Cooking and reheating temperature log for a restaurant: the Food Code temperatures, where to probe, and a log to print

Cooking is the step that makes raw chicken, ground beef and eggs safe, and it's the step where a guess ("it looks done") does the most damage. A probe thermometer and a line on a log take ten seconds. They also give you the record an inspector asks about when they see a chicken special on the menu.

This post gives you the Food Code's cooking and reheating temperatures in two tables, how to take a reading that counts, a log to print, corrective actions, and a card to tape above the line.

General information. Your state or local health department enforces its own edition of the Food Code, and its numbers can differ. Section numbers and figures below are from the FDA Food Code 2026.

Cooking temperatures

The Food Code requires raw animal foods to be cooked "to heat all parts of the FOOD to a temperature and for a time" that matches the food (§3-401.11(A)).

Two exceptions to know: a whole-muscle, intact beef steak may be served rare if it's seared on top and bottom to 145°F with a color change all over the outside (§3-401.11(C)), and other raw or undercooked animal food can be served on a guest's request with a consumer advisory (§3-401.11(D)). Our consumer advisory templates cover the wording.

Roasts also have oven rules: an oven preheated and held at a minimum temperature by roast weight and oven type (for a still dry oven, 350°F for a roast under 10 pounds, 250°F for 10 pounds or more) (§3-401.11(B)(2)). If you cook roasts, copy the full chart from the Food Code onto your roast card.

Reheating temperatures

The 2-hour limit catches the most kitchens: a big pot of yesterday's soup set on a low burner may take longer than 2 hours to get from the walk-in to 165°F. Reheat in smaller batches, on high heat, then move it to the hot well. Hot holding afterwards is at 135°F or above; see our hot-holding and cooling guide.

Taking a reading that counts

• A thermometer at every cooking station. Food temperature measuring devices must be "provided and readily accessible" (§4-302.12(A)), and for thin foods such as burgers and fish fillets you need one "with a suitable small-diameter probe that is designed to measure the temperature of thin masses" (§4-302.12(B)).
• Accurate to ±2°F for a Fahrenheit-only thermometer (§4-203.11(B)), and calibrated per the manufacturer (§4-502.11(B)). Our thermometer calibration post has the ice-point check and a log.
• Probe the part most likely to be coolest: usually the center of the thickest piece, away from bone and the pan. For a batch, check more than one piece.
• Hold it until the reading settles, and for foods with a time (15 or 17 seconds), keep the food at or above the temperature for that long.
• Clean and sanitize the probe before and after each use, and always between raw and cooked food. Equipment must be cleaned "Before using or storing a FOOD TEMPERATURE MEASURING DEVICE" (§4-602.11(A)(4)).

The cooking and reheating log

One sheet per station per day. You don't need to log every burger; log the items your procedure names (batches, specials, poultry, anything reheated for holding), and spot-check the rest.

[Café / restaurant name] — Cooking and reheating log · [station]

Date: [date] · Thermometer: [ID, last calibrated: date]

Manager review at close: ………………………… Time: ……………

Corrective actions

Write these on the back of the log, so the cook doesn't have to decide on the spot.

The station card

Tape this above the line.

Cook to (in the thickest part):

• 165°F · poultry, anything stuffed, microwave-cooked raw animal food (then stand 2 minutes)
• 155°F for 17 seconds · burgers, ground meat, sausage, tenderized or cubed meat, eggs for the buffet
• 145°F for 15 seconds · fish, steaks, chops, eggs to order
• 135°F · vegetables for the hot well

Reheat for the hot well: 165°F within 2 hours from the cooler. Then hold at 135°F or above.

Probe clean, sanitized, calibrated. Short? Keep cooking and probe again.

Your cooking temperature checklist

• [ ] A probe thermometer at every cooking station, plus a thin-probe one for burgers and fish
• [ ] Thermometers calibrated and logged
• [ ] Station card above the line
• [ ] Log for batches, specials, poultry and every reheat for holding
• [ ] Corrective actions on the back of the log
• [ ] Reheat in batches small enough to reach 165°F within 2 hours
• [ ] Consumer advisory on the menu for anything served undercooked on request

Where Mays fits

• The log as a form. Build a Cook and reheat log form under Tasks → Types: a Single choice field for the item, a Temperature field with a pass range for the reading, a Date / time field (Time only), and a Text field for corrective action. Because a pass range belongs to one field, give each temperature rule its own field (Poultry 165°F, with a pass range of 165 to 212, for example) or its own form, so a short reading shows Out of range as it's entered. Every submission lands in Tasks → Data with Export CSV. See Building custom forms and Task Data.
• An alert on a short reading. Under Insights → Alerts & Reports, a Task Form Field Threshold alert on the poultry field, At or below 164, notifies the people you pick every time someone logs one. See Alerts and scheduled reports.
• On the line check. Add the form to the station's daily checklist as a Custom form task. A plain Number answer on a checklist doesn't check the value against a range, so if you use one, put the target in the task's name (Chicken special final temp, 165°F or more). See Task answer types and Creating a checklist template.
• The chart on every phone. Put the station card and the roast chart in a Knowledge Base folder shared with the kitchen. See Your knowledge base.

What Mays doesn't do: a field's pass range is fixed, so it can't change with the item picked in the same form, and formulas work with numbers, not clock times, so the form can't work out the 2-hour reheat deadline for you. Mays doesn't connect to probe thermometers; the wireless sensors it supports log fridges and freezers.

Probe it, log it, keep cooking if it's short

Know the five numbers, probe the thickest part with a calibrated thermometer, write down the reading, and reheat fast enough to beat the 2-hour clock. The log takes seconds; a sick guest takes much longer to forget.

Start your free trial: 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or book a walkthrough and we'll build your cook log and alert with you.