Food Vermin -- Bird Flu, Next Course?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT In Super Chef, I noted that Todd English's flagship Olives in Charlestown, MA, was closed twice for health violations that included rodent droppings and improperly stored meat and chemicals (p. 114). Of course, Olives is not an isolated case, and I'm not talking about the greasy spoon around the corner. The New York Post reports of New York City, "More than half of the city's 50 most popular restaurants were cited last year by health inspectors for stomach-churning violations that included evidence of mice, flies and roaches." Restaurants include such famed and venerable institutuions as Gramercy Tavern (Super Chef, pp. 187-192), Blue Water Grill, Le Bernardin, Chanterelle, Craft (Super Chef, pp. 192-197), Danube, Balthazar, Blue Ribbon, Cafe des Artistes, and Asia de Cuba. Chanterelle's co-owner Karen Waltuck, a long-respected restaurateur, is quoted as not knowing when some rodent droppings were left: "It might have been 10 years ago." Statements like that scare me: does that mean her kitchen hasn't been cleaned thoroughly for a decade? So why aren't restaurateurs and chefs doing a better job, especially with the prevelance of open kitchens? The regulations aren't too tough. If it is too easy to get sick even in the best of restaurants, we might as well swear off eating out. New emphasis needs to come from the top in every single restaurant. We should expect no less -- especially when the Center for Disease Control is preparing us daily for a possible outbreak of Bird Flu! Sample "Bird Flu" articles, February 25-27, 2005: The New York Times (AP) The New York Daily News The Sunday Times (UK) The Guardian (UK) The Boston Globe Previous articles: Jeffrey Chodorow: Talent Agent Todd English Winner Gets "English is Italian"? Todd English Cooks for Governors Ball? Todd English Slums Jeffrey Chodorow Tom Colicchio: Craftsteak 2 Tom Colicchio Moves Craftbar Tom Colicchio: A-Kickin' and A-Copin' --> back to superchefblog