Friday, March 8, 2013

I'm Certified


I just took a course to be a certified food manager. What does that mean? Every restaurant needs one person on staff who is certified. This person is responsible for ensuring that food stays safe throughout the restaurants operation. We are kind of like the food police.  

I was initially excited for the course because I thought it’d be like the motorcycle class I took a few years back.  There is no way to get that range of people in one room other than for something like motorcycles. In that class, I took a quiz with the guy next to me on motorcycle safety.  He reasoned the answers based on knowledge he learned in jail (so he kept saying). I sat behind a young lady who had a tattoo on the back of her neck which I swore was a particular lady part that I’m too shy to write here. I was hoping for similar fun in the Food Manager course.

It was a day-long course. Our instructor was eager, young and had spent 7 years training at McDonalds. The highlight? Drawing pictures of puke and toilets to illustrate common symptoms of Salmonella. The painful part? An afternoon of one cheesy video after another. Nothing like my motorcycle course that included riding a 250cc bike around an obstacle course.

Having no professional background in food service (not sure my stint in the kitchen at Pizza Hut as a teenager counts), I must admit the content of the class was very useful. I learned about the danger zone for food, 41 to 135 F. Dangerous pathogens grow during this time and so you cannot let food sit in this zone for more than four hours (and ideally no hours). I learned about the foods most likely to be contaminated, let’s just say most here. They shared how to store food to ensure that if there is cross contamination it can be cooked off. And then, of course, the memorization part; required heat level and cooking time for different food items to eliminate bad bacteria. Whew!

The make up of the class was also not as exciting as I had hoped. It ranged from a 35 year White Castle employee and a couple folks from Mickey’s Diner (that seemed very concerned about how long you can leave eggs out), to a resort cook from northern Minnesota. The latter gentleman enjoyed sharing his kitchen “war stories” which the instructor did not know how to curtail. I think that added an hour to the course throughout the day.

Honestly, they should have let me just read the book and test on it. The sections on basic hygiene and ­­­­­­­­­­pest management can be shortened to, “Don’t be gross,” and, “Call a professional.” The cleaning and sanitizing section I learned in 5 minutes doing dishes at Piccolo. As much as it’s important, it’s not rocket science ( I wonder what rocket scientists compare their jobs to?).

Most of what we covered is easy to expect of an establishment. Sandcastle can easily build in simple processes to ensure our food remains safe. However it is concerning that some of the suggestions to ensure food safety would preclude buying local and possibly even fresh. I also could not help but think about time spent in homes in other countries (remember that was my past career, I’m not being pretentious), and how it’s customary to leave food out all the time. Okay, maybe not in restaurants (but maybe there too actually). So a part of me thinks about how over-sanitized we can be. Yet, the rule follower in me will be sure to comply with all regulations!

Friday, March 1, 2013

Open House Recap

Thanks to all the great neighbors, friends, and family who came out last night to share their thoughts about the outdoor seating plans for Sandcastle! 

There were over 40 people who showed up and we were flowing into the hallway. The MPRB did a great presentation on what went into the current design plans and then there was a healthy question/comment time. Here are some of  the topics that came up.

  • How to manage the bike lane to lessen chance of accidents for bikers and pedestrians
  • A desire for as much space as possible for seating
  • Talk about materials for the seating; decking vs. paving
  • Canoe parking
  • More picnic tables in the larger park area
  • Moving bike rentals to other side of beach and adding bike parking
  • Interest in making this happen sooner than later (MPRB stated a timeline as beginning construction after Labor Day) so that beer and wine would be available sooner than later also (nothing like a beer on the lake!)

Updated plans will be posted on the active projects section of the MPRB website. Also, the MPRB announced they will be having public events for input on master planning the entire Lake Nokomis park area later this summer. 

Here are some photos from the night. 
Ward 11 City Council Member John Quincy, Sandcastle owners Chele Payer and me, and Ward 12 City Council Member Sandra Colvin Roy. 
Cliff Swenson, Director from MPRB presenting. 
Paul Neseth from Locus Architecture presents with MPRB. 
Friends of Lake Nokomis Founder Steffanie Musich and Sandcastle's contractor from The Big Room, John Booth.