The Chefs Table

The most important thing that anyone who handles food needs to know is the cause and effect of their food handling actions. Those who have been trained about of the essentials of food safety are less likely to cause food related contamination. This hour long course of study will equip you with these essentials.

There are three types of food contaminations are Chemical, Physical and Biological.
As a food handler what you need to remember is

1. All cleaning chemicals must be handled according to the manufacturers stipulations. The chemicals can not be stored near any food production areas.

2. Physical contaminations include hair, nail fragments, bandages, metal fragments, and broken glass.
a. Always keep your hair constrained within a hairnet or hat according to the operation manager’s regulation.
b. Keep your nails trimmed and clean, do not use finger nail polish, wear gloves when handling ready to eat foods, or if your hands have bandages, nail polish, or irremovable rings.
c. Metal fillings from can openers must be cleaned off between each use.
d. Glass must never come in contact with ice dispensing areas, or used in the kitchen to consume beverages. If glass is stored in the refrigerator it must be stored away from ready to eat foods.

3. Please review the following video concerning biological contaminants.

The key item to remember is that food has a certain amount of time that can remain in the temperature danger zone, or TDZ. The TDZ or temperature danger zone is between 41° and 140°. Chilled food must be stored below 41° and all hot food must be held above 140°. The amount of time that these foods can be held outside of the TDZ depends upon expiration dates, and the HAACP proven systems of time and temperature control.

As part of the time and temperature control systems food can only be held hot for a defined period of time and must be reheated to 165° if the temperature drops below 140°. The current regulations include a minimum variance of hot holding between 135° and 145°. Please check with your operation’s manager to verify the correct minimum holding temperature in your establishment.

The correct actions by a food handler are the keys to ensuring safe food. These include:
1. Washing your hands.
a. After using the restroom.
b. After touching your face or skin.
c. After removing the trash.
d. After handling soiled dishes, service ware or pots.
e. After handling raw foods.
f. Between glove uses.
g. In between tasks including before you start work.

2. Report any illness’s to your operation’s manager. You may need to provide a doctor’s clearance before you are permitted to handle food that is to be consumed.
3. Keeping yourself clean by bathing or showering daily. Avoid using perfume or cologne before preparing food.
4. Only wear clean clothes and a clean apron while involved in food preparation.
5. Hair must be contained within a hat and/or hairnet.
6. Change or use gloves when:
a. Utensils are not practical.
b. If you have a wound on your hand.
c. When handleing ready to eat foods.
d. The glove becomes torn or damaged.
e. When leaving your station or changing tasks.

Another way that a food handler can ensure that food is safe is to cook or reheat foods to the correct temperature. The only acceptable method to check the internal temperature of a food item is through the use a calibrated thermometer. Check with your operation manager or standardized recipe for the correct cooking temperature.

Cross contamination is one of the leading causes for food borne illness. Always wash rinse and sanitize;
1. Hands between tasks, after handling food or chemicals with your hands, and before beginning work.
2. Cutting boards in between tasks.
3. All preparation items after each use.

Never
1. Use sanitizer in place of soap and water.
2. Combine raw and cooked foods or place on the same surface.
3. Store potentially hazardous foods above ready to eat food.
4. Prepare vegetable or fruits that have not been washed properly.

Finally only prepare foods that are wholesome to begin with:
1. Purchase food from approved sources.
2. Never use a product from a damaged container.
3. Receive and store foods at the correct holding temperatures.
4. Only use foods that have been covered, labeled and dated.
5. Store food in the refrigerator based upon how potentially hazardous they are. Always keep proteins in a seperate refrigerator to lessen the chance of cross contamination.

Refrigerator 1 Example
- Top shelf-Cooked Ready to eat foods
Stocks and prepared mise en place.
Produce
Dairy
Bottom ShelfEggs

Refrigerator 2 Example -Top Shelf-Sealed Packaged Seafood
Sealed Package Whole Proteins
Portioned Proteins
Portioned Ground Meat
Sealed Packed Poultry
Bottom ShelfPortioned Poultry

Whole seafood and fish that is packed in ice must be stored in its own refrigerator

6. Don’t use prepared food items that are more than 7 days old.
7. Control all pests by keeping food preparation areas clean.
8. Store chemicals away from food.

The proper cooling of prepared foods is critical. To ensure that food is cooled properly always cool the prepared food in shallow pans. This two stage cooling check system required that the food must be cooled to 70 degrees within the first two hours and cooled then cooled from 70 degrees to 41 degrees in less than 4 hours. Maximum cooling time allowance is 6 hours from above 140 degrees to below 41 degrees.

Lets Review.

To summarize: Wash you hands often, wear gloves when needed, watch how you store food, and abide by the time and temperatue rules of food preparation.

Please visit our website for additional products and services. www.chefreference.com

“Fraudulent at 50, the State of our Union” Starring…….
One can almost hear the late Don LaFontaine say

In a time when we see corporate America conducting themselves in a manner unbecoming that of a fiduciary officer why has the spotlight of truth only recently found its mark on the stage of reason? Have we not learned the lessons of WorldCom and Enron?

For years we have seen the obsolesce of certain brands of American produced automobiles and have questioned the relevance and reason for purchase of such gas-guzzlers with gas prices reaching an all time national average of $3.97, on July 7th 2008. We have seen the value of bank stocks plummet because of the corporate mismanagement of expected growth and recently seen their lack of understanding in the solvency of the financial market. More importantly, we have seen a bait and switch technique used by the highest of officials in promising one thing, the creation of 4 million jobs to now saving 4 million jobs. Viewpoint 4 min 15 sec.

What is the common factor in all of these cases, accountability? For too long we have wanted more than we have needed, taken more than was fair, and given back when it was convenient. This is not an argument for socialism; it is an argument for accountability. The backbone of our economy is not the automakers, the banks, or the fed; it is the small business owner, their employees and customers.

When the common middle class citizen is reminded, on a daily basis, about the mis-statements, and “interpretations” of truth he or she may begin to question the validity of personal accountability. Is someone watching? Fraud by definition is “All multifarious means which human’s ingenuity can devise, and which are resorted to by one individual to get and advantage over another by false suggestion or suppression of the truth. It includes all surprise, trick, cunning, or dissembling, and any unfair way which another is cheated.” (Black ,468)

Others may argue that trimming a little of the fat, surplus of assets, off a business for the purpose of personal gain is an acceptable norm in today’s culture. I believe that business’s that hold themselves to a higher standard of asset accountability are the same business we will see flourishing after ten years. Dennis AuBuchon wrote, in the American Chronicle, titled The Benefits of Having Integrity in Business that “News events seem to play on the lack of integrity of individuals in business and the decisions they make in running it. The importance of integrity in business cannot be underestimated. Decisions made by management of companies affect the lives of their customers, themselves, and their employees.”

AuBuchon also states, “Companies must have in place a code of ethics/integrity which exemplifies the principles of integrity. These rules must be followed by all employees of the organization.” In my opinion the first step that a manager or operator must first take, when developing a plan for business, is an internal audit of the negotiable and non-negotiable factors in conducting that business’s activities. Negotiable matters may include the degree of disciplinary action that one may take when an employee does not perform as expected. Non- negotiable’s, in my opinion, are those areas of concern, which will cause the business to lose respect in the eyes of the public and the other employees. Examples include employee theft, misappropriation of funds and of course all activities that could be considered fraudulent under the noted definition.

Drs. Jim and Joann Carland stated in their work, “Catching the American Dream” the single most important factor in reducing fraud within a business, the perception of detection. The chance of employee fraud decreases once a system is established to reduce the risk of loss. Once employee knows the rules and the consequence for inappropriate actions, he or she is less likely to break them. Permitting our business to take place in the light of accountability is the most secure measure to protect ones self, our employees, and our customers.

Had the automakers had the foresight to see result of the road that they have traveled, forced into certain bankruptcy they might have gone greener and leaner a little earlier? What if someone questioned the extent and result of irresponsible mortgage lending 5 years ago, would two of the nations largest banks still be worth a tenth of their 2008 stock value now. Finally, when we Americans realize that “A change we can believe in” begins with our own integrity then “Yes we can” begins a path to individual, corporate, and global accountability. However until we “the people” reduce our own ambivalence to the truth we, most likely, will continue to run away from the spotlight of verity into the darkness of chicanery.

Resources

1. Historic Gas Prices http://zfacts.com/p/35.html

2. Banks http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50K4DA20090221

3. Youtube- President Obama’s Press Conference 2/9/2008 Viewpoint 4:15

3. Black, H.C (1979) Blacks Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, St. Paul West Publishing Company 468

4. AuBuchon, Dennis. “The Benefits of Having Integrity In Business.” American Chronicle October 19, 2007 21 Feb 2009 http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/40723>.

5. JoAnn & Jim Carland (2005) Catching the American Dream: New Venture Growth video series.

As an equal opportunity employer all candidates should go through a screening process regardless of position. Upon successful completion of the initial position review and upon the managers recommendation for employment the candidate will complete the screening process before the first day of employment.

Screening Process

Submit candidates name, social security number, and current address to an online employee reference contractor for a background check.
Send the candidate to a health service provider to screen for substance abuse and to perform a health care screening to ensure that the employee has the physical capacity to perform the duties.
Review the job specific policy and procedure checklist and have the employee sign and initial all expectations.

Front of the House – Servers, Cashier, Hostess

Cash and Credit Card
The hostess/ cashier should be accountable for all dining room transactions, transfers and credit.
He or she should provide a receipt for every transaction.
Servers must ensure the customer signs a copy of the credit card receipt.
The shift manager is responsible for setting up cash drawers for the cashier. The cashier will recount the drawer in front of the manager and both should sign the shift log at the beginning and end of business.
The cash register drawer should be closed after each transaction. Never leave a register unlocked when not attended. And never leave the register key with a register.
Identify each over-ring and under-ring. Managers should sign off all voids and over-rings.
Limit the amount of accumulated cash in any register. Use a drop-safe every 30 minutes for all amounts in excess of $200.00
Keep tendered bills on the register until the transaction is concluded.
Conduct only one transaction at a time.
Check for counterfeit currency. Use marker on all bills over $20.00.
In the event that a customer leaves without paying, or shortchanges the server, the server must report the theft to the manager immediately. This prevents servers from pocketing cash and blaming the customer.
All cash tips must be reported by the server in accordance with federal procedures.

Back of the House- Cooks, Steward, Dishwashers.

All orders must be printed on the computerized system. The only verbal food orders that should be allowed are those given by a shift manager.
All overcooked, spoiled or damage products must be reported to the line chef as soon as possible.
Any personal equipment- knives, utensils etc. must be identified with a personal inscription and stored at the end of your shift in the chefs’ office locker. There is one locked drawer for each cook. A utensil kit, issued at the first date of employment, including a spatula, two tongs, thermometer, 4 kitchen spoons must be secured in the cooks lock box at the end of the shift with all personal equipment. Cooks may not use toolboxes or carry cases to transport personal and restaurant tools to and from work.
All broken glassware and dishes must be secured in cardboard boxes for the shift supervisor to inspect at the end of the shift.

Inventory Control and Purchasing

A weekly physical inventory of all prime cost items should occur at irregular times and days. Prime cost items include all proteins and alcoholic beverages.
The purchasing steward should be responsible to provide to the shift manager all receipts of purchase for review at the end of the delivery window, a set period of time that orders may be received from purveyors. Spot check the steward to ensure that all items have been put away properly. Review the purchase list for the following day to see if multiple items are ordered. Since the steward opens the storeroom with the opening shift supervisor and maintains the storeroom during business hours the evening shift supervisor must receive the steward’s copy of the key and secure it for the following day.
In the event that any items are needed from the storage areas during the evening shift the shift manager will obtain the needed items.
All prime cost items must be counted at the beginning and ending of each shift. The line chef and bartender are responsible to the shift manager for the accountability of all prime cost items.
Doors to storage and supply rooms must be locked at all times that the shift manager or steward are not present.
All scheduled visitors and sales representative must enter the restaurant from the front entrance and be escorted to the office.
Delivery drivers are not permitted inside of the operation. If they need to use the restroom or see the manager they must be escorted.
Since all purchases are produced by a perpetual inventory that is based upon the point of sale system a physical inventory must be completed at the end of each month for all ingredients, small wares, and service wares.

Data Protection

Maintain all signed receipts for 90 days in accordance with credit card procedure. File in secure file cabinet on a weekly basis.
Cross-shred all potentially sensitive materials including customer receipts after 3 years of storage.
Store all purchase agreements in locked file cabinet.
Store all receipts of purchase for 3 years in locked file cabinet.
All personnel files must be locked in the file cabinet when not being referenced.
All file cabinets are to be locked when not in use.
All data files must be backed up daily on both the hard drive and through the secure net service. The automated backup of all transactions, purchases, disbursements and credits must be verified at the end of the business day. Once the data is electronically secure an email will be sent to your manager’s account verifying that the data is secure.

Personnel Policies

Keep a record of all employee purchases.
All employees must have the shift manager perform transactions for sale of items purchased from the restaurant.
Shift lockers should be available for all employees. Personal property must be kept in the lockers during working hours. Employee will need to provide a combination lock for locker use and remove it at the end of the shift.
Employees should be allowed access to the building during scheduled hours of work through the employee entrance. If the employee would like to visit other employees, or make a purchase from the dining room for any reason he or she must receive permission from the shift supervisor.
Breaks may be taken in the exterior smoking are outside. Employees should enter and exit the building using their electronic ID. Employees should be encouraged to take their break in the employee breakroom next to the time clock.
All employees must wash their hands for a minimum of 20 seconds after using the employee bathroom or after returning from a break.
Employees must park in the employee parking section only.

Refuse Control

Trash remove is to be handled by both of the dishwashers. Trash is be removed at the end of the shift and placed in the locked trash bins located outside. The shift manager should be responsible to monitor the disposal of the trash during closing procedures using the closed circuit recording system.
The shift manager must check the lock at the end of the shift and inspect the surrounding area for possible pilfered goods.

Bank Deposits, Key Control and Cash Security

At the end of the shift the shift manager should be responsible to complete the closing statement and bank deposit form. Once the funds, receipts and form are locked in the bank deposit bag each bag should be locked in the safe located in management office.
Safe-drop collection. The safe is a time safe that will allow you to collect the safe-drop collections from the cashier area. The key to access the safe-drop is located inside of the safe. The time that this is be done, safe-drop transfer to secure safe, is between shifts and at the end of the business day. During the transfer time during the day both managers are to escort the deposit to the secure safe. Since only one manager is on duty at the end of the day the building must first be secure then the transfer is to be made with the line chef and the shift manager.
At some time of the mid shift – between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm an armored security service should pick up and make the bank deposit. Shift managers should have a master key which secures both the public entrance/ exit, storeroom, managers office and the kitchen /employee entrance/ exit.
The secure safe, primary safe, has a personal safe combination which is issued to each shift manager. Access to this safe uses the shift manager electronic id and the combination entry. Giving this card or combination to any person could be grounds for immediate dismissal and possible criminal charges if fraud is committed.

Security Recording Devices

Cameras should be strategically located all around the premises and should be monitored from both the managers’ office and security.

Retooling Early Stage Development- What does the customer want. Steve Blank

What is the Next Big Thing? Create an oppurtunity in the midst of this economic crisis.Three Silicon Valley dealmakers – Tony Perkins, CEO of AlwaysOn; Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director of Draper, Fisher Jurvetson; and Michael Moe, Founding Partner of ThinkEquity – discuss the evolutions in online media, the power of partnerships, and other next-generation opportunities for the global marketplace.

E-commerce Podcast concerning the 6 most important pages to have on your website.

http://www.gsinc.co.uk/tips Web Design and ECommerce SEO video tutorial on the six key webpages an ECommerce website should contain. Presented by Gareth Davies of GSINC Ltd. For ECommerce tips and videos visit

Selling Online How to Create a Successful E-Commerce Web Site

Learn how to sell online from Red Oxx, a Montana-based seller of travel adventure gear. See more videos and how-to business information at http://allbusiness.com

Start a Business with Residual Income

The Characteristics of an Entrepreneurial Leader- Frederick J Tiess –
Johnson and Wales University
Fred Tiess shares his observations concerning the qualities of entrepreneurial leaders.
Click Here to Listen
Resource- WCU Podcasts

Tips for an Entrepreneur - Larry Page- Google co-founder

Tip 1: Just don’t settle. Especially with employees, it is very important to find great people you are compatible with.
Tip 2: There is a benefit from being real experts. Experience pays off.
Tip 3: Have a healthy disregard for the impossible. Stretch your goals.
Tip 4: It is OK to solve a hard problem. Solving hard problems is where you will get the biggest leverage.
Tip 5: Don’t pay attention to the VC bandwagon. Don’t start a company just because you can. Instead, have a really good idea that is good regardless of the funding situation.
Resource – Stanford ECorner

What Is Creativity? Professor Robert Sutton -Stanford University

Using Play-Doh and the Apple iPod as examples, Robert Sutton, Co-Director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Organization at Stanford University, explains that often creativity is simply making new things out of old ones.

Resource – Stanford ECorner

Five Critical Skills That Entrepreneurs Need - Jerry Kaplan – Co-Chairman Egghead.com

Kaplan talks about the five critical skills that entrepreneurs need:
1) Leadership: ability to build consensus in the face of uncertainty
2) Communication: ability to keep a clear and consistent message
3) Decision-making: knowing when to make a decision
4) Being a good team player: knowing when to trust and when to delegate
5) Ability to telescope: to focus in on the details and then move back to the bigger picture.

Resource – Stanford ECorner

Jerry Kaplan, serial entrepreneur, executive, technical innovator, and author, elaborates on the five biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make:
1) Having unclear goals and an unclear mission
2) Trying to prove that they are smart
3) Greed – doing it for money.
4) Hiring people that they like rather than people that they need.
5) Not knowing when to let go.

The Principle of Agility -Jeff Raikes – Microsoft Corp

In Raikes’ early days at Microsoft, the strategy was to focus on agility–to have the products run on a number of different computing platforms. To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to learn and respond to challenges that arise and adapt your strategy accordingly, says Raikes.

Resource – Stanford ECorner

“One thing is common with very successful people. On a minute-by-minute, day-by-day practical basis, successful people don’t go around succeeding all day. Successful people actually fail. Only through failure is there a pathway to success.” This quotation of Simon Woodroffe was used in an article by Ian Ashbridge describing the leadership style of the Yo! Sushi founder.
In my opinion those who venture into a small business truly have the desire to succeed. The need for achievement is not a personality attribute which is necessary for operating a successful business, because failure can breed success. Those who need to benchmark their professional progress on a personal level may find a greater sense of achievement in a corporate structure, with performance based incentives. A small business may not see a profit or a measurable achievement for several financial periods or even a few years.

When taking the internal locus of control into account, those who believe that they are masters of their own destiny are either on the way to success or somewhat unprepared for the challenges that business can bring. Those who believe that their business fate lies in the hands of others operate with an external locus of control. The factor that really determines the rate of success in a business, concerning both types of locus of control, is the entrepreneurs’ ability to adapt to change, because change is inevitable.

One of the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur is that you can set your own schedule, depending upon the degree of the entrepreneurs’ interaction with clients, employees, and suppliers. In a business model, like a sole proprietorship, in which there are a very limited number of employees, controlled supply line, and targeted client base, independence is indeed a positive benefit.

For small business operators who have the natural need to lead, given the right circumstances, success can be measured by the accomplishments of those who are willing to follow. Although someone has a desire to lead in a small business, if the concept, market position or economic factors involved in running the operation are not aligned then overall success may be jeopardized.

Indeed a successful business person is very much like a “Heffalump”, as described by Jim and Joanne Carland, I know one when I see one. The elusive “success image” is as differentiated as the number of individuals who seek success. I believe that a successful business operator is one who possesses an ability to analyze past challenges and achievements for the purpose of goal setting and benchmarking.

Ashbridge, Ian. “Success means stepping outside the ‘comfort zone’.” Farmers Weekly 8 Mar 2008: P 77.