Al Brown's Get Fresh

petal1955, Feb 24, 8:41pm
Have just watched this video and a couple of comments I would like to make. His recipes are great and I enjoyed some of the tips he shared. BUT in all of the clips both he and his assistant Hayden both had absolutely FILTHY teatowels over their shoulders. which they wiped plates with.

mitzi502, Feb 24, 9:38pm
They must have a very healthy immune system and hope their viewers do as well. Not unlike Doctors who are exposed daily to people coughing, sneezing and carrying all sorts of bacteria, they don't get the 'flu jab yet don't get sick. Vets. handling kittens/cats with ringworm, not wearing gloves, yet don't it.

245sam, Feb 24, 10:18pm
petal1955, I haven't seen the video you mention but you and I obviously have the same hygiene standards/expectations. I am never comfortable when I see a cook/chef with a teatowel slung over his/her shoulder and likewise I don't like seeing a teatowel used as a hand towel, 'slop cloth' or for anything other than its intended use.

And on the matter of hygiene, my stomach does a lurch when dining out and I observe staff wiping tables, then with the same cloth wiping chair seats, or sometimes it's the other way round - chair, then table! Likewise IMO the condiments shouldn't be put on a chair whilst the table is being wiped. :-))

kokako14, Feb 24, 10:31pm
Probably better to use a tea towel than having the waitress wiping a knife on there butt as they carry the loaf of bread out of the kitchen and notice a mark on the knife.

245sam, Feb 24, 10:41pm
Yuk! I'm sure you weren't meant to notice that - the knife was most likely less hygenically clean after the wipe than it was before. Was it intended for your use and did you use it? :-))

buzzy110, Feb 25, 2:26am
Lots of chefs start out their shift with a clean tea towel over their shoulder which gets used over and over during that shift. It probably isn't harbouring germs even though it gets dirtier as the shift proceeds. It takes time for germs to start reproducing.

One just hopes they do not wash their hands and use the over-shoulder t-towel to dry them with. That is not terribly hygienic.

crazynana, Feb 25, 4:55am
The thing that really bugs me is the ones who cook with long hair hanging all over the place. I have worked in the food/cafe industry for over 23 years and hair always had to be tied back/covered yet you see all these Nigella Lawson, Annabel Langbein types with hair just waving over the food they are preparing. The tea towel thing annoys me too. And the taste and put the spoon back into the pot or mixture being prepared thing is the worst.

samanya, Oct 20, 7:19am
I often think of hygiene when dining out, but it doesn't pay to dwell on it, otherwise you'd never go to a restaurant.
Once in China, I went into a street side eating place . the food was authentic & absolutely delicious & then I noticed that the dishes were being washed in a big bowl of questionably murky water . no ill effects & yet a couple of days later I decided to play safe & had a Macas & I had to do the clenched bum walk VERY FAST back to my hotel.
So is it all in the luck of the draw?