Poll, have you ever served rotten meat?

[johnstevens77]

Yesterday it seems was "Worldwide anti food waste day", or something and we discussed the topic in my French class this morning. We were asked if we ever threw food away. At first, I said no but remembered an incident at home this year where my wife threw her lunch in the bin!
It happened like this: For some reason I left a packet of vacuum packed lamb chops in the fridge for two weeks after the use by date and noticed that they were turning green. So I washed them in vinegar and salt water and marinated them with dijon mustard, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and olive oil with plenty of black pepper and cooked them on the griddle. OK, they still tasted a bit rotten but I served them up just the same! I ate all mine and one of hers with no untoward effects but as I said, OH nearly threw a fit and dumped the rest.
As a kitchen boy on the restaurant cars in 1960, we were issued a halibut that was stinking, (we still had a fish course on the menus at that time), I told the cook who said, "Well we can't send it back to the stores, (we were somewhere between Paddington and Slough) so fillet it and we shall wash it with vinegar and use it. The next time concerned a salmon trout in the Central Hotel Glasgow in 1968 where I was a commis poissonier. Same thing, wash it with vinegar and cook it, (meuniere for a VIP), no comments from the guest. Then, I was a sous chef in the Hilton Bahrain in 1978 and ate some oysters returned from a state banquet for the Emir of Bahrain, the King of Saudi, the Emir of Kuwait, Sultan Qaboos and one other whom I cannot now recall. Anyway most Gulf Arabs don't eat raw food and just as well, I nearly died, was rushed to hospital and placed on a drip for a couple of hours. The last time at work was 1990 in Cotonou about which I posted at length on the MF but to summarise; I had malaria, we had a state banquet for 5 West African heads of state that was postponed as the food was leaving the hotel, (Sheraton) and of course we had to reheat the main course the next day but it had not been cooled properly, I had gone home to bed. Thank the Lord that we cooked fresh for the top table!

john

[johnstevens77]

I think that my poll was too vague, let's say that sometimes is once and often is more than once.

john

[AleisterCrowley]

Wasting food is bad, eating genuinely 'off' food is worse in my opinion.
You can end up sick, or dead (with cost to NHS, undertaker, family etc)
I would never eat anything that smelt off, and I'm careful about stuff that smells OK as the sniff test isn't 100% (you cant detect listeria/salmonella etc)
I ended up off work for two weeks after a dodgy Chinese takeaway (chicken- the usual culprit) and I have been VERY careful ever since. In fact I'll normally avoid chicken when eating out unless it's cooked in front of me (kebab style)

[johnstevens77]

12 votes for never and 1 for once, Just as well that I did not vote for myself then!

Mention of Bènin though reminds me that the French embassy gave a reception for the diplomatic corps in Cotonou, 350 persons. To cut costs, the embassy wives were delegated to prepare the food which was done the day before. Not having enough (or any) refrigeration it was all laid out on the tables overnight with the A/C on full. Following afternoon, half the CD in Cotonou were down with food poisoning! At least, I never to my knowledge harmed anyone, but imagine the consequences if one of the Gulf States royalty had eaten that bad oyster!

john