As I type this, my office is having a pot luck luncheon just a few feet outside of my cubicle. And while some of the food does look tasty, I just can’t bring myself to eat any of it.
You see, I have this thing about eating food made by people I don’t really know. I mean, there are about 120 people in my office, about 15 of which I know and trust well enough to eat food they’ve made themselves. I have no clue about the other 105, and I’m apprehensive to eat their stuff. I have no idea about the cleanliness of their homes, and I’ve seen some of these people do some questionable things, like exit the restroom without washing their hands. Doesn’t give me a lot of incentive to eat their offerings.
“What about restaurants?” you say. “That food is made by strangers also, but you eat it anyway.” At least with restaurants, I have the potential safety net of a health department and/or management keeping tabs on these food preparers. Can’t say the same for my co-workers in their private homes. And don’t get me wrong. I don’t think my co-workers are a bunch of filthy pigs or anything. I just don’t know them well enough to know, you know?
And now I seem to have influenced some of my closer co-workers. I’ve caused them to think about this, and I notice that some of them aren’t eating much, or are only eating things that were prepackaged, such as chips, etc.
But seriously, you bring up a good point that I never thought about.
I’ve seen kitchens that I wouldn’t get a drink of water out of! I wouldn’t eat any food without knowing the conditions under which it was made, but until now, I always had this idea that potluck “didn’t count.”
Sure, Zenster, easy for you to say after eating a turkey or whatever it was that was in your oven for a week.
Well, Kepi, I agree with you. For instance, there are a few people in my office who are always sick, often with the “stomach flu”. Yeah, stomach flu my ass. I don’t even want to know what their kitchens look like. When they bring food in to work, you think I’m eating it?
My kitchen is clean. There may be junk mail, bills and catalogs strewn across the counter, but there’s no dirt. I’ve made stuff to bring in to work, or even for guests at home, and as I make it, I keep my hands washed, don’t lick the spoon, etc. And I always have the same thing pop in my head: “Gee, I wonder if everyone is this careful?”
That’s why I usually bring a pre-made veggie n’ dip or fruit platter. It’s not that my kitchen is unsanitary (although it does have its moments), but I don’t want someone getting sick from a casserole or something I’ve made.
Besides, a veggie tray gives the dieters something to eat, too
We have two cats. I wash my hands religiously, and wipe down the range and countertops, but that probably isn’t enough. So I take chips and crackers and store-bought dips.
I don’t eat any potluck food that involves hands and fingers, like those little meatballs. Seems like every woman I work with has long phony fingernails, and lord knows what’s under them.
