NYC street festival food.

I have always worked in restaurants, big small, my own, private clubs, strip joints you name it. Dealing with health inspections are never easy and get more difficult each year. The new format for NYCDOH inspectors to follow is 14 pages in length and covers so many things, each one very important in providing any food service establishment serves food that is safe to eat, it will take several hours to conduct an inspection. As I pour through each page I know that the company and people I work for place food safety and sanitation as a priority and that we, as a company and each individual, are doing everything to insure the well being of our guests. I support the policies, rules and regulations of the NYCDOH and also have an obligation to serve only food that is safe to eat.

To open any food service establishment in New York City you need to have time and money for all administrative, permitting, legal fees and a thorough knowledge and understanding of what is required.

operate.http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/inspect/insp2.shtml

Not so when you serve food at a street fair/carnival/festival. I went online this morning and found this site. It is the "Citywide Licensing Center Temporary Food Service Established Application Permit".

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/inspect/iguide.shtml

You fill out the form and clicking the highlighted words written in blue "Rules and Guidlines for Operating Temporary Food Service Establishments", are certifying that "I understand that I am obligated to comply with the conditions stated herein as well as all applicable provisions of the New York City Health Code and New York State Sanitary Code".

Starting July 2010 any type of permanent food service will be required by law to display a letter grade, A, B, C based on the number of points aquirred during an inspection. This letter grade will tell you not just that a place is clean also that things are being done using safe and sanitary practices.

This is for our protection and there is no way can can just get lucky on the day of inspection. The NYCDOH is not fooling around, but again the temporary vendors are exempt. I know it sounds like I have something against them, temporary food vendors, I do not. I do have problem that there is little to make sure the food served is safe to eat.

Wow, at this point I can only fear for an unsuspecting public, there is no sanitation or food safety training. As I read through the short list of things required for temporary food service estalishements I am shocked. The vendors at this event are in violation of more rules than are complied with.

The man cooking sausage put on a dirty apron, lit his cigarette, did not wash his hands or put on gloves and started cooking while smoking.

There is no handwashing facility or even sanitizer anywhere.

What about bathrooms? Every business in the vacinity has a sign " bathroom for customers only ", one says you have to buy a drink to use the bathroom and one is a 10.00 charge. Where does everyone go?

The picture of the table on the left is an onion slicer. I watched as onions were peeled and sliced and cooked on the grill. This young man put on a dirty apron, opened the bag with a knife that who knows what it was last used for, using the same knife cut and peeled the onions and sliced them. He never washed his hands, wore gloves, washed the table, slicer or anything used for preparation.

The guy in the blue tank top, he mixes the batter for Zeppoles. What you see is the uniform he wears every day.



I welcome your coments as always. M.

Cutting boards, their uses and what to purchase.

Buying a cutting board is something that most would not stop to consider until needed. With a little research and a bit of planning you can buy what you need without spending too much money.

There are several things to consider before purchase.

Size and shape of you kitchen counter tops. Measure, twice, and find something that fits. Something too big and hangs off the counter is dangerous, it will get knocked or pulled to the floor with it's contents. It is heavy enough to do some damage if it falls on you a child or pet.

Do not cut vegetables, fruit or other ready to eat food on a board that has been used for raw meat, poultry or seafood and has not been washed and sanitized.

I have several boards and each one is dedicated to a specific use.

Red for meat.

Green for fruit and vegetables. I like one for each if not sometimes you have fruit that tastes like onion or garlic.

Yellow for poultry.

Brown for cooked meat.

Black for fish.

Grey for baking.



Cleaning. First scrape any food off, wash with hot soapy water and rinse well. Sanitize with a mixture of one teaspoon chlorine bleach to one quart water, I mix it in a spray bottle. Spray the board and let stand for a few minutes, rinse well and let dry.

Air dry completely and do not stack so that they remain wet.

Store cutting boards so that they stay clean and dry.

Replace cutting boards that are scratched, cracked or cannot be thoroughly cleaned.

I found this set on line, the Chop Keeper
http://www.argeecorp.com/HTML/chopkeeper.htm. They are ok, inexpensive and can be discarded when they become damaged, fit in the dishwasher and come in two sets with six different colors so you can have one for each task.

Please send your questions or comments. M.