My DD works at a local Dairy Queen, and is requested to close as often as possible. Everyone knows, if she's closing, they have nothing to worry about the next day. Everything will be spotless and shining - even the commodes!
I just wish she'd clean like that at home...
Whyyyyy, oh why did I read this whole thread?!
But I am glad I did. I do wash berries that I intend to eat immediately. I do not wash them if I am going to bake with them. Mushrooms get hard & rubbery and absorb water if you wash them, you should only use a moist towel to dust off any dirt you see as you would the berries.
i'm a germaphobic too, i wash everything, & we don't wear shoes in our home, since our floors are all scrubbed clean yada yada yada...
i wash everything, god knows how many times i wash my hands alone in a day (DH always makes fun of this).
anyways, the reason i'm quoting is, i wash my mushrooms all the time, & they never turned rubbery. i've used button, enoki, oyster, eryngi mushrooms for cooking, all of them were washed prior to cooking, they were fine as ever.
and i can't stop gagging rewinding the story above where the donut dough fell on the floor where the baker stepped on the doggie poo... super yucks!!!!!
Having worked in a restaurant for quite a few years (which turned me into the germ-a-phobe BTW). Unwashed fruit and tasting with the finger is nothing compared to some of the stuff I have seen! Let's just say NEVER EVER send your food back to the kitchen...NEVER! Better to starve and get it taken off your bill...did I say NEVER! NEVER!
That being said...I would find some where else to work. You are there to learn and get experience right? So don't learn from some one who can't even grasp the common sense of washing fruit. I think it will be a waste of your time.
Totally off topic here... but wanted to share something on this... My friend's aunt recently went to a Big Name Chain Restaurant... ordered fetuccini, thought it tasted funny, sent it back. Got the new plate, still tasted funny, and just had it packaged up thinking maybe it was just her... She brought it home and threw it in the freezer... Few weeks later, she starts developing sores in her mouth. Goes to Dr. and confirms that she has an oral STD (I'm sorry I can't remember which, the story grossed me out when I was told)
So... blah blah... they finally test the food she had waiting in her freezer.... IT TESTS POSITIVE FOR 4 DIFFERENT SEMEN "SAMPLES"
eeeewwwwww!!
She's currently suing them (and let me state, this woman is in her late 60's, I doubt she picked up the std in a "normal" way)
Funny thing, I was a waitress for almost 10 yrs, and can honestly say I never saw anything like this first hand.
Having worked in a restaurant for quite a few years (which turned me into the germ-a-phobe BTW). Unwashed fruit and tasting with the finger is nothing compared to some of the stuff I have seen! Let's just say NEVER EVER send your food back to the kitchen...NEVER! Better to starve and get it taken off your bill...did I say NEVER! NEVER!
That being said...I would find some where else to work. You are there to learn and get experience right? So don't learn from some one who can't even grasp the common sense of washing fruit. I think it will be a waste of your time.
Totally off topic here... but wanted to share something on this... My friend's aunt recently went to a Big Name Chain Restaurant... ordered fetuccini, thought it tasted funny, sent it back. Got the new plate, still tasted funny, and just had it packaged up thinking maybe it was just her... She brought it home and threw it in the freezer... Few weeks later, she starts developing sores in her mouth. Goes to Dr. and confirms that she has an oral STD (I'm sorry I can't remember which, the story grossed me out when I was told)
So... blah blah... they finally test the food she had waiting in her freezer.... IT TESTS POSITIVE FOR 4 DIFFERENT SEMEN "SAMPLES"
eeeewwwwww!!
She's currently suing them (and let me state, this woman is in her late 60's, I doubt she picked up the std in a "normal" way)
Funny thing, I was a waitress for almost 10 yrs, and can honestly say I never saw anything like this first hand.
This one takes the cake...I really am speachless thinking of the possiblities...hoo boy!
The semen/fettucini story is the first one listed under the contaminated food urban myths at snopes.com.
The semen/fettucini story is the first one listed under the contaminated food urban myths at snopes.com.
Then either my friend lied to me or it's an incredible coincidence... 
It's too coincidental, the details are all the same. Are you sure she said it was her aunt? Usually when someone has a story like that it's someone that a friend of a friend knows.
No.. it was his Aunt Cheryl... I'll bring it up again and see if his story changes...
Ok it's official, I am NEVER eating out again!! 
foxymomma--I had a friend who told all kinds of funny and interesting stories about himself and his college friends, and when we met his friends from college at his wedding we all discovered that he'd been telling them funny stories about all of us, too. However, none of the stories were true...All of them had a grain of truth to them but were totally "embellished" to make himself look cooler (much) than he really was.
It was pretty funny that we all busted him on the day he got married, though. By the end of the night we were all really pissed off with him for being such a liar!
LOL... Don't ya wonder what some people are thinking? Thanks- that makes me feel better!
I don't know about that story, it does sound a bit extreme to be true. A bit like the urban legends about (it always seems to be Chinese) take-out places putting rat into the dishes. Hmm, because rat is so much easier to get hold of than chicken from the wholesaler..?
I do know for a fact - because I've seen her do it 
- my friend's mother always takes home a little piece of whatever she eats when she's out, so if she gets sick she can give it to the doctors to have it analysed. To my knowledge she never has, but I think if you're that worried, better to eat at home.
I don't know about that story, it does sound a bit extreme to be true. A bit like the urban legends about (it always seems to be Chinese) take-out places putting rat into the dishes. Hmm, because rat is so much easier to get hold of than chicken from the wholesaler..?
I do know for a fact - because I've seen her do it
- my friend's mother always takes home a little piece of whatever she eats when she's out, so if she gets sick she can give it to the doctors to have it analysed. To my knowledge she never has, but I think if you're that worried, better to eat at home.
Ha ha! Actually, one of the Chinese food places in our town was shut down late last year because they were caught butchering a deer in their kitchen... One of the employees hit it with their car, and rather than let it go to waste, thought it was a good idea to use it for food That one I KNOW is true 'cause I read about it in the paper... eww.
Mushrooms get hard & rubbery and absorb water if you wash them, you should only use a moist towel to dust off any dirt you see as you would the berries.
I saw an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown disproved this theory with an experiment. It was fascinating... I love how creative that show is... 
So, wash them if you want, I do... especially knowing what they grow in. 
Stories like these (truth or embellishments) are the reason I will not let anyone I don't know well prepare my food.
I know I take a gamble at Starbucks, but they are so well trained, polite and you can see what they do right in front of you... AND when I have eaten at a resturant, I'm careful not to be rude to the staff. 
You've also got to put it out of your mind to a certain degree... or you'll go insane. 
Most people aren't that disgusting... or atleast that's what I tell myself...
Ive read about 4pages of this forum & I feeling ill at the very thought of all the other stories Ive NOT read!
And here Ive JUST completed a very basic Safety & Food Handlers test in Melbourne and was JUST saying WHY isnt there somes sort of set up where everyone in the food industry should HAVE to go thru a refresher course/license every so often to REMEMBER all the stuff they SHOULD already be practicing in their business!
AND WHATs with the CHEF's Revenge stuff? Like Road Rage ..Food Rage!! Thats just ppl taking it all way too personally & being vindictive cos their pride was bruised! MAN!!! Makes u wonder how much better this world would be if we could just all get along with one another.
I think I'll eat at home
P.S. My cousin died from complications with his heart after he'd gotten food poisoning from a chinese restaurant so it irks me when I see ppl in the shopping centres food handlers /workers coming straight out of the public toilets NOT WASHING their hands!! I SEE it ALL THE TIME! Makes you wonder about all sorts of questionable person hygene situations!
Dirty discusting ppl!! WASH YOUR HANDS after the LOO visit PLS!!!!!!! Errrghhh! 
Dirty discusting ppl!! WASH YOUR HANDS after the LOO visit PLS!!!!!!! Errrghhh!
AND they shouldn't handle the faucets, doornobs or ANYTHING in there once they've washed them... it disgusts me when I see someone who's just washed vigorously then reach with barehands and touch a fifthy faucet and door. Just USE a paper towel...
I don't touch them because think of all the people who first handle the faucets with dirty hands, or the "just rinsers". This isn't being "unreasonable", this is me not wanting to contract E-coli and the like. (something like 6,000 "bugs" per square inch). This is how these types of bacteria find their way to the kitchen, cellphones, etc... no wonder we are so germaphobic these days.
I was just watching a fun, poplular Chef contest and you'll see them touching their face, nose, hair, licking fingers (no seen hand washing after). Is this standard practice in a resturant? I realize this is "TV", but aren't they cooking for the judges? Do these things just slide?
My daughter is a waitress, who started out working at McDonald's. I heard this from her so many times --- the nicer the establishment seems, the worse the sanitation - and the more lax they are on the rules. She almost quit where she currently works after watching a chef drop a steak on the floor - pick it up and throw it on the grill. She says McDonald's is the cleanest and most sticklers for the rules. Crazy, huh?
LOL - forgot about that baby ticker -- I have a 1 year old, and a 20 year old! That's crazy, too, huh?!
As someone who has a medically suppressed immune system, I find I always have 'diners remorse' after eating out in a restaurant. The next day I will get gastrointestinal symptoms like gas or the runs. The only place that does NOT make me sick afterwards is McDonalds, for the standards of hygeine are uniformly excellent. Hence, whenever we travel long distances, McDs is our food stop of choice!
My pet peeve, however, is seeing both kitchen and wait staff use toilet facilities whilst wearing their aprons. In particular I have noticed this in big shopping malls where staff need to use public restrooms. I can't tell you how many times I have seen employees of one cafe use the toilet, pass their hands under the running cold water and wipe their hands on their aprons before walking out. EWWWWWWW!!!!
Off topic but similar, how do you tell a good friend to wash their hands?!! I go out with my friend at least once a week and she goes to the bathroom a lot, bladder like a pea, and not once has ever washed her hands! We even went on vacation together and I never once saw her wash her hands! Then she will eat right after! Ewwwwwwwwwww! I have even tried dropping hints like, eww this bathroom is so gross, I don't want to touch anything, but no luck!
Maybe you could carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer and offer her some. If she says "no, thanks," you could say "but you just used the bathroom, don't you want to use this since you DIDN'T WASH YOUR HANDS???"
I had a friend like that and I just joked and said-thats really not good for you,stop being a lazy girl and wash your hands!..It worked that one time but she was sheepish about it atleast. Not to say that the habit will stick, oh Lord..the basics that people get wrong!
I have a hook outside the restroom door at my bakery where we hang our aprons when we use the toilet!!!! Using the toilet while wearing one's apron is just not right! Urk.
How in the world can folks NOT wash their hands after using the toilet? How were they raised?
I worked at a VERY prominent local bakery a few years ago - my time there was short, to say the least! These are just a few of the things that I saw and I was convinced of the disgusting nature of bakeries...
All cake was baked and then immediately put into the freezer. The gross part is that because of this - anytime they dropped a cake onto the floor that only gets cleaned every other week they would pick it right up and use it. I never ate anything from this bakery while I was there.
No one used gloves unless it was because they didn't want to get their hands dirty - this made them thing they didn't have to wash their hands!
They stored ALL their buckets of fillings & icings on the floor with lids on half way. If you lifted a lid of a fruit filling - 100's of fruit flies (I'm not exaggerating) would fly out of the bucket. This didn't make them get a new one - they used it and put the lid right back on.
They had a lot of illegal workers at this bakery because the labor was so cheap. The floor got scraped once a week & mopped every other week and they did a horrendous job at the cleaning they did do.
When making icing - they would scoop the icing out of the mixing bowl and into buckets with their hands & arms. The workers has black hairy arms and yes, I did find little black hairs in the icing!
When filling cake pans - the workers would take their bare hands and fill the pans with cake batter. For marble cake - they would swirl the icing with the fingers.
Whoopie Pies are a HUGE thing in my area and this bakery is known for their whoopie pies. WELL - to save money this is what they did.... Each Saturday we would pull all the cakes from the case that didn't sell and the workers would put these cakes in the freezer. At first, I thought they were keeping the cakes for a charity to pick up on Monday but what I discovered was much worse. They took these cakes and scraped the icing off - then, they would grind up these week old cakes (like we do for cake balls) and then add that to fresh Whoopie Pie batter and re-bake, so to speak, the cake batter into Whoopie Pies. Anyone for a Fresh Baked Whoopie Pie???????
And last - I can't recount how many times I saw things dropped on the floor and re-used....
This is NOT how I run my bakery - everything is ALWAYS fresh and NEVER frozen. NOTHING is stored on the floor!
Tammi
Tammi-wow! I am so fatigued hearing all these stories, sometimes it really feels there is no hope. I really, really want to stop eating out now-but such is life sometimes paucity of time just compells you to have to do that..oh sheesh! The Whoopie Pie was pathetic!
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