The bitter cook

I've been in the restaurant industry for more than ten years now. I did have a three year break from the kitchen for a brief stint in journalism. I'm back behind the grill and the past two days were very special for me.

A first happened. For the very first time in my decade long battle with deep fryers, I took a FoodSafe course. I will soon be a certified food handler. Yippy.

What did I learn at the 16-hour course?

Everything in a kitchen is deadly! If you don't properly cool a sauce, bacteria will grow and infect a patron. They will eventually die.

If a server touches the edge of a plate, the food could become contaminated and the customer could die.

The whole thing seemed to be a scare tactic. Everything in the kitchen has the POTENTIAL to kill.




I read the best quote in the Calgary Herald this week. It pertains to the story about Prince Harry and a Cowboy's bartender (Cherie Cymbalisty). She's the one that sold her story to British tabloids in order to keep her privacy. The fake-breasted, bottle-cap remover is hoping to use this bit of publicity to kick start her playboy bunny aspirations.

The quote is from U of C pop culture expert Rebecca Sullivan about Cymbalisty, and it goes a little something like this "There are girls out there who have dreamed all their lives to grow up to become a bimbo and, hey, she made it."

I cracked up when I read this. I also italicized the irony just in case we have some very slow, as in dumb, readers.



Wicked!