My Class Experience in Food Handling Safety

We met in the dark in front of the restaurant (like a drug deal going down!) at 6:15 am, as planned, 2 backed out at the last minute leaving only 3, and made it to the training center with minutes to spare.

The class totaled 13 with only 5 of us testing for an initial certification. All others were taking the exam to re-certify and light years ahead of us in procedure and handling knowledge. It was difficult to keep up at times and I felt terrible for my friends Sasha, from Belarus - and Daniel, from Mexico. My attempts to help, mostly futile, depended on their understanding other English synonyms. Time-consuming and not very effective. English is not even their second language. At least Daniel was allowed to take the exam in Spanish. No such luck for Sasha, no Russian version.

It's important to note that Sasha is a manager, among other things; Daniel is a chef; I am well, what I am.  Whatever that is today.

There were 3 breaks, including a half-hour lunch. By the time lunch time came around, served by the kitchen on site, we were already up to our eyeballs in fear of bacteria, food-borne viruses, personal hygiene. The food was excellent, and an unexpected selection of options. Oysters, Pork Roast, braised carrots, sauteed broccoli, various salad ingredients, garlic-roasted potatoes and some kind of flan for dessert (which I didn't sample) and everything set off bells and red flags in our heads regarding food safety. Maybe that was the idea.

Maybe, we were just paranoid.

Anyway, the 9-hour day turned into 11 hours because of issues involving others in the class, who were inattentive to detail forgetting to bring the completed information sheets required for the class and test. Gathering this information from the website by the proctor ate up an hour. And not even an apology was offered by the proctor or the guilty parties involved when the dust settled.

We plunged into lectures, viewed 4 videos, study groups, and followed up with a Q&A a couple of times to review the TCS standards for each food group, especially meats, seafood, chicken, and dairy. Very confusing stuff, but extremely interesting and informative. I learned that most of it is common sense, and I was happy to raise my hand a few times when questions about certain foods and their safe storage came up.

We began the exam at 5:30 (half-hour after the class was to have ended), it is not timed, and attendees were allowed to leave when they finished. I wrapped up in about an hour, not that I'm smart,  I don't like to second-guess myself and usually go with my gut and failing memory.  But my poor Sasha & Daniel struggled to get through their 90 questions. I texted the GM telling her the situation and she suggested we stop at a restaurant for supper and bring her the bill. The others were frazzled when they finished and didn't want to have dinner at a restaurant. We all wanted to get home after the long, brain-numbing day. I texted our decision.

Did we pass?  Unfortunately, we will not know the answer for about 2 weeks. The exams are Fed-Ex'd to the National Restaurant Association where they are laughed at evaluated, graded, and posted on the NRA - ServSafe website. I think I did a fair job, though a few questions were from chapters in the book not covered in the class (probably to benefit those attending for re-certification) so I used common sense (ahem!) and did my best.

We were on the road back to Rehoboth at 7:30 when I received a text from our GM, asking how things went and if we wanted to stop by for a drink and/or dinner. I passed along the info to the guys. Sasha was up for a cocktail, Daniel just wanted to go home to sleep (he'd had only 4 hours the previous night) and I was ready for a Martini and some food.

During the long drive we discussed what we learned and how our new awareness will impact the day-to-day operation of the restaurant. Most everything covered is already in practice, (the restaurant has a stellar inspection record) but there are a few ways to improve. There always are, aren't there!

Upon arrival, Daniel took off for home, Sasha and I headed to the bar. He was anxious to get home to his kids and left soon after polishing off his Bombay Sapphire. I sat and sipped, ordered a "blue steak quesadilla" (new menu item, grilled steak topped with crumbled blue cheese and bourbon sauce) with a salad. Absolute Heaven! The GM made me another martini and joined me as I sipped. She is off to Ireland today for a 2-week holiday with family.

Slept like a baby and have been running around today playing catch-up on things that were to be done yesterday.

Looking back the whole adventure was worthwhile and though my brain still hurts, the increased knowledge will make me more of an asset to the restaurant and the locosguys in the long run.

Going to wash my hands again and prepare for a couple of olives before supper.

And so it goes.
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