What does your image say? 

My daughter plays travel soccer and we are often out of town.  Stopping for a bite to eat when you know the risks of food-borne illness can be a little tricky.  Sometimes we pick a franchise because it is my experience that they have better food safety training programs in place.  But I do love the uniqueness of an independently owned restaurant.

However, before I choose a restaurant I am not familiar with I do a little investigation.  I first look at some of the social media sites like Four Square to check reviews.  Using Google on my phone I can usually see a picture of the building and yes I do judge a book by its cover in this case.  Is there a decent sign, does the entrance look inviting and is there a parking lot that looks safe?   When it all checks out and I arrive at my destination I enter the building and check the entrance.  Are the floors clean? Is there dirt and grime around equipment legs?  If I can see the staff in the kitchen are they wearing clean aprons? Is hair restrained?  Are the staff following basic food safety procedures?  If I answer no to any of these questions it is a good sign management doesn’t understand or care about food safety.  My first impression can be enough for me to turn around and go somewhere else.

Look at your business through the eyes of your target customer

If your target customer base is shrinking it may just be your image.  Here are some tips to getting your image back on track.

• Train all of your staff in good food safety practices.  Do not forget to train waitstaff and bussers as well.  Everyday.  This is a never ending job.  Pick a food safety topic and focus on that for a week.  Next week, pick something else.  Before you know it everyone will be demonstrating good practices.
• Check social media sites for your reputation.  Respond to all complaints in a respectful way and offer a resolution.  Never delete negative comments.
• Stand outside your facility. Does the outside represent what your brand is?  Will it attract your target customer?  I don’t know how many times I have seen beer signs displaying food specials for a sit down restaurant.   I see a beer sign I think bar or tavern – not a restaurant that I would take my family to. If you are a bar that sells food that is fine.  If you are restaurant that also sells beer – take them down!
• Clean up!  A dirty floor up front makes me wonder what the back of the house looks like.  And don’t forget about tidying up around the back door.  This is often a forgotten place filled with crates and debris.  I will drive around a building to check out the back.
• Nice looking and clean menus.  If you hand me a sticky or stained menu – I am out of there.
• Invite a secret diner to visit your restaurant during your peak times and slow times.  Yes your slow time as well.  Often staff get to relaxed and food quality goes down during slow times.
• Know your brand!  Send the same message across all social media, print media and in person.

If you need help with identifying your brand or repairing your image I can help.  Please contact me at 410-382-4325 for a free consultation.  

For training education we offer the food safety manager training and food handler training at our location or yours.  

How you like your pizza is a personal choice.

Thin crust, thick crust, crispy or chewy.  Do you like a sweet red sauce, little sauce, a lot of sauce or white sauce.   Toppings, don’t get me started there.  How do you feel about ham and pineapple pizza or crab pizza?  What about extra extra cheese, stuffed crust or square pizza?

Personally,  I like to make my own thick crust with sauce spread thinly or not at all. Fresh toppings are a must and the cheese should be fresh as well.

Let’s start the debate: New York, Chicago, California or somewhere in between…where do you stand?

When you have vomiting, diarrhea and low grade fever what you have  is called Gastroenteritis.

Yes, the Stomach Flu or Bug is easier to say but it distracts from what the likely cause is.  Foodborne Illness.  Bacteria or Virus found in someones feces made its way into your mouth.  Sounds lovely doesn’t it.

How could you get someones feces in your mouth?

Someone that has the bacteria or virus in their system has bad handwashing skills and then touches a surface or food.  The bacteria or virus can stay on the surface and be picked up by someone else that handles your food.  That is called cross contamination.  Have you ever put your purse, laptop bag or other bag on your counter or table?  An ABC report found purses with extremely high numbers of bacteria on the bottom.  That is only one example of cross contamination.

There are also parasites to be concerned about.

Recently you may have seen the story of Cyclospora outbreak.  Parasites can be found in water so produce is at risk.  Washing your produce even if it has already been washed and bagged or if you will not eat the rind or skin will decrease your risk of parasites and harmful bacteria.

Keeping your family and workplace safe.

Through out any suspect food or reheat to 165 degrees before serving.  The most common diagnosed virus causing foodborne illness in the USA is Norovirus (Commonly called the Stomach Flu).  It has an incubation period of about 18-36 hours so think back to what you ate well before you started feeling ill.  However, Staphylococcal Aureus (The less nasty and commonly referred to stomach bug) has an incubation period of about 30 minutes to 4 hours.    Now that you are feeling the effects of foodborne illness, stay home if you have diarrhea or vomiting. Wash your hands using water and soap and scrubbing for 10 to 15 seconds.  Use a paper towel to dry your hands and turn off faucets.  A simple chlorine solution of 1 1/2 teaspoons of bleach in a gallon of water can be wiped on clean surfaces and allowed to air dry will  kill or reduces pathogens to safe levels.   Don’t forget to keep up good practices.  These harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites can be found in your feces up to two weeks after your better.

If you have any questions about this article or any other food safety questions be sure to ask them on Facebook at Marylandfoodhandler or Twitter @smf_foodsafey

A few of my top food safety tips for keeping your food safe.

Most likely during this extended weekend you will host or be invited to a party.  Here are some simple prevention tips for having a wonderful and food safe holiday:

• If you don’t own a stem thermometer, purchase one.  Most grocery stores carry them for $4-6 dollars.
• Wash hands scrubbing for 15 seconds and do it often. Provide your guests with a hand-washing station. Liquid soap and large drink jug like an ice tea / lemonade container, with a stay-on valve at the bottom filled with water is perfect.
• Produce is commonly linked to E Coli and Salmonella as well as other bacteria. Wash all produce in slightly warmer water than temperature of produce before prepping and cutting.
• Store all cold at 41 degrees or below.
• During service the following foods need special attention since they are perfect for bacterial growth, therefore you should keep on ice and under 70 degrees and no more than 6 hours :
• Cut greens, cut tomatoes and cut melons.
• Salads make with pasta, potatoes and seafood.
• Salsas, add extra lime since bacteria do not like acidic conditions.
• Keep hot food hot. 135 degrees or above.
• Quickly refrigerate foods after service.
• Know your minimum temperatures:
  • Steaks, Pork, Seafood 145 Degrees
  • Ground Beef or Ground Pork 155 Degrees
  • All Poultry 165 Degrees
• Use a scoop or tongs for beverage ice.  Hands should never be used.  It is reported that 30-50% of healthy humans have Staphylococcus aureus in their nose
  .

Although The Community Kitchen is not a traditional restaurant I thought they deserved the first ShoutOut!

The Community Kitchen located at Episcopal Community Services of Maryland in Baltimore, MD prepares men from disadvantage situations for work in the Hospitality industry.

Three Phase Program to training for Food Service.

The three phase program starts with the student learning basic kitchen skills and food safety including completion of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation ServSafe® program and concludes with an externship at participating restaurants.  The restaurants participating in the externship receive 20 hrs of FREE labor per week. The students receive real work experience at no expense to the business.

Graduated participants are excellent candidates for employment as well.  For information about how your restaurant can participate or hire a graduate from this exciting new program contact Derek Neal at 410-327-0013 office.

If you would like information on how to be featured in a ShoutOut! contact Sue@Marylandfoodhandler.com  or call Sue at 410-382-4325

Sue was inside the kitchen today trying out the new Pillsbury® Key Lime Cookie mix

I don’t know if these are new to you but they sure are to me.  I have been seeing them prominently displayed in every store I have been in.  Not really being a baker of sweets I still had to try.  I mean, who can resist Key Lime anything.  Mix and icing in hand I headed home, turned the on oven, followed the very simple one bowl directions and in under 25 minutes had cookies cooked, cooled and iced.  Not bad.  

Now for the more important test taste… 

If you are needing a very sweet fix these are a must try.  The key lime flavor was not over powering and just perfect but the extra icing on top was a bit much for this gal.  I preferred just the plain cookie which was soft and chewy.

Would definitely try the other varieties from this line!

We are so excited to offer this program.  Please share to anyone you know that deserves the opportunity to become trained.  Baltimore County and Baltimore City both require a certified food safety manager on duty at all times.  Having the ServSafe® Certificate betters your chances of becoming a valued member of  management.   You will also possess the important skills needed to advance.

SMF Training Solutions not only prepares you for the exam but we pride ourselves in teaching you real life skills and knowledge that you can take back to your work place and impress the bosses with!

Our small class sizes are perfect for someone that has been nervous about taking the training before.

Don’t hesitate to apply – It may be you we select for FREE Food Safety Manager Training!

How many Food Safety mistakes can you spot in this short but very real story?

A nice Saturday afternoon and some seafood was in order.   We decided to go to a very popular spot (sorry will not name names)  for lunch.  As we walked in there was a party going on in the restaurant area so we decided to head over to the bar side.   I ordered an iced tea and steamed shrimp.

While waiting on our drinks I noticed a table with a small child.  The server, a middle aged woman, clears some dishes and empty bottles from a table, comes behind the bar and begins making what appears to be a Shirley Temple for the child.  She reaches in and full fists out about 5 cherries and drops them in the drink.  “Oh gross”, I tell my dining companion.  Then I said she should know better but often servers are not trained in the basics of food safety.  I brushed it off since she was not my server and I previously and promptly removed the lemon wedge inserted on the rim of my glass.

As we waited for our food I watched a young man come from the kitchen, enter behind the bar wearing a dirty apron, walk to the soda fountain and WHAT!  There it was,  he shoved the fountain nozzle into his water bottle for a refill.  I stared, gasped and commented to my friend to look.  Yes, the young man heard me as he turned to look.  With the nozzle shoved tightly into the hole where a few minutes ago he had his mouth wrapped around it  transferring saliva, he seems unfazed by what I was seeing.

My steamed shrimp came out piping how and I peeled and ate, convincing myself that I am most likely safe from the possible mayhem of what I can’t see in the kitchen.  It appears there seems to be major  lack of training on managements part.  The food handler and server did not seem to even hide what they did.  That shows lack of understanding how much they are putting the public at risk.

Lets review some the food safety mistakes:

• Server reaches into and handles RTE food.
• Server did not wash hands after clearing  table.
• Food Handler is apparently allowed to drink from a water bottle in the kitchen area.
• The food handler exited the kitchen wearing apron.
• Apron was dirty.
• Food Handler thinks nothing of shoving the common use nozzle into a container he just had in his mouth.

Lets just say I am glad I ordered the tea and a food they most likely did not touch after cooking.  I will not be back again.  If I can spot this many critical errors from the bar area, imagine what is going on in that kitchen.

Are you a  recent Graduate that is looking for a summer job but can’t seem to find one even in the busy restaurant / hospitality trade?

SMF Training Solutions wants to improve your chances of being hired and being retained after the summer is over.  Get your application recognized by attaching a copy of your Nationally recognized ServSafe ® Food Safety Manager Certificate.  SMF Training believes your chances of being hired are going to be greatly increased.   No previous food service experience is required to take the class.

• Sign up for the June 4 & 5 ServSafe ® Food Safety Manager training in Parkville, MD.
• Tell us what school you just graduated from in the comments section of registration form.
• Use discount code “RecentGrad” and receive $20 off your training.  This is the biggest discount we have ever offered!
• Take a 90 multiple choice exam the second day of training.  A 75% or better is a passing score.
• Take the online exam and you could have your certificate as early as June 11th.  Paper exams take about 3 weeks.

While the certificate does not guarantee you a management position or employment it will increase your value as a potential employee.  Howard, Prince Georges, Montgomery,  Baltimore County and Baltimore City all require one FSM on duty at all times.  More importantly  it demonstrates to the employer that you taken initiative to become a valued member of their team and will require less hands on training.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Sue at 410-382-4325