Wonders of Wine and Food

 Shocking

Today my blog has nothing to do with wine. It is about your health and well been! It about the lack of care taken by today's restaurants and the inability of our Health Service to properly inspect these Restaurants

Where am I come from? Twenty five years of been in the hospitality food service industry. I have managed restaurants, been an area manager and owned two restaurants. Times have changed. What use to be a major concern to a health inspector is something restaurants continually get away with today.

At one time I managed restaurants for a company that had their own food inspectors they came unannounced once a month. I became the first and only manager ever to achieve a perfect score. I though I had achieved this objective twice however i was mark down for having a spot of white paint on an electrical cord. That spot was there long before I came to the restaurant.

Here are a couple of items  that seem to have changed. In my day servers could not wear nail polish. Their hair had to be under control. Kitchen workers had to wear hair nets.

One day my wife and I were having coffee in a Tim Horton's. I have in the past described Tim Horton's as having under trained staff and dirty locations. As we sat at our table sipping the coffee I notice the manager come out of his office and replace the employee making the sandwiches. He put on a pair of gloves. He took a cloth and cleaned his station. He then made a sandwich. After making the sandwich he went into the front room cleaning tables. He returned to the sandwich table and made another order. He did this wearing the same pair of gloves, Groan! 

One of the most common mistakes made the server is hold your glass by the rim. That is basic 101 training.

So why the title shocking? Just the other day my wife and I had a very early morning appoint. After the appointment we were seeking breakfast. Been in a small village location there were limited choices. We picked a local coffee shop that seem to be quite busy every time we passed by. 

The first thing that caught my eye was the front door covered in finger prints and old notices. Once inside you attention was directed to an old display case. I hinted to my wife that we should leave. She did not take the hint and placed her order for a coffee and a Scone, I ordered the same.

The coffee was good and the scone was too. However I noticed scratches and chips in the table and chairs. Something the health inspectors in my day would not tolerate. As I always finish eating before my wife I had time to let my trained eye wander. I notice the build up of dust upon an artificial fireplace On further inspection there was an amazing collection of dirt on the corner of the heath and in the corners around the fire place. The wall boards caked with dirt.

I wounder how clean those washrooms are or the KITCHEN!

Been the former restaurant owners I scanned the entire room and soon realized it was in need of very deep cleaning. My shock is how the regional Heath authority lets these places get away with this. What is also shocking how little the owners and employees care about Health and Cleanness. Even more shocking the customers who do no seem to care either.

My mother would always check a restaurants or motel bathroom. If  it was not spic and span she was out the door.

I did start the blog by saying this this has nothing to do with wines. However it does have much to do with the Wineries. Quality, Service and Cleanliness are huge factors in the success of any winery, or any business for that matter.

Take the simple act of cleaning at table, The server takes a spray bottle and the swipes the table from side to side. Oh! so wrong. Toss a ping pong ball on a table It will bounce is any given random direction That is what is happening to the cleaning solution sprayed on the table it may just land on your food. 

The side to side method only pushes the crumbs on to the seats. Seldom do the seats get cleaned too. If they do its debris onto the floor. 

To properly clean the table spry the cleaning solution into a clean cloth wipe the front of the table. Then pick up the salt pepper and what have you cleaning them Placing then on the clean front of the table. Then finish cleaning the table including the backing, sides and seats.

In my health region all employees must be food health certified. That means taking a short food handlers safety course. Sadly the cost is $80. Back in my day the course was free. Do you see a problem here!

“cleanliness is next to godliness?”