2 ways to run in-house defrosting training
Liam Jones
Founder of Pilla
Date Modified
14 July 2026
The workflows at a glance
- #1 - The training agenda. A checklist of the defrosting points to cover, plus a field for who was trained.
- #2 - With a group photo. The same agenda, plus a group photo of the session kept on the training record as evidence.
Article Content
#1 - The training agenda
Who it's for: Managers who know defrosting well and want to walk staff through the basics in a quick session, with a record it happened.
What it is: In-house defrosting training is a short session a manager delivers to staff. This version is the agenda for that session: a checklist of the points to cover, defrosting in the fridge overnight, planning ahead and allowing time, keeping food covered during thaw, and never refreezing thawed food, plus a field for the names of everyone trained.
In practice: A head chef gathers two new commis before service, runs through how to plan a defrost in the fridge and why thawed food never goes back in the freezer, and types in who attended. Fifteen minutes, and a dated record the team was trained.
Why it works: The agenda sits on the canvas, so the session covers the same ground every time, whoever runs it. Capturing the names in the same step means one record covers the session, whether you train one person or the whole section.
Steps included:
- 1 checklist (4 defrosting points to cover)
- 1 field for who was trained (names)
#2 - With a group photo
Who it's for: Operations that want a photo on the training record as proof the session actually happened, not just a name typed in a box.
What it is: The training agenda plus a group photo of the staff who were trained, kept on the record alongside the names. A quick snap at the end of the session, and the record carries a picture of who was there.
In practice: The manager finishes running through the points, gathers the staff for a quick photo, and saves. The training record now has the agenda, the names, and a photo of the group, one tap to produce if an auditor ever asks who was trained and when.
What it adds to the training agenda:
- A group photo as proof the session ran, harder to dispute than a typed name
- A visual record kept next to the names, in the same session
- Something concrete to show an EHO or auditor beyond a text log
Why it works: A photo of the group is quick to take and hard to fake, so the record carries proof the training happened, not just a note that it did.
Steps included:
- 1 checklist (4 defrosting points to cover)
- 1 field for who was trained (names)
- 1 group photo of the session
How to pick the right version
You don't need to know our product to choose. Both versions are the same training agenda; the second just keeps a photo on the record too.
Do you just need a record the session ran?
If a dated agenda with the names of who attended is enough, #1 is all you need. It covers the same ground every session and gives you a record it happened.
Do you want photo proof on the record?
If you want a picture of the group alongside the names, so the record shows who was trained, #2 adds a group photo of the session.
Related workflows
Conclusion
In-house defrosting training turns the essentials (planning ahead, allowing time, keeping food covered, and never refreezing) into a short repeatable session with a record it happened. The first version logs the agenda and who attended; the second keeps a group photo of the session on the record as evidence.