Week 7: Keep it clean

I am sorry to report it's a short blog again this week as we do nothing in the cooking school kitchen. Two classroom days of Food Safety convinces us we are too scared to cook for anyone in case we kill them, and is enough to make me vow never to eat out again. But of course I do.

You have no idea, and are probably better off not knowing, how many different types of bacteria and spores there are just waiting to pounce given the right conditions. It seems a miracle that more of us aren't dropping like flies suffering from the intricacies of various diseases caused by campylobacter, salmonella and other nasties. At the end of the session I come home and scour the apartment from end to end.

My top tips for avoiding food borne bacteria are, in no particular order:

• Cool cooked food quickly and get it into the fridge asap if not eating it immediately
• Be scrupulous about washing chopping boards in hot soapy water, preferably sanitising them after preparing raw meat or fish especially chicken
• Be aware of how and where you use your tea towels and wash them  - constantly!
• When reheating food, make sure it is really hot and evenly heated
• Look at the staff and in the kitchen when eating out. If they look dirty the food probably is too!

On that cheery note here is a picture that has nothing to do with cooking - unless you are thinking bacon!

I was in Auckland for a couple of days and saw this in High Street. It isn't every day you see a drag queen with a pig - or maybe it is if you live in Auckland!