In modern dining, few restaurants embody the harmony between culinary creativity, hygiene integrity, and environmental responsibility quite like LOWE. Under the leadership of Restaurant Manager Zachary Roy, LOWE has crafted a food safety culture that extends far beyond checklists and certifications — it’s a living philosophy practiced in every corner of the restaurant.

In this insightful conversation, Zachary reveals how hygiene at LOWE is not just a set of procedures but a shared mindset — from “clean as you go” practices and rigorous third-party audits to staff empowerment and open communication about food safety. He discusses the restaurant’s HACCP-based framework, immersive staff training programs, and supplier verification processes that ensure every ingredient meets uncompromising standards of quality and traceability.

What also stands out is LOWE’s conscious balance between hygiene excellence and sustainability — through plant-based cleaning agents, reduced single-use materials, and partnerships with local farmers and tech-driven traceability platforms like Seafood Souq.

This interview offers a behind-the-scenes look at how LOWE transforms everyday operations into a seamless model of safety, sustainability, and trust — from farm to flame to fork.

How does LOWE ensure that daily hygiene and sanitation standards are consistently maintained across all kitchen and service areas? 

At LOWE, hygiene is the non-negotiable foundation of our philosophy. We embed it into our culture through a clean as you go ethos, supported by systematic processes like meticulous cleaning schedules and strict temperature controls. 

Trust is verified through a visible master checklist with individual responsibilities for every team member, from pre-service to close, complemented by surprise spot-checks and regular third-party audits. This blend of cultural trust and pro-active, yet, rigorous verification ensures our standards are consistently met across all areas. 

It’s about not only keeping an individual area or process clean and safe but ensuring that everyone is actively helping every station or section at every step of the process and building a mentality that if everyone is looking out for everything, and each other, less, or even better yet, nothing will be missed or overlooked on a daily basis.

What food safety management systems or certifications (such as HACCP or ISO 22000) does LOWE follow to ensure compliance and continuous improvement?

Our food safety is built on the HACCP framework, tailored into practical daily protocols that we can actually measure and track from food delivery to restaurant service that we use as a backbone for our operations. 

We compliment our system with regular third-party audits. This provides objective validation and drives a continuous cycle of planning, doing, checking, and acting, ensuring we are not just compliant today, but improving for tomorrow.

It’s easy to have standard operating procedures and different systems in a folder in a desk that explains what we should be doing, it’s another thing for the team to have a deeper understanding as to why we need to do it and why we need to always keep on top of it. The best system to have in place is one that is fully understood so that it is followed correctly, which is why another key factor for continuous improvement is staff training because at the end of the day they are the ones that will be executing these systems and earning these certificates.

How are staff trained and monitored on hygiene practices such as handwashing, equipment sanitation, and temperature control during food handling?

Training is immersive and continuous, beginning with a comprehensive induction on food safety and hygiene at LOWE before they even touch an ingredient or start handling deliveries that helps explain not only the how, but the why behind every rule or procedure. This is true for everything from handwashing to chemical dilution to accountability on consistent temperature control monitoring.

Staff are the front line when it comes to food safety and hygiene so for us it makes sense that we invest time and training into them. Monitoring is done through real-time leadership oversight, digital and physical checklists, and a culture of peer accountability. 

The safest restaurant is also a restaurant where every team member is praised for raising or pointing out an issue, not punished. A place where, if a team member isn’t sure about a certain system or protocol, isn’t afraid to ask for help or extra training. This makes hygiene a collective responsibility, ensuring practices are consistently applied during the busiest services.

Can you describe the restaurant’s approach to managing allergens and preventing cross-contamination in the kitchen?

In the kitchen, we enforce strict physical controls like color-coded chopping boards, dedicated equipment for certain food items, and separate preparation zones. We have highly visible posters and signs that clearly state where things can be washed or prepared such as dedicated sinks and preparation areas to the point that even on a team member's first day, it’s crystal clear where specific food items can and cannot spend their time.

 For a guest with an allergy, we communicate it loudly and clearly. Protocol being to not only mention a guests allergy on the food docket but to also verbally let the chef know and to clearly get an acknowledgment back guaranteeing that from pan to plate, absolute safety and all procedures are followed.

 We are always updating our allergy matrix with any new food items or menus created. This document contains all allergens with a picture of the food item that we can share with not only all front of house staff, but also with our guests to show them that we have a deep understanding of all ingredients / allergens in our dishes that translates to safety in knowledge for our guests as we treat an allergen request not as an inconvenience, but as a critical priority. 

What sustainable cleaning and sanitation products or technologies does LOWE use to balance hygiene excellence with environmental responsibility?

At LOWE, we believe that true excellence in hygiene cannot come at the expense of the planet. Our approach is to use a curated selection of sustainable products that are powerfully effective and environmentally responsible.

We have strategically partnered with suppliers who provide biodegradable, plant-based cleaning agents certified by international ecological standards. These products break down safely after use without harming the ecosystem. We also prioritize concentrated solutions to minimize water waste in transport and use microfiber cloths with superior cleaning efficacy as opposed to anything single use to reduce product consumption. 

For us, this balance isn't a compromise, it's an essential part of our philosophy, ensuring that from the kitchen to the dining room, our practices celebrate both our guests' well-being and the health of our environment.

How does LOWE verify that suppliers maintain hygiene and safety standards consistent with the restaurant’s own practices?

We treat our supply chain as an extension of our kitchen so it’s safe to say we take it very seriously. Our verification is multi-layered in the sense that we require formal documentation and conduct audit site visits to key partners' farms and facilities and have this as ongoing throughout the entire length of the relationship together.

This hands-on approach allows us to assess their practices firsthand and build a more meaningful and deeper relationship with them based on shared values and mutual commitment. A certificate is great, but it also tells me they were compliant on the day, this doesn’t mean they were or will be on in the future, so consistently following up is key. We don't just take their word for it, we demand data, traceability records, and proof of their own internal controls.

Every delivery is also an audit point, with rigorous checks on temperature and packaging, ensuring their standards meet ours before any ingredient enters our restaurant. If it isn’t perfect entering our back door, it’s never seeing the restaurant front door.

What traceability systems are in place to track the origin, handling, and delivery conditions of ingredients from farm to plate?

Traceability is central to our ethos of locally sourced as much as possible promise. We use a hybrid system of a digital ledger and physical checks.

A great example of a digital ledger we use is Seafood Souq for all our seafood. They help us by providing a digital chain of custody from boat to dock. It logs things like origin, vessel, catch date or was it farmed, what was its handling like and its transportation journey to get to LOWE. Their platform works as a verification tool for us that helps us monitor all key aspects or traceability which is data to us that is absolutely crucial.

But technology alone isn't enough. Deliveries are also physically verified by our team upon delivery, who checks for the quality markers that no system can fully capture such as delivery condition upon arrival or any visible issues. All of this is written down and kept as a reference to continually monitor our suppliers track records.

This synergy between platforms like Seafood Souq and our own rigorous standards ensures that the story of every ingredient on our menu is one we can stand behind with complete confidence. It allows us to understand the provenance and journey of every component on our guests' plates, which is central to our quality promise.

How does the restaurant assess and maintain the hygiene of transport and storage during the supply chain process, especially for perishable goods?

Our vigilance begins the moment an order is placed. We mandate that suppliers use certified, temperature controlled vehicles with data loggers, providing a digital footprint of the entire journey. This cold chain integrity is the lifeline of our perishable goods quality and safety.

The critical checkpoint is at our receiving bay, where every delivery undergoes a strict three-point inspection including temperature check, packaging integrity / damage, and documentation. 

Our receiving team, trained in those specific inspection protocols, checks the product temperature directly with a probe thermometer. Any delivery outside the specified temperature range is rejected immediately, no exceptions as to protect our kitchen's integrity and inevitably protecting our guests.

In what ways does LOWE collaborate with local farmers and producers to ensure safe, hygienic, and sustainable sourcing practices?

Our collaboration with local farmers and producers is sincere and hands-on. We aren’t just buying from them, we’re investing in the relationship that is built on shared values.

This involves our chefs visiting the farms and facilities regularly. We provide feedback on the goods we receive and give constructive reviews / feedback on what we see entering the restaurant and the shelf life once received. By building these direct and transparent relationships, we shorten the supply chain, which inherently reduces risk and ensures we receive the freshest, safest product possible while supporting the local ecosystem.

For sustainability, our dialogue starts at the source, we plan menus around their most abundant, seasonal quality produce, which reduces food miles and waste. We've even established integrated systems, like composting our organic waste, closing the loop in a way that benefits the soil and our environmental footprint. This integrated approach ensures that the integrity of the ingredient is protected every step of the way, from their soil to our fire.

How has the restaurant adapted its supply chain hygiene protocols post-pandemic to strengthen resilience and safety?

The pandemic was a harsh reminder of the need for resilient systems and a proactive supply chain model instead of a reactive one. We strengthened resilience through deepening our investment in digital traceability technology, and strategically diversifying our local supplier base. 

Our partnerships with platforms like Seafood Souq became even more critical, providing digital, verifiable records of the chain of custody and handling conditions. This data allows us to make faster, more informed decisions and hold every link in the chain accountable.

We strategically diversified our local supplier base to avoid single points of failure. This isn't just about having backups, it's about building a better network where we can pivot seamlessly without compromising our standards. 

Ultimately, these adaptations have transformed our supply chain from a small logistics function into a core component of our operations, making it safer, more transparent, and  better than ever before.