Kelowna's Restaurants (Health Scare)

[BoB76]

My question is why aren't the customers more demanding to have these problems better regulated by the health board. Some of the nicest dining areas have the most disgusting cooking areas.

I have seen a few and they aren't pretty!
I think most people never go to the back, or even think of asking!

Once again, I think the City needs to get the Health and Food Inspectors to skiddle and do some work! Like they used to have surprise un-announced visits!
Some of the Kitchens in the fast food places are totally disgusting, but one has to look at who works there!

The Health Inspectors don't just look after the City. They look after the entire region, right down to the border. I am not sure how far north they go, it seems to me Revelstoke or Kamloops.

Another growth issue. Usually bigger cities have there own inspector for restaurants. Any city that is a vacation spot or depends of seasonal tourists...should have its own...this should be manditory. However...this decision falls with our tax money...and our tax money is directed by a bunch of limp bisquits down at city hall.
Bob is right...we should have a health inspector for our population and type of city. Someone defining health standards is a good thing.
Maybe bob you should go to city counscel with your resume and ask for the job...we need someone like you protecting the public here in Kelowna.

I don't believe it is under the City's jurisdiction. Look in the Blue Pages under Federal Gov't. Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Kelowna's City Hall has nothing to say in the matter.

I'm talking besides the provincial health codes/enforcement...lots of cities establish there own means of protecting the public from poor eateries. Our city should do the same!
Would you be willing to forgo some of your taxes toward a dept. that would gaurantee you don't get food poisening? I would...some might not though.

I don't think the taxpayers should pay the bill, however I believe the city should be the ones who enforce the rules. There should be an independant company who contracts for the city who direct bills the restaurants on a 4 times a year basis. I say independent because we all know how useless the city bylaw people are. It should be the responsibility of the restaurant to pay the inspection kinda like how commercial vehicles get inspected at the cost of the owner. Maybe restaurants should buy a quarterly business license and upon health inspection they can have it renewed.

Yes...not a bad idea bob...im not sure some establishments make enough money to be able to fit into that model though.

Maybe if they cleaned up their disgusting restaurant more people will come and they can afford it. If you clean it the they will come!!

[machine]

I hope this thread does not surprise people. Have you seen the movie "Waiting", that stuff happens in a lot of restaurants. Dirty, poorly run kitchens are a part of life all over the world. In most cases it will not change.

Watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares sometime, he goes to kitchens around the world that are suffering financially and fixes them. The first thing he does after eating a meal there, is inspect the kitchen, and 9 out of 10 times he makes the staff clean every inch of the place because it is disgusting. He has thrown up a few times due to rotting food etc. in walk in coolers.

I have been in the industry over 10 years and I have always run a clean kitchen, especially when it comes to food storage and freshness. So I hate hearing about dirty kitchens. On the other side though, sometimes lack of staff means lack of cleaning time, so yes hood vents, floors, walls etc. don't get cleaned as often as they should.
There is no excuse for dirty food storage and prep areas though, any chef who gives a damn will make his staff do the cleaning or do it himself out of respect for his customers. Lazy chef = lazy dirty kitchen.

[machine]

If any of you know drivers for food suppliers, such as Neptune or Sysco, those are the guys that you ask where to eat and where not to eat, because they see the backs of every kitchen that they deliver to!

[SpazmoTheMagnificent]

I hope this thread does not surprise people. Have you seen the movie "Waiting", that stuff happens in a lot of restaurants. Dirty, poorly run kitchens are a part of life all over the world. In most cases it will not change.

Watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares sometime, he goes to kitchens around the world that are suffering financially and fixes them. The first thing he does after eating a meal there, is inspect the kitchen, and 9 out of 10 times he makes the staff clean every inch of the place because it is disgusting. He has thrown up a few times due to rotting food etc. in walk in coolers.

I have been in the industry over 10 years and I have always run a clean kitchen, especially when it comes to food storage and freshness. So I hate hearing about dirty kitchens. On the other side though, sometimes lack of staff means lack of cleaning time, so yes hood vents, floors, walls etc. don't get cleaned as often as they should.
There is no excuse for dirty food storage and prep areas though, any chef who gives a damn will make his staff do the cleaning or do it himself out of respect for his customers. Lazy chef = lazy dirty kitchen.

Excellent post...thank you.
What establishment do you work at?
Please...bob needs a good place to eat!

[BoB76]

I hope this thread does not surprise people. Have you seen the movie "Waiting", that stuff happens in a lot of restaurants. Dirty, poorly run kitchens are a part of life all over the world. In most cases it will not change.

Watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares sometime, he goes to kitchens around the world that are suffering financially and fixes them. The first thing he does after eating a meal there, is inspect the kitchen, and 9 out of 10 times he makes the staff clean every inch of the place because it is disgusting. He has thrown up a few times due to rotting food etc. in walk in coolers.

I have been in the industry over 10 years and I have always run a clean kitchen, especially when it comes to food storage and freshness. So I hate hearing about dirty kitchens. On the other side though, sometimes lack of staff means lack of cleaning time, so yes hood vents, floors, walls etc. don't get cleaned as often as they should.
There is no excuse for dirty food storage and prep areas though, any chef who gives a damn will make his staff do the cleaning or do it himself out of respect for his customers. Lazy chef = lazy dirty kitchen.

Excellent post...thank you.
What establishment do you work at?
Please...bob needs a good place to eat!

Yeah I am hungry. Please PM me or something or give me a hint.

[Triple 6]

I hope this thread does not surprise people. Have you seen the movie "Waiting", that stuff happens in a lot of restaurants. Dirty, poorly run kitchens are a part of life all over the world. In most cases it will not change.

Watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares sometime, he goes to kitchens around the world that are suffering financially and fixes them. The first thing he does after eating a meal there, is inspect the kitchen, and 9 out of 10 times he makes the staff clean every inch of the place because it is disgusting. He has thrown up a few times due to rotting food etc. in walk in coolers.

I have been in the industry over 10 years and I have always run a clean kitchen, especially when it comes to food storage and freshness. So I hate hearing about dirty kitchens. On the other side though, sometimes lack of staff means lack of cleaning time, so yes hood vents, floors, walls etc. don't get cleaned as often as they should.
There is no excuse for dirty food storage and prep areas though, any chef who gives a damn will make his staff do the cleaning or do it himself out of respect for his customers. Lazy chef = lazy dirty kitchen.

Excellent Post Machine. My house is a HUGE fan of Gordon Ramsay, we watch both the Fox show and the Food Network. It is amazing what some establishments pass off as clean....

[BoB76]

I think CHBC should do a bit about restaurants and how clean/unclean they actually are. Blaine Gafney or Kent Molgat would be the guy for the job I think.

[SpazmoTheMagnificent]

I think CHBC should do a bit about restaurants and how clean/unclean they actually are. Blaine Gafney or Kent Molgat would be the guy for the job I think.

Exspose' on K-town restaurants..."are kelownas eateries OK?",,,lol.
That would be helpful.
By law (in Ontario) the city/municipality has to list restaurants that do not pass or have conditions or fines laid against them...they also have to list what those fines or conditions are. I can't find anything like this for Kelowna.
When we would go to a new restaurant when we lived in the big smoke (Toronto), we used to go to the website and look to see how they faired during the last visit they had. If they failed in certain ways...we would avoid the place...Cockroaches was a huge no no...so was inadequate food storage.
The interesting thing is that becuase of this type of provincially dictated and municipaly managed watchdog type of inspection...most if not all of the restaurants that wanted to remain in business...complied with the standards that each municipality put forth. We rarely would find a restaurant that was out of code. The ones that were...did not last long or corrected the discrepancy.
We should have this in BC! We might...I just can't find it.

[BoB76]

I think CHBC should do a bit about restaurants and how clean/unclean they actually are. Blaine Gafney or Kent Molgat would be the guy for the job I think.

Exspose' on K-town restaurants..."are kelownas eateries OK?",,,lol.
That would be helpful.
By law (in Ontario) the city/municipality has to list restaurants that do not pass or have conditions or fines laid against them...they also have to list what those fines or conditions are. I can't find anything like this for Kelowna.
When we would go to a new restaurant when we lived in the big smoke (Toronto), we used to go to the website and look to see how they faired during the last visit they had. If they failed in certain ways...we would avoid the place...Cockroaches was a huge no no...so was inadequate food storage.
The interesting thing is that becuase of this type of provincially dictated and municipaly managed watchdog type of inspection...most if not all of the restaurants that wanted to remain in business...complied with the standards that each municipality put forth. We rarely would find a restaurant that was out of code. The ones that were...did not last long or corrected the discrepancy.
We should have this in BC! We might...I just can't find it.

It should be done like that in BC as well. Whoever inspects and passes some of these restaurants must be able to eat/drink there for free. Something fishy is going on because there are a lot of food safe rules being broken. Have you ever seen a grease trap that hasn't been sucked out in several months and backed up through kitchen sinks? Or witnessed a manager clean one out with nothing but bare hands and a soup spoon? Obviously the health inspector doesn't see things like this otherwise these places would be shut down. Has anyone ever seen a restaurant having a sign on the front door saying "closed because we failed a health inspection" ???? I never have but would be so happy to see some of those signs in Kelowna.