There’s a fly in my soup   

This summer marked a momentous occasion for the restaurant industry in South Carolina.  For the first time ever, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control  (SCDHEC) adopted the current 2013 FDA Food Code model in its entirety.  That means stricter controls for food safety in this state and I say it is about time.  

No, I didn’t really find a fly in my soup, but I did find a hair in my eggs, the tip of a latex glove in my chili and an animal claw in my salad, all within the last year, right here in the golden corner of South Carolina.  So I am thankful to SCDHEC for mandating that beginning this summer, all restaurants must have a certified food safety manager in addition to a person in charge at all times, one who can demonstrate knowledge of food safety.      

As a graduate of a culinary college, a chef instructor, a certified food safety instructor as well as a restaurateur, my views of public dining experiences are a bit skewed.  The saying that ignorance is bliss is no doubt true.  Knowing as much as I do about restaurant kitchens, it is impossible for me to close my eyes and open my mouth to accept whatever fare is on the plate in front of me in whatever manner it is served.  Wish that I were ignorant!

Due to the hiatus from Beyond the Bull, while we continue our search for a new, permanent home, I have had some time on my hands away from our business, which has allowed my husband and I to participate in the dining scene around Clemson, Seneca and Anderson.  Dining out is not the most pleasant experience for me, to which I have already alluded, but never the less, I do it anyway to learn as much about the dining scene in the golden corner as I can, and especially to sample the menus of what might very well be our competition.

But, this is not about the kitchens.  This is about what we in the industry refer to as the front of the house---where guests are served in various styles, buffet, fast food counter, fast casual table side, table cloth fine dining, window or bar.  It is occupied by bartenders, servers, bussers, hosts, cashiers and sometimes an owner or chef who has occasion to leave the kitchen to meet and greet.  Unfortunately, most of what goes on in the front of the house is not subject to DHEC regulations or its food code.  It is a reflection of restaurant policy and the reason why I am writing today. 

One would hope that since kitchen management must now show knowledge of food safety in the kitchen, that the same management would show common sense in relating food safety concepts to the front of the house.  After all, the food does not go directly from the kitchen to our mouths.  It travels on uncovered plates, in cups and glassware, past children and grammas, farmers and lawyers who are sometimes covered in outerwear donned at home, guests walking in and out, sneezing, coughing and talking on phones, carried on trays or balanced at arm’s length. 

So what, you say?  I say this:

French fry snatched from a plate on its way to a guest

Lemon wedge dropped into a water glass

Ice scooped with bare hands

Ice scooped with a glass

A dessert pie openly displayed (uncovered) on a shelf beside the restroom door

Olives and cherries from the garnish tray that sits open upon the bar

Money and credit cards handled alongside the olives, twists and onions

Street clothes

Nose, tongue, ear piercings and necklaces

Long hair unrestrained

Personally, the most off putting--- facial hair, full bushy beard, mid chest length stopping just short of the plate of appetizer wings

Those of us who have taken the time to earn the food safety manager designation recognize these situations as potentially harmful to our customers.    It is NOT okay for you to serve me while wearing the same clothes you wore to walk your dog.  It is NOT okay for you to pick up a garnish with your bare hands and pop one into your mouth before placing one in my glass.  It is NOT okay for the dessert to sit out in a hallway exposed to guests who walk by.  It is NOT okay to handle credit cards and money before cutting a lemon and tossing it in my water.  It is NOT okay for you to stick your hands in the ice that you want me to consume.  It is NOT okay for you to wear jewelry that might fall from your body or continually push your hair off your face or behind your ears or play with your piercing in your nose.  And it is MOST DEFINITELY NOT okay for you to serve me while your beard hangs precariously over my food on its journey from the kitchen where they are required to wear beard covers.

If it is NOT okay for kitchen staff to do any of this, then why is it OK for servers, bussers, hosts and bartenders to do it? 

I think it is time for me to go back to my kitchen…

EAT SMART, and speak up, America!

Buon Appetito e Buona Salute, Chef AngelaB