General Rules

Clear the kitchen floor before you begin cooking so that you won’t trip over things.

Make sure that you know where to turn off the electricity, gas and water supplies in an emergency.

Wear sensible clothing. Use an apron if you have one, and don't wear loose or baggy clothing that could touch the stove and catch fire, or dangle in the food.

Wash or put away equipment as soon as you are finished with it. Don't let the mess build up and cover all your work surfaces.

If you have little brothers or sisters make sure they cannot reach anything hot or sharp.

Ask an adult before you start cooking, and get one to help you use the oven and other hot / dangerous equipment.

Cooker, Oven and Hot Things Rules

Never leave a stove or grill that is switched on. If you have to go away, switch it off or get a sensible person to wait in the kitchen until you get back.

Don't lean over a stove when it is hot. You could slip and burn yourself.

Make sure that saucepan handles don't point over the edges of the hob or over hot surfaces where they could be knocked off or become very hot. Keep pot handles turned inward, out of the way and where they can't be pulled by little brothers or sisters.

Before you lift or move something hot, make sure that you have somewhere to put it down again. Have a clear, heat resistant surface ready to use BEFORE you move anything that is hot.

Keep things that can burn, melt or catch fire away from hot surfaces and stoves. Don't put towels, cardboard boxes, paper bags or plastic containers on top of a stove.

Kitchen Utensils Rules
(things you use in the kitchen)

Get things out when you need them and put things away again when you have finished with them.

Don't leave glass jars, knives or mixing bowls near the edges of surfaces where they could be knocked off.

Keep knives and other sharp utensils in a drawer or cupboard until you need them.

Use sharp knives that cut easily, and don't use blunt knives. Blunt knives have to be pushed harder and that is when they can slip and cut you.

Don't put dirty knives into the washing up with everything else. Keep them separate and wash them separately. A sharp knife hidden under other washing up can give you a nasty cut.

Never put you fingers or hands into an electric mixer bowl, blender, meat slicer or other electric utensil. If they jam or get stuck, switch off the power and get an adult to help you.

Check with an adult before you put anything into a Microwave oven. They are very good for cooking things, but as Mallory knows, if anything metal goes into one the whole oven can explode. Not nice!