Wooden Serving Boards
Hot in the news is the £50,000 fine for a restaurant using damaged wooden boards to serve their dishes on. Using wooden boards in place of plates has become quite a trend, but there are some rules you need to follow to keep your customers and your business safe.
In the photos above, Lewis – one of our client’s lovely chefs, is demonstrating a board that is suitable for food use and one which is unsuitable as it has split. Splits in the wood could harbour bacteria so are not safe to use.
If you use wooden boards as serving dishes, we recommend that only clean, undamaged boards (no splits or gaps in the wood) are used. Use parchment on the board for hot or oily foods rather than placing the food directly on the board. This makes cleaning the board easier, prolongs the life of the board and creates a clean barrier for the food.
The rule is, if a board cannot be cleaned thoroughly and has any splits or gaps in the wood, do not use it for food service.
Alert
In the light of last week’s news it is likely that customers appetite for food served on wooden boards will start to wane.
Food Fact
Did you know that a medium-size carrot has 25 calories, 6 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of fibre? This veg is an excellent source of vitamin A providing more than 200% of your daily requirement in just one carrot. Carrots are loaded with beta-carotene, a natural chemical that the body changes into vitamin A. The deeper orange the carrot, the more beta-carotene you’re getting. Eh, What’s up Doc?