To tell or not tell, that is ...

[Danielle]

Hi to every one,
I just came back from overseas where I have been working to a very nice manor, got the job via email, the accommadation were good, the staff were very friendly and the owners seams friendly too.
The place advertise for it's beautifull fresh organic food from where the maximum come from their own potager. Guess what? it came from the cheapest super-market in town and most of the time in the end of the day when it was on special. The meat would come most of the time from the boot of the owner's car where it has been purchase in a town 1 hours from the restaurant, the bread white sponge sh.. 2, 3 day old. Fresh, hardly never, when the fish would come we'd keep for 2 days, the rest we would put in domestic freezer where the cake, bread, chicken, meat etc...were stored and with the enormous power cut we were getting, you can imagine. Raw meat more than 10 days soaking in oil, sometimes the meat was smelly the excuse given to the young inexperience waitress was that of the strong wine in the sauce and so on I could continue with the food for a long time but I'll pass to another domain, the front people, young kids from 15 to 18 no experience at all in the industry, doing there best; for that they were under paid all in cash and their tips were kept by the owners, their excuses too much breakage. you should have seen where these poor girls had to go.
So I'd like to do something, telling the tax people that 80% of the staff is paid under the table, to the health departement about the appalling condition of the way they keep food and lies to the client.
What do you think ????

[foodpump]

Well...let me put it this way. If you would have complained to the authorities on your first week, and subsequently walked off the job, I would have respected your decision.

But you didn't. You took the paycheques and cooked the shoddy ingredients until your contract was over. To kiss and tell now, it ain't right. Let it slide and check out the next job more carefully before you start.

[panini]

I'm with foodpump.
Let it go.
These types of actions really have to be seen. Like FP says.
just my 2 cents
pan

[Danielle]

Sorry I forgot to let you know, I have left, I stayed long enough for one of the chef to go on holiday.

[kuan]

Sounds like the typical Chinatown restaurant.

[AprilB]

I guess my first ?Q? would be where is this place located? (I'd certainly like to avoid going there)

Obviously health regs vary all over the map so you have to determine if it would be considered an issue where this place is located. (Yeah, the Chinatown restaurant thing... )

The tax thing, well...very messy and really hard to prove. I wouldn't really get into that aspect of it...

However, being in the food industry I can't imagine not contacting the health dept about the conditions. I mean, it was bad enough watching a baker in a 5 star resort slam an industrial block of chocolate on the floor to break it up. It was wrapped, but THEN she picked it up and placed it on the wood bakers bench!

Guys, we're talking about people's health here.

In any event, it wouldn't hurt to try. I would definitely call the HD and let them know what conditions you observed, voice your concerns and let them worry about it after that.

April

[foodpump]

I dunno, April... If it was me, I'd feel like a right proper hypocrite, taking my salary for the duration of the contract, cooking the shoddy ingredients, but not saying anything, or doing anything about it, until AFTER I leave the place. I'd feel like I was part of the problem.
Like I said before, I'd respect, and even encourage the decision to call the authorities within the first few days of starting there, but not after completing the contract.
Then again, that' s just me....

[siduri]

as a consumer and not a cook, restaurant worker or anything else, i would say PLEASE report them. Better late than never. You might even save a life. Yeah, maybe you should have left right away, but sometimes we don;t do the right thing right away, but we can do it later, no?

[AprilB]

She only stayed long enough to gracefully get out of it.

April

Originally Posted by foodpump

I dunno, April... If it was me, I'd feel like a right proper hypocrite, taking my salary for the duration of the contract, cooking the shoddy ingredients, but not saying anything, or doing anything about it, until AFTER I leave the place. I'd feel like I was part of the problem.
Like I said before, I'd respect, and even encourage the decision to call the authorities within the first few days of starting there, but not after completing the contract.
Then again, that' s just me....

[Domy]

I agree with siduri... better late than never... where was this?? I can understand the difficult situation you were in..

[Sebie]

If they were good to you than you should tell them, if they were *ssh*les than it was karma, nothing you could do about it. Karma rules.