Okay food service folk, tell da troot!

[Crpdeth]

Chris just made a post that sent my mind back 20 years.... What is the nastiest thing you've seen or done in this industry?

I was working as one of the cooks in a local restaurant which I really enjoyed BTW, and I took pride in putting on my white coat and chefs hat. I was making several kinds of bread, pies, etc. I was young, in my teens, but I just liked it. Except on Sundays... I understood that people were busy on Sundays and going out for lunch was almost necessary, but it was hectic.

Just to add to it, my boss was not one to waste food, we needed to manage things where we had plenty that was hot and fresh, but as the dining room started to become empty, I didn't need to have 15 trays of bread sitting there getting stale (Needless to say, we learned how to hide, discard and eat food regularly).

One Sunday just as "The Herd" started moving in, my boss asked me where my apple dumplins were. I felt like slapping myself, I had forgot them... Of course his next question was "How long before I can have some ready?" Fifteen minutes... I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't pleased as he simply turned and walked away.


I cranked my top oven up a notch and ran to get the ingredients, threw everything together in record time, slung it into the oven, slammed the door up and waited and waited and hoped my boss had so much going that he wouldn't remember my blunder... The timer FINALLY goes off, my tongs come off my coat with lightening speed, I twirl them around much like a highly skilled Japanese warrior with a pair of sai, back to my happy self because things are going to be okay... I take my sai (oops, tongs), right hand goes to the right rear corner of the pan, left hand to the left front, spin around towards my prep table and with benevolent finesse, promptly drop the whole thing on the floor...

I thought my entire world crashed to the ground with it, I was proud of the rapport I had with my boss and this quandary had me flustered beyond belief... First order of business was to clean up the mess, treats back into the pan and onto the table, quickly grab a mop and wipe the sweet juice off the floor so no one steps in it... Perplexed, Perturbed, a few more "P words", then slowly the realization... No one was in the kitchen, what tha??? They were unbelievably all out doing other things in the rush, I couldn't believe the thought as it entered my young brain and just as quickly my right hand was pouring fresh sauce over the reclaimed mess.

Hours later as my boss walked past and slapped me on the back there was a twinge of guilt clouded by a huge sigh of relief...


YUCK!!!!!!!



Your turn to tell on yourself! Tell da troot!



Crpdeth

[glocknut]

Remember the old generic brand stuff? Those old black and white labels they has on everything from toilet tissue to beer and even cans of fly dead spray....

25 years ago i worked for village inn. They had generic mazola no stick in a can AND fly dead too. Some dumb jerk left a can of fly dead in the exact spot i kept my can of no stick in. As a result a batch of biscuits were baked with fly dead coating on the pan!!!

I smelled it and knew something was wrong. I checked the can and discovered what happened.

An irritable female assistant manager instructed me to send them out until a new batch of biscuits could be baked. I refused and dumped them in the garbage can and watered them down with a sprayer so she could not use them.
The woman went balistic and went and told the head manager that i had destroyed food and insulted her.... But she left out the part about how she ordered me to poison the customers.

The head manager came and chewed my butt up one side and down the other. Finally i got a chance to explain the fly dead. He stood there speechless. He appologized and took that ASSistant manager into his office and chewed her out the likes of which i have never heard since or ever will. There is nothing like a ticked off italian village inn head manager on this earth!!!

The disgusting this was just thinking about how sick that would have made someone.....

[Vladimir]

I have seen, and heard, of many a sick thing. I have to say, if it worries you, pizza is probably one of the safest/cleanest things you can get, because we have the easiest job when it comes to cleanliness. The simple fact is no matter what is done to your food, if it comes out of the oven any bacteria and gross nasties have been killed- also no raw meats in the entire store.

I have never seen any attack on the quality of food with my current employer. I have seen inappropriate behavior that makes me cringe... smoking pot in the walk-in was a common occurrence 6 years ago. It sucks everything up but even if the food is 100% that is still just being a horrible employee.

I have to say I am sort of a goody-two-shoes, and I do not say that to toot my horn, I believe it is to a fault (I missed out on a lot, and ignored a lot of people because of our different attitudes).

ONE BIG CAVEAT:

I think in today's world this is much easier. Everyone is so health minded (or at least thinks they are) and with all the health scares there are very few anymore who would even considering using something that had been soiled.