Eating Out Guide by Chef Brett

While meals cooked in the home are always the safest and healthiest ways to eat, sometimes we must eat out. Here are some tips to avoid picking up any illnesses when eating out for a business meeting, celebration, or a quick lunch. ​

     Avoid cafeteria self-service hot food and salad lines like you would see in many supermarkets nowadays. With the number of people who use them, there is an increased chance that someone who touched the tongs before you didn’t wash their hands or are sick or didn’t even use the tongs at all. Side note, some cafeteria lines like lemonade would be a safe bet because there are gloved employees serving and monitoring the correct temperatures.  
    Open kitchens are a good choice. They typically have stricter sick policies as customers can look into the kitchens to see if anyone is using poor sanitation or obviously sick. 
    Smaller places that aren’t required to or don’t offer insurance or sick days (or won’t or can’t) are more likely to have employees come in when they are unwell. Larger restaurant groups, chains, hotels usually have sick time and insurance, so employees are less likely to come in sick. Hotels, larger chains, or restaurant groups often employ a manager who completes routine checks and logs temperatures to ensure compliance of health codes day and night.  
    For pizza, the newer chains that do made-to-order in front of you are a good bet because all employees are visible (and their sanitation practices), so it’s a better chance that none are sick.