let Hobart do the heavy lifting

I always start taking the small wares half an hour before closing and I'll take the soy blender and one cold foam blender or what ever you call it and so on. Basically I just start breaking down slowly until I have almost nothing to wash when I have to.

I bleach everything so I don’t have to scrub so hard. Hot soapy water, dip the clear plastics and stained coffee baskets, coat all surfaces with bleach. Meanwhile, scrub down everything else and chuck it in the rinse sink, rinse as much soap off my dishes, and either chuck them in the 3rd compartment to soak in sani, or tray them for the Hobart. While the first load is in the Hobart, I quick scrub my bleached items/rinse them and by the time that’s done, my first load should be done. Load and start my second tray in the Hobart, put my sani soaked items on the first tray to air dry with the other Hobart stuff, and then pop off to clean other stuff. :)