A Random Question...

Would it bother you as a diner to know the cook at a restaurant was tasting your dish using the spoon they were preparing the dish with?
I ask only because I see it occur frequently on cooking shows and in restaurants with open kitchens.
Although I'm sure it violates numerous health codes, it personally doesn't bother me one bit.
I'm more nervous about a chef who DOESN'T taste their food.
And yes, I'm aware food can be tasted in a more sanitary manner but it's naive to think this is common practice.

What say ye?

I know that it does happen and yes, it does bother me. I also know that cooks don't properly wash their hands, store food improperly, etc. I try not to think about it.

That being said, I think any chef or cook worth his/her salt uses a clean spoon to taste and prepares a sanitary meal to the best of their abilities.

Best,
Michael

Well...i'll tell you. I think people get far too freaked out about germs. I mean...If you're eating in a restaurant to start with, you basically hand over your trust on this issue anyhow. There are plenty of worse things that happen out there than a double dipped spoon -- I mean..did anyone catch the article on the CTA's dirt today that was in the Trib??? Much ado about something you can't do much about, was my take on it.

Now...I respect everyone's right to do what makes them feel better about this little thing called life and I do try to wash my hands and use common sense but the world is full of germs. We'll never kill them all. We shouldn't kill them all! Anti-bacterial products are raising the germs' resistance and basically doing horrible things to us.

Personally, I'd rather we worried about feeding people who need to be fed than keeping people who are feeding us from giving us their colds.

My two centerinos...

Shan

eatchicago wrote:That being said, I think any chef or cook worth his/her salt uses a clean spoon to taste and prepares a sanitary meal to the best of their abilities.

No more Thai food for you.

E.M.

Erik M. wrote:

eatchicago wrote:That being said, I think any chef or cook worth his/her salt uses a clean spoon to taste and prepares a sanitary meal to the best of their abilities.

No more Thai food for you.

E.M.

Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, my grandmother's kitchen, whatever. It still bothers me. Does it mean I'm going to stop eating in these places? Not by a longshot. The fact that I know unsanitary practices exist in no way detracts from my enjoyment of the food. But I still stand by my opinion that a good cook should make every effort to be sanitary.

Best,
Michael

I'm a complete hypocrite when it comes to this sort of thing. I will eat food in a foreign, non-first world country prepared in preposterously unhygienic conditions right in front of me without batting an eye, but GOD FORBID I see a tiny smudge mark on a glass of wine served to me in the USA. That being said, I'm aware of my issues and try not to fuss, while surreptitiously wiping the rim of the glass off on my shirt. And let's not even discuss the hypocrisy of that, since Lord only knows what Chicago grime my shirt has been exposed to during the course of my day...