# Chefs cleaning toilets



## capricciosa (May 30, 2015)

So, today, I was offered a job in the kitchen at a local restaurant. The kitchen looked very good (clean, well-maintained, etc.) and it seemed like it might be a good replacement for my current job which I dislike for a number of reasons, some of which I've talked about here previously and others that I haven't gotten into. However, something really struck me as odd about the position.

In my current job, we have more or less formally assigned duties (8 line stations plus 3 dish/sanitation stations) As a much smaller restaurant, they have a lot fewer lines and everyone does a little bit of everything - that makes sense. But, they also have no sanitation crew and instead use a rotating list where everyone has to clean the bathrooms at some point (during a cooking shift, I might add). As a small business, I want to be empathetic, but I just can't wrap my head around a chef cleaning the bathrooms - especiallly when on a cooking shift. At my current job, we contract bathrooms out to the skills center here, as do most restaurants in the area. It costs us around $15 a day and is well worth the money IMO.

Needless to say, I turned the job down. I was polite (you never know who you'll meet in the future) and they seemed like nice people, but I just couldn't do it. Besides the obvious health issues with a chef cleaning the toilets and then returning to cook food, I just don't see cleaning toilets as part of a chef's duties. Sure, I'll clean the kitchen, and I wash my own dishes when I hace time, but not toilets.

Has anyone else experienced this before? Do many restaurants use chefs to clean the bathrooms? I've never come across this before, so it seems like a rarity to me, but I've never worked outside of my current metro area so I was just curious.


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

Not to sound harsh but this comes off a little precious to me. In a smaller, "everybody does everything" venue I don't see the problem. Glove up, change your jacket (or whatever uniform) and toque, I don't see the issue. I mean, are you willing to clean a trap?


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Eh...no.
We prepare food, yes?
Human excrement is a bio hazard, as is urine, vomit, and other nasties (needles, sanitation pads, etc.). From a health inspector's point of view, you could clean toilets,PROVIDED you shower and change uniforms before coming into the kitchen.

I wonder, capriccosia, if it's only the cooks who have to clean the toilets, or is it the f.oh. staff as well? Customer toilets are the responsibility of the f.oh., just like the dining room cleanliness, no?

Just as a side note: I o/o my own busines for 10 years and did my fair share of toilet cleaning ( and repairs, and light bulbs, repairing the roof, and a host of countless other duties). But I reserved that special treat for the end of my shift, before I went home.


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

So you never use a washroom during a shift? Please describe your method of toilet cleaning that requires full body decontamination afterward.


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

I guess a lot of places do that.

A pub I used to work at did the same thing. But I simply refused to do it no matter what.

One of the servers ended up having to do it in my place.

By law (I think), you are allowed to turn down a certain task you deem unsuitable.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Hi Allan, 
Like I said, I cleaned the bathrooms and did any maintainence work after I was done in the kitchen, out of my uniform.

Look, would you as a customer, feel comfortable seeing a Chef enter a washroom with a plunger or cleaning supplies, and then emerge, going back to the kitchen, and then eat his/her food?


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

foodpump said:


> Hi Allan,
> Like I said, I cleaned the bathrooms and did any maintainence work after I was done in the kitchen, out of my uniform.
> 
> Look, would you as a customer, feel comfortable seeing a Chef enter a washroom with a plunger or cleaning supplies, and then emerge, going back to the kitchen, and then eat his/her food?


I can't speak for Allan, but I would think the cleaning of the bathroom happens before the shift, i.e. when customers aren't there to observe a cook or chef cleaning the bathroom. I also can't imagine a scenario in which a chef or cook is pulled off the line during service to clean a dirty bathroom.

I don't see what "health issues" it presents that go beyond a normal trip to the bathroom. Obviously the cook/chef wouldn't wear an apron or a chef coat in the restroom. Chemicals are no worse than what we'd use to clean the kitchen (assuming proper cross contamination and hygiene procedures are utilized) and if you are wearing gloves, and you wash your hands properly after I really don't see the issue.

"Not wanting to see a chef enter the washroom" would extend to any employee entering the restroom, no? Would a customer be happier to see a server with a plunger and chemicals, who then returns to bring food to the table? A manager? A bartender? Who in a restaurant during service is the one you would want to see enter a restroom to clean it?


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## chefwriter (Oct 31, 2012)

Capricciosa. 
Is the issue the cleaning of toilets in general or the cleaning of toilets during a cooking shift? 
If it's cleaning toilets, in a small place, you should be willing to do anything to help. Even a large place. Cleaning the bathroom/toilets isn't a demeaning task. It's one of the necessary parts of maintaining a pleasant atmosphere for customers. 
However, as others have stated, I don't understand the timing of the cleaning. Are you actually supposed to stop cooking and go clean the bathroom in the middle of the shift? I've cleaned bathrooms before opening and after closing but never during service, certainly not when I'm busy working with food for customers present in the dining room.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

I would have had my dishwasher clean the bathrooms. IMHO I worked my ass off to get into a position of being a Chef. It's up to me to manage the kitchen. It's my call, the dishwasher isn't dealing with food and they are the best choice for these kinds of jobs....It;s not that I think I'm to good to clean the bathroom, it's just I have better things to do........ChefBillyB


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

I'm going to side with those who say the chef or really any food handling employee has no business cleaning the restrooms. I've done my share of cleaning them, and all I can say is if you have no problem with it you probably work in a place that has a washroom attendant handing out towels and little candies to upscale clientele. Especially in pub type establishments, it's not uncommon to encounter all manner of disgust in the restrooms. Blood, urine, feces and vomit are bio-hazards and simply wearing gloves then going back to food prep doesn't cut it. We recently had a Norovirus outbreak in a diner near here that closed it for a week. With the health department they had an outside company come in to scrub and sterilize the place. All single-service containers that might have been touched by customers were thrown out.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Not taking one side or the other, merely pointing out that dishwashers handle the plates, glasses, and utensils. So do bus people, wait staff, bartenders, etc. Who is left?


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

When i first started reading this thread, I didnt immed realize we might be talking about 
cooking and serving staff servicing restrooms...during their shift... be it on the 
floor or on the line. Or even prep cooks. I assumed we meant at the end, during
end of shift clean up routines. 

In my experience, both as boh and as a customer at many different restaurants, 
its usually the busser and or dishwasher who are notified of urgent restroom
service, be it out of paper, accidents, flooded floor etc. Thats who I always 
notified, or the manager who in turn callled a busser. 
Makes sense, theyre already dealing with the "sanitation" side of things. 

So I look at it this way, we all have to use the restroom during a shift, 
cant avoid it--restaurant coffee is what it is! But why push our ...sanitation
luck so to speak, by having food handlers do it when someone else can. 
Even the general manager (many of whom dont do much anyway) or cashier
would be better choices than cook, server, prep or expediter.


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

Someone will have to explain how cleaning a restroom is inherently more unsanitary than simply using a restroom, provided that basic hygiene standards are upheld (i.e. apron/jacket off, wash/dry hands properly, etc). 

Also, there really isn't anyone working in the restaurant that doesn't have SOME contact with food or utensils. I mean, bussers clear plates, yes...but they also refill water, change silverware, serve bread, etc. Dishwashers touch clean plates and utensils coming out of the machine. Even hosts/hostess touch menus, napkins, etc. 

And I also assumed that we are talking about cleaning bathrooms as a "daily" cleaning task before the shift starts, not as ongoing duties during service.


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

Would anyone go to a doctor who interrupted a surgery to go clean the shitter? Commercial kitchens should have a sanitary level on par with an operating room. Sadly, that standard is not very common with or without employees being asked to clean bathrooms in the middle of their shift. 

There is nothing wrong with being asked to clean a bathroom on a rotating shift if and only if that cleaning takes place after you are done working with food. 

Someone who handles and prepares food, including dishwashers and servers, have no business cleaning a bathroom during their shift. Period. A bathroom is a breeding ground for a variety of dangerous germs and bacteria that range from Staph to MRSA, not mention Hepatitis, Shigella, Norovirus, Salmonella and about 77,000 other nasty bacteria and viruses. 

It just takes one incident to shut you down. IMO, its just not worth the risk.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

someday said:


> Someone will have to explain how cleaning a restroom is inherently more unsanitary than simply using a restroom, provided that basic hygiene standards are upheld (i.e. apron/jacket off, wash/dry hands properly, etc).


I can't believe you are asking this. When you clean a restroom (properly) you expose yourself to fumes, odors and mists along with pathogens that permeate your clothes and shoes and get into your hair and on your skin. If you do it at the end of your shift, go home and take a shower good. But you know with most places that's not going to happen.

As said, the most logical people to do cleaning are the bussers and dishwashers since they have limited or no exposure to food. And that cleaning should be at the end of their shift after closing.


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## capricciosa (May 30, 2015)

Thanks for the input. To clarify a few things, it would be the general/public bathroom. And, yes, it would be DURING a shift not at the end of the night. Besides the sanitation issues, I just don't think it falls in the realm of cooking. Chefs are not exactly unskilled labor. Like BillyB said, it's not that I'm above cleaning a bathroom, it's that I have better things to do (things that are in line with my training and skillset). I've refilled paper towel dispensers/soap dispensers my shair of times, and I've pulled garbage at the end of a shift, but I draw the line at cleaning toilets - especially general public toilets. To those who've said "you use it, don't you?" I would say, by that same logic, everyone should be cleaning the bathrooms at the local grocery store as well - doubtful. As far as who would do it, as some have asked, there are plenty of options. As I said before, our restaurant (and lots in the area besides ours) has people from the skills center do it on a daily basis. They get minimum wage and work for around 2 hours a day, something most any business should be able to afford.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

capricciosa said:


> As far as who would do it, as some have asked, there are plenty of options. As I said before, our restaurant (and lots in the area besides ours) has people from the skills center do it on a daily basis. They get minimum wage and work for around 2 hours a day, something most any business should be able to afford.


Excellent point I remember from your original post.

It looks like the management of that place wants to squeeze as much out of their employees as they can and don't respect them. They don't care or know about sanitation either.


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## capricciosa (May 30, 2015)

To those who think cleaning a bathroom is no dirtier than using a bathroom, consider this. When you use a restroom, your shoes and hands touch stuff. When you clean a toilet, I can't imagine digging in and not having something touch your arms/chest/shirt. When you clean a toilet (low to the ground), you're probably going to have to get on your hands & knees. When you clean a mirror/vanity, I can't see how you can avoid having the fixtures touch your shirt/waiste. All of these are pathogen contact areas that you would not have during a normal bathroom trip, and areas that can't be cleaned with a standard hand-washing sink or covered with gloves. Unsanitary work in general, and unacceptable during a food service shift.


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## chefwriter (Oct 31, 2012)

I will say that it is a strange request on the part of management. I would expect the cooks to clean the kitchen, not the public bathroom. Being willing to clean and being expected to do it are not the same. And other than the occasional problem scenario or to refill the TP or paper towels, I can't see anyone cleaning the bathrooms in the middle of service. Isn't the entire staff pre occupied with taking care of the customers? If the bathroom is clean before service, why does it need to be cleaned During service. Are the customers really that sloppy? 
All else being equal, I think I'd get the resume together.


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

halb said:


> I can't believe you are asking this. When you clean a restroom (properly) you expose yourself to fumes, odors and mists along with pathogens that permeate your clothes and shoes and get into your hair and on your skin. If you do it at the end of your shift, go home and take a shower good. But you know with most places that's not going to happen.
> 
> As said, the most logical people to do cleaning are the bussers and dishwashers since they have limited or no exposure to food. And that cleaning should be at the end of their shift after closing.


"fumes" "odors" and "mists" are all the same thing, by the way. WTF is a "misty" bathroom. And if there is "mist" in a bathroom then you are exposed whether you are cleaning or not.

And not to be vulgar, but I don't think wiping after I go number 2 is somehow more sanitary or more inclined to cross contaminate than cleaning a toilet. Empirically one is no "cleaner" than the other.

There are just as many germs on most door handles than in most bathrooms. You guys sound like you need a freaking hazmat suit to clean a restroom.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

someday said:


> "fumes" "odors" and "mists" are all the same thing, by the way. WTF is a "misty" bathroom. And if there is "mist" in a bathroom then you are exposed whether you are cleaning or not.


The fumes, odors and mists come from the cleaning agents. I don't know about you, but we use commercial cleaning chemicals, one (Spartan NABC) in a spray bottle to clean walls and tile, around toilets and urinals. Another, a urine cleaner and odor neutralizer in a spray bottle to remove urine stains and odors from the floor and grout around toilets and urinals. That's where the mist comes from that can get all over your clothes. We also use a mop and floor cleaner, sometimes with bleach on the floors. Tell me that the last time you used bleach to clean you didn't come away smelling from it.

I suppose if you consider restroom cleaning flinging around a damp mop then I can see your point.


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## capricciosa (May 30, 2015)

someday said:


> There are just as many germs on most door handles than in most bathrooms.


Which is why there is a hand-washing sink at the entrance to the kitchen and FDA standards require double-washing upon entering a food prep area


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

This is blooming into quite the debate. 

Here's a test. In the middle of the next health inspection, send one of the cooks to clean the restrooms and have them return to the line while the inspector is still there and make sure the inspector sees it happen. I don't think the inspector will say "hey....what a great idea to cut costs!" 

This is not a question of whether or not cleaning bathrooms is beneath any chef or cook. Its a simple matter of risk and sanitation. We do not take such risks in this profession. Period. Sadly, however, it happens. 

If any of you have been trained to believe that such risks are acceptable and a part of good business practices, then, as far as sanitation is concerned, you have been poorly trained. There are a lot of fantastic chefs out there who are unemployed and will never work in this professional again because they made someone sick with their half baked notions of sanitation. 

Cut corners with your ingredients, if you must. But, never cut corners when it comes to the health and sanitation of your kitchens or the well being of your guests. This is a cardinal rule that must never be broken.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

As routine not during service hours. Emergency anytime. As an owner I cleaned the restroom when I had to. Get off your high horse and do the job requested or find another job. Maybe you should not be in the business of serving people. I was taught a chef should be humble, cleaning a restroom will keep you that way.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Being hired as a Chef, just the statement alone would bother me. When I first started reading, the first thing that popped into my head was (unorganized!) Pitching in is something else. I view everyone as a job description with a number attached. If I've got 3-12's, 2-15's, and 1-25,, I'm not making/losing money every time I pull a 25. and leave the 12's. It ain't rocket surgery!
BTW, loved the one referencing a surgeon to a chef.LMAO you can have a second grade education and prosper in this industry.


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

panini said:


> BTW, loved the one referencing a surgeon to a chef.LMAO you can have a second grade education and prosper in this industry.


Indeed. Some of the dumbest people I have ever met have a lot of framed paper on their walls. Some of the smartest people I have ever met never stepped foot in college or even finished high school.

To be clear, my analogy was not to draw a parallel between the work and education of a surgeon and the work and education of a cook. Rather, it was an allegorical exaggeration aimed at emphasizing the importance of sanitation and cleanliness standards in the food industry; standards and practices that are all too often treated as secondary considerations, as proven by the very existence of this thread.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

jimyra said:


> Get off your high horse and do the job requested or find another job.


Well, that's exactly what the OP did. And I hope he told them why.


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## Iain Ellis (May 6, 2018)

I take responsibility for telephone orders and expedition of delivery orders at my place. The only person who doesn't touch food is the owner? I prepare and cook pizza, I do prep, mis en place, prepare receipts, deal with enquiries, stock control, make orders, etc. (My job is to take calls). If someone tells me to clean the toilet, their head will be in it!


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## capricciosa (May 30, 2015)

jimyra said:


> do the job requested or find another job.


I stated I turned the job down in my original post.



jimyra said:


> Maybe you should not be in the business of serving people.


I serve people in a manner that is commiserate with my training and skills (ie. quality food).



jimyra said:


> I was taught a chef should be humble, cleaning a restroom will keep you that way.


Humility can also be expressed in how you treat others. It's all about attitude. Cleaning toilets has nothing to do with attitude or graciousness.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

I serve people in a manner that is commiserate with my training and skills (ie. quality food). It's all about attitude. You do have an attitude. I hope you training and skills will support it. Good luck in your endeavors. I think sometime humility comes with age and experience. It took me many years to get over my attitude.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Well, here's another way of looking at it:

Cook=$14.00/ hr.
Server = $11.00/ hr.
Dishwasher/busser = $10.00 hr.

No special skills or training needed to do the job, so why the cook to clean a toilet? No monetary advantage, no quality advantage.

Does this mean the server or bartender should clean the griddle or fryer if the cook does the bathrooms?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Cook=$14.00/ hr.
Server = $11.00/ hr.
Dishwasher/busser = $10.00 hr.

Smiling when encountering guests. No special skills or training needed to do the job, so why the cook to smile when encountering guests? No monetary advantage, no quality advantage.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@sgsvirgil.
I apologize if you felt the need to defend statement. Nothing at all intended. The second grade thing was something that was floating in the chemo brain clutter. I thought your comment was hysterical. I just finished up one of those senior activities where you are on call to help first responders. As a perk, they let us sit in on a surgery.
I agree. The surgical nurse was so intent and very focused on sanitation. Then the CALL. The surgeon is on the property! It was very well choreographed. I don't know id this is the norm, but the surgeon has two assistants for his gloves. He then does this pirouette to don his gown. 
That's why i mentioned it. Could you imagine if he had to stop and go clean a toilet?
I been hangin around for years, nobody take me serious.
I can just picture me asking the anesthesiologist,"hey, give me a little shot, I'm starting to feel pain" and him or her responding,"hang on, he's in the third stall, he's almost done"! sorry


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

jimyra said:


> I serve people in a manner that is commiserate with my training and skills (ie. quality food). It's all about attitude. You do have an attitude. I hope you training and skills will support it. Good luck in your endeavors. I think sometime humility comes with age and experience. It took me many years to get over my attitude.





panini said:


> @sgsvirgil.
> I apologize if you felt the need to defend statement. Nothing at all intended. The second grade thing was something that was floating in the chemo brain clutter. I thought your comment was hysterical. I just finished up one of those senior activities where you are on call to help first responders. As a perk, they let us sit in on a surgery.
> I agree. The surgical nurse was so intent and very focused on sanitation. Then the CALL. The surgeon is on the property! It was very well choreographed. I don't know id this is the norm, but the surgeon has two assistants for his gloves. He then does this pirouette to don his gown.
> That's why i mentioned it. Could you imagine if he had to stop and go clean a toilet?
> ...


No worries. I wasn't offended. 

After I read your comment, I went back and re-read my comment and could see how someone could get the idea that I was trying to compare the skills and education of a surgeon with being a cook. That's why I added the explanation to give my comment some context. 

But, this entire thread pretty much underscores why I make it a point never to eat in any restaurants except on my wife's birthday and our anniversary. lol!


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

Customer: What's taking so long with my entree?
Server: Sorry, we're a little backed up right now. Somebody barfed all over the ladies room. Our line cook should be back preparing your meal as soon as he gets it cleaned up.


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## capricciosa (May 30, 2015)

jimyra said:


> I serve people in a manner that is commiserate with my training and skills (ie. quality food). It's all about attitude. You do have an attitude. I hope you training and skills will support it. Good luck in your endeavors. I think sometime humility comes with age and experience. It took me many years to get over my attitude.


So far, they have. In the future, who knows? I'm always extremely polite and cordial and try to be considerate of others, but I do admit that I can be a bit self-assured. Some say attitude, some say swagger, just a matter of perspective I guess.



sgsvirgil said:


> But, this entire thread pretty much underscores why I make it a point never to eat in any restaurants except on my wife's birthday and our anniversary. lol!


From my personal experience, I've found grocery store delis/cafeterias to have the highest standards in sanitation and employee hygiene. Not always excellent food, usually crap dumped out of a can, but more sanitary than any restaurant I've worked in or toured for a prospective job. I remember one time when I worked for [major retailer] and we got a 97 on our health inspection. The next day, a whole team of corporate gurus drove 4 hours to our store to find out why we "failed" our inspection and re-trained the entire fresh department.


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

lol seems to me saying that to a customer would be far worse than 
a line cook cleaning up a bathroom mess.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

Ahh, yeah. You probably wouldn't want that piece of information to get around.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I hope the OP prints off this thread and takes it to management......Good luck


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## maxs (Oct 29, 2012)

Call me a primadonna, but after scrubbing toilets, mopping floors, and washing dishes for 30 years, what is wrong with letting some 19 year old do it. Obviously if there's nobody else around to do any of those things, I'll get down in the trenches. Does Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or any other CEO do the toilets? Are there no perks for clawing your way to the top.? Also, is that the smartest use of time for the ostensibly most skilled employee in the restaurant?


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## Apprentichef (Oct 21, 2010)

As an owner/chef/cook/server/bartender/whomever in this industry you do what needs to be done, period. If that means you have to get in there with a toilet snake and a plunger up to your ankles in floating fecal waste, you do it and then clean yourself up and keep going.

Surgeons scrub before doing surgery so as to not give their patiens infections.

We scrub before cooking or handling food to not make our customer sick.

Getting properly cleaned is not a big deal nor does it take much time.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Uh-huh... If you're " up to your ankles in fecal waste" , are you gonna change your shoes and socks? Do you have a back up pair in your locker? Do you have showering facilities available? Clean uniform? 

Not being a smart-azz here, but these are questions any health inspector would ask you if they saw you coming out of a washroom with a toilet snake in you hands.


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## Apprentichef (Oct 21, 2010)

foodpump said:


> Do you have a back up pair in your locker?


You don't? We keep a spare set of everything, along with things like rubber boots for cleaning places.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

If you can get a 19 year old to do anything.


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## uiocatta (May 30, 2018)

I think it's not too big of a deal if you clean yourself properly afterwards. This is needed especially in smaller restaurants.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I see we're still hashing this topic out. 
The one remaining theme through all of this being that a cook has to leave the line to go clean a toilet during service. 
The issue has been separated into 2 themes. 
The first is should a cook have to clean a toilet and the second is should a cook have to leave the line to clean a toilet during service.
Opinions on both issues are clear, however; we can only give our opinions. The rest is up to the OP and his boss.


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## Iain Ellis (May 6, 2018)

halb said:


> Customer: What's taking so long with my entree?
> Server: Sorry, we're a little backed up right now. Somebody barfed all over the ladies room. Our line cook should be back preparing your meal as soon as he gets it cleaned up.


Sorry, the person bringing your food out, is cleaning up vomitus? Do me a favour! X


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## Iain Ellis (May 6, 2018)

apprentichef said:


> You don't? We keep a spare set of everything, along with things like rubber boots for cleaning places.


Knee high rubber boots- been there! No soap, been there! No towels, been there! Chef with a fat mouth? Been there! Found a better chef! Chef, if you're good, I'll work with you?


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## ktanasy (May 6, 2010)

capricciosa said:


> So, today, I was offered a job in the kitchen at a local restaurant. The kitchen looked very good (clean, well-maintained, etc.) and it seemed like it might be a good replacement for my current job which I dislike for a number of reasons, some of which I've talked about here previously and others that I haven't gotten into. However, something really struck me as odd about the position.
> 
> In my current job, we have more or less formally assigned duties (8 line stations plus 3 dish/sanitation stations) As a much smaller restaurant, they have a lot fewer lines and everyone does a little bit of everything - that makes sense. But, they also have no sanitation crew and instead use a rotating list where everyone has to clean the bathrooms at some point (during a cooking shift, I might add). As a small business, I want to be empathetic, but I just can't wrap my head around a chef cleaning the bathrooms - especiallly when on a cooking shift. At my current job, we contract bathrooms out to the skills center here, as do most restaurants in the area. It costs us around $15 a day and is well worth the money IMO.
> 
> ...


No this is very odd. Most restaurants have specific utility people that handle the cleaning of restrooms.


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## wartalla (Sep 30, 2020)

I just needed it. Thanks for sharing.


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

After reading this thread with my own bias (food preparers should not clean toilets), I can also see why in some places of employment it might be necessary. But I think that problem isn't a problem if it's just done at the end of any shift, no matter your position. Clean toilets, go home. However, in the case of "we gotta deal with this right now" the job should fall to a busser/dishwasher position.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

.


ktanasy said:


> No this is very odd. Most restaurants have specific utility people that handle the cleaning of restrooms.


Right...... Actually, no, See, the problem with reality is that its never what you expect.

Most places DO NOT have a dedicated janitor. True the hotels, malls, and super large eateries do have janitors, but thats what, maybe 10% of the total eateries?

So cooks handle food, so do servers. Dishwashers? They bring clean glassware to the bar, clean cutlery to the f.o.h., clean plates to the cooks, prep veg, clean salad, and a million other food related duties. Are they" dedicated utility people"? umm.., no.

That schtick about cooks cleaning terlets at the end of their shift aint in synch with reality either. Terlets get dirty on their own schedule. Guests ( drunk or sober) flush paper towels or tampons or even passports down the ol' crapper and are amazed that the thing backs up. Street people sneak in and do their thing. Guests will let you know -- in no uncertain terms terms-- when yea olde crapper " needs attention" regardless if the next scheduled cleaning by an off duty employee wont be for another two hours.

I guess its pretty clear that I am " well versed" in this issue, as a former cook, a former owner, a former employer, and really, just an eejit who's been in the hospitality industry for oh.., what 35? years.


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## L'uovo vulcanico (Nov 9, 2020)

OMG this thing is still alive. 

Normally the restrooms are the last thing FOH had to do before they clocked out for the night, right after restocking. I honestly thought EVERYWHERE did this. Then in the morning the boss or hostess does a pre-open walk through, and they're off and running.

The only time (other than just a once thru) you'd be cleaning the lavs in the middle of service if something somewhat "catastrophic" happened in one of them. If ANYONE was doing lav maintenance during a shift, it was either a dishwasher (who has access to nasty, caustic chemicals) or the manager (who is paid to deal with disasters)...

If they're having line cooks cleaning lavatories, commodes, urinals, and mopping during the shift, they're not using their personnel effecively - you want cooks COOKING where it makes you money, either on the line or prepping or whatever. It's like hiring, I don't know, some overpaid professional (say a jet mechanic) to do something like pull the weeds, rather than get those Gulfsreams in the air.


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