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As painful as it must be as a server or restaurateur to see food go uneaten given the enormous problem of food waste and the extremely tight margins restaurants operate under, you should of course, never, ever re-serve uneaten food to another customer, even if you’re 100% certain it hasn’t been touched. Not in a million years. Only very, very bad restaurants would do that.
Well, one mum in the US called out the restaurant where her daughter briefly worked for doing just that. In a recent Facebook post, Kristie Bowie described how her 16–year–old daughter promptly handed in her notice after being asked to transfer uneaten tortilla chips and salsa from one customer’s plate to another at the Su Casa Mexican restaurant in South Haven, Michigan.
“My daughter recently got a job at this establishment and has worked about a week as a busser. She was told not to throw away the salsa, chips, etc. that come back that ‘looked’ like they haven't been touched! She did not feel comfortable with this so asked the owner if it was true. He said is was true so she put her notice in and worked her shift,” says Bowie in the post.
None the Wiser?
The restaurant’s owner Edgar Suarez told WWMT he was unaware re-serving other people’s food was a big no–no: “I thought it was okay and the health department said it's not possible, you cannot do that ... I didn't realize,” he said.
The local health department has investigated Su Casa, but the restaurant remains open, with Suarez promising to throw away all uneaten food from now on. According to Munchies, several other employees have come forward with similar stories about Su Casa.
An Anomaly?
How much does this actually go on across the restaurant world? Have you ever experienced something similar or is Su Casa an anomaly? Share in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
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