The Most Important Thing....
By Andrew Greene | Andrew@HospitalityNewsNY.com
Every great kitchen culture has its rituals back of house. The familiar chorus of “Corner,” “Behind!” and “Hot!” echoing through stainless ‑ steel corridors. Some with Christopher Walk-in pictures or music. Some rituals in the front of house are quieter, more or less funny and almost sacred. I learned very young in this industry hungry bar and thirsty kitchen and got along with everyone. Those that worked with me knew we had open lines of communication between managers, front of house and the back of house staff. For me, my favorite thing at work is collaboration and the purest form of this can be pre-service or a brief stand up meeting. Done routinely, sometimes called premeal or in-service where everyone gets together. We run through the menu, VIP events, necessary training, it is a chance to lead, celebrate milestones, listen to and effectively communicate with the entire team and get their sign offs that they attended. My most important training topic and signoffs from the entire staff to be 100% compliant with was handwashing. If you are starting a restaurant, managing an operation or building a template of a training program make sure you include handwashing multiple times and coach it in real time too. I’ll tell you a story. During the opening of a newly renovated 20M building with 2 phases of construction, at a pre ‑ meal meeting, a National QA Safety Manager named Brian addressed me and our team. He didn’t start with a complex system or a technical lecture. He started with one sentence: “Handwashing is the #1 most important thing you can do as a foodservice worker preparing food for others.” Then he told a story that stuck with me until this day, and likely hundreds who have heard it as it made every person stand a little straighter. It wasn’t dramatic for the sake of drama; it was human. It was about responsibility, about the invisible trust guests place in us every time they sit down to eat food prepared by someone else. The CDC according to their research, reinforces this: “The spread of germs from the hands of food workers to food is a common cause...It accounts for nine of ten outbreaks in which food was contaminated by food workers.” For resources on handwashing visit the CDC website below, consult a local sanitarian, QA pro and your DOH. Sometimes the most important thing isn’t complicated. Sometimes it’s the simplest habit, done with consistency, that protects the people we serve. Kitchens aren’t just places where food is made they’re places where people grow as individuals, so challenge your entire team and to ensure that all employees are properly handwashing. Especially bartenders and barehand touching fruit, is that acceptable anywhere?
Handwashing
www.CDC.GOV/CleanHands October 15 is Global Handwashing Day
Your Turn! Experts and professionals... What’s your “most important thing”? What advice shaped your approach, your leadership, or your life? Someone left a mark on you with a story that resonated... and Hospitality News would like to share it in a future edition.
Hospitality News / National Edition / Sept 2026 / Page 69
Powered by FlippingBook