Innkeep
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1,273
- Reaction score
- 8
Those of you who know me best have heard my story about the Health Department inspector who made me jump through waaay too many hoops to get my kitchen approved. Mine was the first B&B in the county so he pontificated from a position of ignorance. After lots of back and forth, multiple revisions of blueprints and the assistance of two separate attorneys, my kitchen was finally approved and I was able to proceed.
The kitchen has been inspected since then once or twice a year, but always by one of his minions. The last inspection was in November, which I passed with flying colors. The inspector told me she would put me on a once a year schedule. Last week I had a free day and was actually doing some good deeds, visiting a friend in a nursing home when the cell phone rings. It's Mr. Clean himself, standing at my front door for an unannounced visit to inspect, just 4 months after the last time!
He recites chapter and verse to me that the ordinance calls for inspections every 6 months blah blah, and schedules an appointment to arrive today. I had a week to fret about it, since my perception of our previous encounters was not pleasant. I thought I'd really be in for a white glove inspection. This is once when things worked out just fine. I snowed him by giving him a tour of the rooms before he went to the kitchen, then he pulled out a bed and breakfast kitchen inspection sheet instead of a restaurant kitchen inspection sheet, said he was surprised that his assistants were not using the more simplified form that he had.
So, literally all he did was to check the temperatures of the freezer and refrig. Didn't even look for my newly renewed food handler's certificate! He also didn't seem to remember our adversarial positions from times past. Aside from getting a cramp in my face from being so nice to him, all turned out well. Such is our bureaucracy.
The kitchen has been inspected since then once or twice a year, but always by one of his minions. The last inspection was in November, which I passed with flying colors. The inspector told me she would put me on a once a year schedule. Last week I had a free day and was actually doing some good deeds, visiting a friend in a nursing home when the cell phone rings. It's Mr. Clean himself, standing at my front door for an unannounced visit to inspect, just 4 months after the last time!
He recites chapter and verse to me that the ordinance calls for inspections every 6 months blah blah, and schedules an appointment to arrive today. I had a week to fret about it, since my perception of our previous encounters was not pleasant. I thought I'd really be in for a white glove inspection. This is once when things worked out just fine. I snowed him by giving him a tour of the rooms before he went to the kitchen, then he pulled out a bed and breakfast kitchen inspection sheet instead of a restaurant kitchen inspection sheet, said he was surprised that his assistants were not using the more simplified form that he had.
So, literally all he did was to check the temperatures of the freezer and refrig. Didn't even look for my newly renewed food handler's certificate! He also didn't seem to remember our adversarial positions from times past. Aside from getting a cramp in my face from being so nice to him, all turned out well. Such is our bureaucracy.