Be careful where you eat!

I have been in the food service business for over 30 years and have worked for many different chain restaurants. Here is the list in no particular order:

McDonald's, Wendy's, Steak N Shake, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Bennigan's, Papa John's, Golden Corral, Red Lobster, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts, Chick Fil A, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Long John Silvers and etc.

You say, damn, that's a lot of places, but there is a reason why I stopped working at every single one of them. I was not fired for inability to do the job I was hired for. No. I either left or was forced to leave for standing my ground on one very important subject with every single one of them, food safety ( quality ) or the resulting problems with food cost percentages due to my inability to serve crappy or contaminated food to unsuspecting customers in the name of food cost ( also, every single one of these companies ties food cost to bonus structures ).

I was not a manager at all of these places, but I never stopped being a manager regardless, if I was a server, I refused to serve customer's food that was contaminated or not of the proper quality, if I was a cashier I refused to let a customer pay for crappy service or bad food, if I was on the pizza make line, I refused to use old dough or ingredients that were contaminated or outdated, if I was the front of the house manager, I refused to let food sit on a buffet and get eaten if the quality was poor. I have standards that are not hypocritical, every single one of these companies put you through a training process that extolls the virtues of customer satisfaction, food safety, food quality....they beat it into your head. But they are all hypocrites when it comes to profit margins and food cost. When I would have an issue, initially they would praise me for my diligence, but eventually, they would have an issue with food cost being high one day or one week or one month and miss a bonus and then it was all bets off. Hypocrites. They couldn't fire me so they would create hostile work conditions, change my schedule, tell other employees to give me a hard time ( if i was a manager ), falsify records from my shifts to show cash shortages ( even if there was not one ), give me trouble over Jewish holidays, etc.

Needless to say. I can give an example from every one of these companies, from dropped food on the floor to ants in the pizza sauce to rat droppings in the mashed potatoes to employees sneezing in food to reusing food that was returned to cooking pizza in filthy never washed ( pan pizza ) pans with old crusty cheese and dough still in the pan with nasty water that was never drained to reusing old milkshakes to make new ones to dropping bagels on the floor and selling them to going to the bathroom and never washing hands and handling food to picking out food from trays to use on pizzas to urinating in chicken batter and making chicken with it to using spoiled meat by bleaching it etc.

The food industry is a 10 billion dollar industry worldwide and every single large chain restaurant has these same issues every day. None of them are squeaky clean as you say, there are some that are better than others, but the list of great chains is far and few between. Just be more picky about who you spend your money with. If you don't trust the server to look out for your best interest, which many only want a tip, but that doesn't stop them from doing unscrupulous things like eye drops in your drinks or picking their nose and wiping it on your steak, sadly I have witnessed these behaviors and been forced to act in the interest of the customer at the expense of losing my job. But I sleep better at night when I know i did the right thing. Other people do not have a problem with their conscience, but I always remind them how would you feel if that was done to you?
Treat other people the way you expect to be treated. If you are spending your hard earned money anywhere service related you deserve the very best service and quality period Do not settle just because you don't want to make a scene, get the manager involved as quickly as possible, there is a greater chance of resolving your issues correctly. The amount of money is not the issue. Hold them accountable for their actions.

Or just eat at home!

Sincerely,


Ascension211

Noted...

2nd

reply to post by ascension211
OMG!!! Open up your own restaurant, and tell me where it's located. I'll be a valued customer!

My daughter has worked at several local restaurants. Full service, with an average of about $20 entree. She was grossed out at the kitchen habits. Chopping veggies on unclean surfaces, nasty dishwater, etc... The manager himself dropped a beef kabob on the floor, put it back on the plate, and sent it on its merry way. He may as well have invited his unsuspecting customer to come lick the floor! Yuck!!!

Grow your own; cook your own. Only way to know exactly what you're putting in your system!
Or wait for ascension211 to open a restaurant.

reply to post by new_here


Has always been a dream of mine, currently I live in Brazil and want to open a cafe/bakery here! Thanks for your reply and take care.

Sincerely,

Ascension211

I will tell you not all manager's act correctly. Your statement about the kabob reminded me of this instance:

I was a server at a Bennigan's and they had a swordfish steak on the menu that I recommended to a customer, they said hey that sounds good, I'll try it. When I went to the passover to get the food I witnessed the cook drop the swordfish on the disgusting floor mats beneath his feet, you know the rubber things with holes in them that collect all the scum from the day, picked it up threw it back on the grill and proceeded to put it back on the plate. I looked at him and said I am not serving that to my customer, please, make a new one. The kitchen manager said take this one I will take full responsibility, I went and found the general manager and told him thinking he would agree with me, LMAO, he said if I had a problem with it clock out and go home, so I took my apron off and told him shove his job and his restaurant where the sun don't shine, walked out to the dining area and waited for him to serve the food to the customer, then I walked up to the table and with a voice loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, said that swordfish steak was on the floor 5 minutes ago and they decided to serve it to you anyway, enjoy your delicious meal and come back soon. Well a very normally loud place with a full sitting of customers suddenly got very quiet and half the place got up and started looking for the GM and the table I had gave me a 50 dollar tip and walked out, as I was standing outside I watched half the place empty out and the customers waiting for tables left, and the GM threaten to call the cops on me and I told him go ahead I will stay here and wait for them and tell them what your dumb ass did. That was a very interesting night.

I've worked food service jobs, and one thing they taught me was, do not go out to eat. My boyfriend thinks he died and went to heaven since I'm his first girlfriend who, upon hearing about a restaurant, says "oh I can cook that kind of food". If I can't watch you prep, cook and dress my plate, you can keep it.

reply to post by chasingbrahman


Cool avatar. Thanks for the validation. If possible and you have a moment could you tell me how to download an avatar, have tried but to no avail. Take care. You could send me details through a private message if you chose.

Happy cooking!

Ascension211

Originally posted by ascension211
I will tell you not all manager's act correctly. Your statement about the kabob reminded me of this instance:

I was a server at a Bennigan's and they had a swordfish steak on the menu that I recommended to a customer, they said hey that sounds good, I'll try it. When I went to the passover to get the food I witnessed the cook drop the swordfish on the disgusting floor mats beneath his feet, you know the rubber things with holes in them that collect all the scum from the day, picked it up threw it back on the grill and proceeded to put it back on the plate. I looked at him and said I am not serving that to my customer, please, make a new one. The kitchen manager said take this one I will take full responsibility, I went and found the general manager and told him thinking he would agree with me, LMAO, he said if I had a problem with it clock out and go home, so I took my apron off and told him shove his job and his restaurant where the sun don't shine, walked out to the dining area and waited for him to serve the food to the customer, then I walked up to the table and with a voice loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, said that swordfish steak was on the floor 5 minutes ago and they decided to serve it to you anyway, enjoy your delicious meal and come back soon. Well a very normally loud place with a full sitting of customers suddenly got very quiet and half the place got up and started looking for the GM and the table I had gave me a 50 dollar tip and walked out, as I was standing outside I watched half the place empty out and the customers waiting for tables left, and the GM threaten to call the cops on me and I told him go ahead I will stay here and wait for them and tell them what your dumb ass did. That was a very interesting night.

I love this story..and admire your bravery.

You are my hero for the day.

Thanks for opening out eyes.

reply to post by ascension211


S&F
Good info OP!.

I know all this, because I am maniac regarding eating out. Ew

Plus Im a vegetarian,so I always rather make my food simple- I HATE cooking, but at least I know what Im putting into it and that my hands are super clean.

but I like buying food- ONLY at places I know very well. Like where the kitchen is exposed, and the quality is good. etc.

reply to post by plutoxgirl


Be careful where your fruits and vegetables come from and check the dates for canning anything from Japan or eastward, the west coast has been hit with radioactive material for the past year. If you have your own garden be careful where the soil came from. Don't trust the fish you might decide to get either. Make certain you know where it was caught. Farm raised fish or canned but prior to Japan nuclear fallout. Thank you for your reply.

Sincerely,

Ascension211

reply to post by WhisperingWinds


Thank you, but hardly heroic. Was simply no way I could let that happen though. I only wish more people would stop and say to themselves, hey what if I was the customer, would I like this being done to me? I think not and there lies the hypocrisy. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Take care.

Sincerely,

Ascension211

A member of the forum staff, DontTreadOnMe, has applauded your activity on this thread titled, Be careful where you eat!. Thank you for contributing to the quality of our forums. You received a 500 point bonus, keep up the good work.


Thank you for the applause. It is greatly appreciated and I hope you don't mind that I shared this with my post viewers.

Sincerely,

Ascension211

reply to post by ascension211


I worked in the food industry for most of my adult life.I always have this
rule that I use when and where I cook.
If I won't eat it or serve it to my family,it won't go out to a customer!

reply to post by mamabeth


I like your attitude. thank you for your reply. Take care.

Ascension211

reply to post by ascension211


Thanks Ascencion!

Yes, I do like to keep an eye on what I eat. I try be careful really. and tell other ppl as well.But some really dont mind.
What you put inside your system is crucial.

Good tips from you!

Hugs!

I worked one night at a local restaurant. One night was plenty.

When I walked in the waitresses were running around swatting flies with fly swatters. They didn't bother cleaning the carcasses or anything, just left them where they were.

When they were telling me about the soda machine they warned me to look in the glass while I was filling it up because there would probably be a few flies coming out of the machine.

The rag they used to clean the tables was just a wet, dirty rag they threw by the cash register all night. The floor was sticky and filthy. The kitchen was awful. Everything was covered in dirt and grime. The cook was high as a kite and she hacked on everything she was cooking. A lot of the food was going bad so we were supposed to really push that stuff to get rid of it.

I was pretty sad and grossed out because they have awesome food and I had ate here quite a few times. After I quit, I refused to eat there. My husband had ate there since he was in high school so he didn't care. A few weeks later I noticed they had pulled all their kitchen equipment outside and cleaned it. They also got a new cook so I started eating there again. I just pretend in my head that everything is okay now haha.

One day I showed up to work and found that the power had been off for several hours. The first thing that has to be checked is the coolers to see what the temperature is. In this case, that seemed to be ok, but there was a cooking sham that we used to make pot roast over night that was sitting there with meat in it that had spoiled. Well you say that should go in the trash right? Well before I had the chance to do this the kitchen manager shows up and says he will handle it. The gm showed up and I informed him and he said let the km handle it, so I, being the front house manager went about my morning responsibilities. About an hour later, I was walking by the meat prep area and noticed 11 trays of meat spread out with white paper towels placed on top of them with a bottle of bleach to the side. What are they going to do with that? Bleach the meat and recook it with more spices, customer's would never know it was spoiled! Wow! So, I waited till the km and gm went to have a smoke out back and talk #, about me mostly, and I grabbed 2 of my dishwashers and a cook that was a buddy of mine and instructed them to throw all the meat in the trash compactor and that I would take full responsibility for it. 15 minutes later the gm and the km came back inside, the gm went to his office, I was setting up the cashiers and the km came out of the kitchen with smoke coming from his ears. Not much they could say, I was justified in throwing it out. Needless to say, this was one of the places I referred to in my original post.

Amazing the crap these places will do at the expense of customers.


Ascension211

This is an excellent thread. Thank you for posting it, thank you for caring and thank you to those also with good support for a person who obviously has something that is lacking more and more in this age namely, GOOD CHARACTER!

Many years ago I used to eat out 1,2 and 3 times per day. The days when I had money. Lots of it. The best thing that ever happened to me was the humility of a lower wage... by choice I might ad. I decided I needed to do the right thing in my life and it led to other correct pathways that blessed me greatly. Not a day goes by I do not thank Him for this.

One of the benefits of going from money to minimal is that if you want to eat well you must learn to make your own food. Watching the food network channel, especially back when, helped immensely as well as the internet. I developed an attitude that if I want it I have to make it. I've learned to master so many cuisines, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, some middle Eastern and my own families Italian cuisines.

My wife and friends all say that I'm the greatest cook they have ever had food prepared by. I went from burning ramen in my twenties to now in my forties saying, "Hunny, what do you want to eat this weekend". Its a blessing for us all because we eat very well and yet cost is minimal comparatively. It brings me joy to see the smiles on the faces of my family when they eat, it is great for stress, kinda good for the ego , and I feel that it also helps a marriage greatly. I cook and the wife cleans. Sometimes we cook together and clean together. Its wonderful "glue" for the family not to mention that its about 25% the cost of going out and you control the ingredients.

I recommend for anyone that wants to do this to start purchasing on ebay cooking equipment so that you can cook all the things that you want. For every job you must have the right tool. It would cost a mini fortune to purchase all these at once but you can purchase them slowly, every other month or so. Eventually you have to stop because you tend to run out of room


Here are some staples I recommend for your kitchen:

Flat nonstick large aluminum griddle with heavy duty nonstick reverse sides that has channels. for steaks chicken and burgers, fajitas, pancakes, hash browns, potato cakes, etc. Its light enough yet solid for everyday use. It makes a great meat defroster also!
I large Iron Wok. Kept seasoned properly! Great for every kind of chinese cuisine!
I large quality rice cooker with fuzzy logic technology. Japanese brand ONLY!
A quality rice cooker can be purchased on ebay or amazon for under 100 bucks and is restaurant taste! Good quality Japanese rice is a must!
A large Kitchen Aid Mixer with meat grinder attachment and pasta roller and cutter attachments. Fresh Pasta is easy, fun and there is NO COMPARISON with dried store bought pasta!
I quality toaster oven that has a large enough oven for smaller casserole dishes.
An electric deli style meat slicer. Costco has some good ones under a 100 bucks.
Roasting, bbqing and baking meat and then slicing it super thin for sandwiches is priceless! TEXTURE TEXTURE TEXTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A ronco Rotisserie (insert joke here I USE THIS THE MOST!
A good FULL SET of stainless steel pots and pans from very small to extra large.
A good 4 piece set of quality non-stick pans
A good lil fryer. (large fry daddy on ebay cheap)
A microwave bacon tray
Henkel knife set
Set of every kinda spatula and etc.
Quality Garlic Press
Set of hand held graters from very fine to large
Set of strainers from fine mesh to wide holes.
Electric Griddle
Electric Pans
A good electric induction heating cooker.
A heavy duty blender that can handle solid foods like vegetables without jamming.
A good large crockpot.
Good set of baking pans from large to small.
A good charcoal bbq. A weber that is the barrel style is also good for smoking meats lightly.
A quality Food Processor
A solid Bread Maker

Look for "Refurbished" new for sale on ebay and even amazon. They are usually half the cost of new and come with warranty and I have found that they usually come wrapped brand new and you cannot tell the difference.

When you are interested in a recipe, don't just look up one but look up several, 2 - 4 of the same. READ THE COMMENTS FROM OTHERS IN THE BLOGS BELOW for great tips and also because they will let you know if you need to tweak the recipe a bit or if you need to stay away from it all together. Great tips and tricks!

Find the recipe on YOUTUBE and Take notes as you go!

Create a file on your computer of all your recipes and categories them THOROUGHLY!

Make sure your notes are not general but contain every technique and tip and share them with friends and family and online!

reply to post by YAHUWAH SAVES


I want to give you all my families special 7th day Sauce. An incredibly delicious Bolognese sauce. Its a fine meat sauce that is designed to be smooth and flavorful.

Friends and family say this is top shelf so enjoy!

*** "7th Day Bolognese Sauce" with PAISAN BASEBALLS***

2-3 pound fresh ground chuck beef(Unless no meatballs then do 3-4 pounds)
3 slices of thin anchovy filet from jar or flat tin (adds incredible flavor)
1 Tomato Paste (campbells soup can size)
5 large cans Tomato "PUREE" (15 oz)(can use sauce but puree is better.)
1 1/2 cup red wine
1 entire head of garlic (peeled)
1 xlarge sweet onion or 2 med/large cut in quarters
2 large carrots chunk cut(peeled) (helps balance the ph acids)
2 sticks celery chunk cut (trimmed of base and leaf)
2 bell pepper cut in quarters (seeds and stem removed))
4 Bay leaves
4 tbls dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes (Optional)
3 Tbls Beef Bouillon ("Paste" type from small jar and not dried)
2 TBLS EVOO extra virgin olive oil
1 large bunch fresh Basil
1 TBS ONION POWDER
1 TSP GARLIC POWDER
4 cups water


Directions:

In med pot bring to a boil 4 cups water adding garlic and chunk cut onion, BASIL, bell pepper chunk cut, carrots chunk cut, and celery chunk cut. Add Oregano optionally and for zip you can add a large pinch of red pepper flakes. Boil until veggies are very soft. Set aside to cool.

In separate large deep cooking sauce pot fry anchovy slices in evoo.Don't worry there will be no smell only flavor once cooked and is a family secret! Add Tomato Paste and fry to caramelize a bit but dont burn. Add Oregano. Add red wine to deglaze tomato paste and evaporate alcohol stirring until alcohol is cooked out. Smell it and you will know when the alcohol is out.

In separate pan fry ground meat breaking apart well until the ground meat so it is fine and crumbly in very small crumbles, keep using flat cooking spatula to break the meat into little small crumbles. If super greasy Drain the excess grease/juice but do not push down on the meat to drain it just move to the side and tilt the pan to drain. Add beef to large cooking pot of already fried tomato paste.

Add the Tomato Puree/sauce. Add Beef Boullion.

Add 3 Bay Leafs and stir.

Take the previously boiled and cooled pot of veggies with juice and blend the whole thing completely smooth. Once blended pour into the sauce pot.

Add stick of butter.

Bring to a very light boil/bubble and reduce to a light simmer for 6 hours.
Simmer sauce stirring every 30 minutes scrapping the bottom and sides of the pan. If the pot is spitting out red sauce then the simmer is too high... just enough to barely bubble...

In the Last 15 minutes of cooking add more chopped well fresh Basil or basil paste.

(optionally you can add sliced mushrooms to add at the very last hour if you must)

Tip: This sauce freezes very well and is a Bolanase style meat sauce that is designed to not have chunks of anything in it but optional Meatballs.

TOP SPAGHETTI WITH FRESH PARM. CHEESE.

Enjoy!


***MAJOR LEAGUE PAISAN BASEBALLS***
2-3 pound 27% fat ground chuck (Make sure meat is VERY COLD)
5-7 eggs
1 - 1 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup flaked parm. cheese or shredded (not the cheap powdered can stuff)
salt
1 tsp onion powder
fresh ground fine pepper

DIRECTIONS
While the sauce simmers take VERY COLD beef and add to a large bowl. Add cracked eggs. Add bread crumbs (optionally add another 1/2 cup if the meat balls seem too wet or too soft. Add parm. cheese.
Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add 1 tsp onion powder. Mix with hands well and form into just a little smaller than a baseball size.

Grease a large pan with evoo and bake the Meatballs in a preheated 350 degree oven on the middle rack for about an hour or until the balls look lightly browned but not burnt.

No need to turn the meatballs. When done add the meatballs into the sauce and continue to simmer for the remaining hours of cooking. Stir the sauce carefully so that you do not break the meatballs apart. They will not disintegrate while simmering for even a few hours in the sauce so no worries if you stir carefully!

reply to post by ascension211


The more I read your posts, the more I admire your strength of character.

I know you didn't care for me calling you a hero, but it is people like you who stand up to authority for what is truly right that are my everyday heroes.

It's people like you that should be running for political office..because you are fearless, when it comes to doing what is right..and I just admire you so much for that.

I only wish there was someone working in every restaurant that had the strength of your convictions.

Unfortunately there are so many who have to choose between feeding their families, or living on the street, and who are so desperately afraid to lose their jobs , that they feel forced to not stand up to what is clearly wrong.