Had a chat with a line cook that made me rethink my prep list

Talked to this kid fresh out of culinary school last Saturday night. He said 'you put mushrooms on the same station as raw chicken, that's a fail waiting to happen.' I've been prepping the same way for 10 years without issues. But he showed me the numbers from a ServSafe study about cross contamination rates on shared boards. Now I'm splitting my prep into three color coded stations today. It felt dumb at first but honestly it's way faster and cleaner. Has anyone else had a newbie call them out on something old school that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseys301mo ago

Dude yes. Had a new dishwasher straight out of high school tell me my knife roll was a hazard because I was storing my chef knife loose with the honing steel. Laughed it off at first, been doing it that way since I started. But he showed me this photo of a guy who sliced his palm open grabbing for a towel. Switched to blade guards that week. Now my kit is actually way more organized and I don't cut myself grabbing in the dark. Humbling as hell but the kid was right.

clark.iris1mo ago

Oh man @caseys30, did your kid show you the palm slice photo too? A buddy of mine thought his knife roll was fine until his new line cook caught him grabbing a towel with his hand near the blade, nicked the edge of his palm clean open. He never stored loose again after that.