RESTAURANTS FROM HELL

As an industry insider for over 25 years, Linda Piggott-Vijeh, who heads up hospitality industry consultants Service Matters, is one of the industry’s leading hospitality and training professionals.

Know for her outspoken views, she feels there can be few people who watch the various food reality programmes we are constantly exposed on TV, or who have heard of this week’s debacle over the Which? Hotel Report, who would not be seriously questioning the advisability of eating out or staying in a hotel.

Whilst I feel it is important for the public to made aware of the risks they are taking each time they eat out, viewers must be made aware that what makes good TV is the bad stuff that goes on, not the good stuff.

There are clearly a large number of establishments in the UK, and indeed, worldwide, serving food and drink to unsuspecting customers but it would be wrong to tar them all with the wrong brush. Unfortunately most of the clients we deal with are those who do actually care what happened to their customers, those that don’t would never want to spend the money to hire us.

As someone who eats out for a living, I take this kind of risk daily, and short of us all rearing and preparing our own food many of us do not always have the option but to put our lives in the hands of others. I have only suffered from food poisoning on three occasions in the last 20 years, once in a hotel in Bombay, once at a large 5 star London hotel, and the last time in a major family style chain restaurant. I consider that pretty good going when you consider I eat out over 500 times a year.

In this country we have an excellent track record of at least attempting to establish good hygiene practices but EHO’s are as hard pressed to do their jobs as any of us. However, that should be no excuse. The general public can do much to prevent an adverse reaction, and here are my top ten tips for staying healthy.

Linda Vijeh

Managing Director

Service Matters

24^th January 2001

TOP TEN TIPS FOR AVOIDING RESTAURANTS FROM HELL

• YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR – this may not always be the case but cheap food usually means someone it cutting corners somewhere, maybe using leftovers, buying poor quality produce from unreliable sources, or food reaching it sell by date.

• HOW BUSY IS THE RESTAURANT? – not always a reliable indicator, especially in large tourist cities such as London where owners do not rely on repeat customers. On the other hand a busy place in a small rural town is usually a good sign.

• WHAT DO THE STAFF LOOK LIKE? – Are they well dressed in clean uncreased clothes, with clean finger nails? Or is their lank greasy hair all over their face, while they stand there chewing gum or smoking behind the counter? A well managed restaurant would not allow their staff to behave in this way.

• DO STAFF KNOW WHAT THEY ARE SELLING? – And do they care? Staff who show an interest in what they are selling and know about cooking methods and ingredients used are a good indication of a well run place, so ask a few questions.

• LOOK AT THE MENU – If there is one. Is it smart and clean looking, or is it dog eared and tatty, covered in food stains and with spelling mistakes, which shows an overall lack of attention to detail. It may be full of expensive out of season ingredients which may have been hanging around for ages, or items which go straight from the freezer into the deep fat fryer – when was the fat last changed?

• HOW CLEAN ARE THE BITS YOU CAN SEE? – This may not give a true indication of how clean the restaurant is in the kitchen and storage areas but any restaurant owner who cannot be bothered to keep the areas that customers see clean will pay even less attention to other areas. Are tables kept clear of dirty crockery, is the floor clean, and if eating in, try to visit the toilet before ordering.

• LOOK FOR AWARDS – How up to date are they? A restaurant awarded an accolade last year may have changed hands or be under new, and less scrupulous, management.

• USE YOUR SENSES – It’s what you were given them for.

LOOK at the restaurant’s appearance, and the food when you receive it, does it look

freshly prepared?

LISTEN for any unwelcome noises from the kitchen, squabbling staff can mean

trouble;

SMELL the food when it arrives, and notice any unpleasant smells in the restaurant, such as stale fried food

TOUCH the surfaces of areas you come into contact with - tables, cloths, crockery, glassware, are they clean or sticky with leftover food?

TASTE what you have been given to eat, is it how it should be?

• SEND IT BACK – If it’s not what you ordered, or smells off. Honest mistakes can be made, but be aware that if you do send it back it can provide the opportunity for an unscrupulous waiter or chef to take out revenge – if in doubt do not order anything else.

• TELL YOUR FRIENDS – And the Environmental Health Office if anything is amiss. But do also tell as many people as possible about a GOOD EXPERIENCE – let’s keep these one’s in business!