jackal10

Not at all. The standard incidence for gastroenteritis according to http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/154/7/666 is about 283 incidents per 1000 person years, or which 11% are norovirus related. During an outbreak maybe 1% of the population is affected; serving something like 70 covers a night you might expect one infected but as yet symptomless person dining every 2-3 days.

The obvious candidate is Winter Vomiting or Norwalk Virus or norovirus, which has been widespread this year For example a customer has the early stages, goes to the toilet and does not fully clean up, which is hard to do. Toilet handles, taps, door handles, anything they touch are all contaminated, and spread the virus to other customers, but not the staff, who use different toilets. By the time the virus hits the contaminating virus has died on the surfaces, so does not register. Nothing the restaurant can do or could have done

Much longer times I SV or braise mine for 24 hours at 75C/170F or there abouts - not critical.

Let me add Grant Instruments. http://www.grantsousvide.com/Pages/home.aspx They are my UK local company and I use their baths..

I would nominate something like a good Alsace Pinot Gris, say a Zind Humbrecht Clos WIndsbuhl 2000. That would be my single wine, if I was only allowed one. . For red something substantial but not a fruit bomb or high alcohol nightmare, say a Ridge Monte Bello 2001, or a even a Stella Bella Cab/Merlot (Margaret River Australia) 2005

Gary are you certain this figure is correct I thought it was generally in the 60's. The Baldwin paper Jackal shares specifies cooking times that are mainly in the mid 50's. I can understand your concern if your experience of this is at 39 as it is quite a good temperature to culture micro-organisms. ← Err no. Pastaurisation depends on time as well as temperature, as Douglas Baldwin shows. The US FDA specify 89 minutes at 55C/131F for all parts of the food for meat, corresponding to a 10 to the power 6.5 reduction in Salmonella. The meat must reach this temperature in less than 6 hours to prevent Clostridium perfringens from multiplying to dangerous levels. Fish is generally cooked at lower temperatures, and so not pasteurised. Food safety comes from cleanliness and other means, just as with the raw fish in sushi. For large pieces of food it also takes time for the heat to penetrate. Thats why a rare steak is mostly uncooked in the centre, or the yolk of a soft boiled egg still runny (egg yolk coagulates at a lower temperature than egg white). Fortunately the yolk of an egg and the inside of a steak, unless the chef has poked it with a dirty fork is mostly sterile, You cant assume that for hamburger.

Your dough is overproved. Halve the proof time, and it won't collapse when you slash it. You will get more oven spring and higher total volume.

You could use spring water and sea salt...

That $200 bottle of wine cost the restaurant something like $50. Maybe $75 including glassware etc. WHy can't they pay the server, or advertise its true cost as $240...

Dave has it exactly right. SV at 140F/58C for 12 hours or more, then sear (20 mins in a very hot oven) while you use the bag juices to make gravy. A bit of prep but easy cooking.

SV cooking is probably safer than conventional, since the food is sealed and pasteurised. There has been much discussion on the sv threads, and Douglas Baldwin's paper discusses the subject well http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html Pasteurisation involves both time and temperature. Although there are no official standards in the UK, the US FDA recommendations are well understood. Joan Roca's book Sous Vide includes a full HACCP. I am sure the Fat Duck is exemplary, and the cause is elsewhere, perhaps a customer with norovirus touching door handles or taps in the loo...

In a pre-pack bankrupcy people get shafted. Usually the investors and the banks. Less so the employees, since you want them to go on working, or the suppliers, since you need to continue to get supplies. Certainly not the liquidators or professional advisors. However those people or suppliers that are not essential may be let go. None the less the business is in trouble or it would not be bankrupt in the first place, so it has to change, often radically. In many cases a prepack is the bes option for ensuring continued employment for the staff and suppliers Where a pre-pack bankrupcy is more doubtful, and possibly illegal, is if the same directors and owners continue, especially if they had prior knowledge of the insolvency. If a company is insolvent the fiduciary duty of the directors is to the creditors, which often means the bank or revenue as largest creditor. Only if the pre-pack is the highest or only bidder, and more than the likely asset value in a liquidation sale is it then ok to accept the bid - in which case the pre-pack is paying over the odds. However liquidation sales often do not realise much

For that much bread you don't need a mixer. Using stretch and fold you can do it by hand until you establish the business

My palate must be different. I find Sauternes much to sweet for most seafood, even with the balancing acidity. Some people drink Sauterne with steak, but I would not. Something like smoked salmon possibly, but its a waste, A nice Alsace Pinot Gris would be better. Yquem would be throwing money away. For a wine as great as Yquem you want the wine to star, with little distraction from the food.

Neither. It would fight with both, and the lime/lemon will do it no favours at all Classic pairings include Foie Gras, or blue cheese or simple fruit dishes like an apple or apricot tart. Just possibly smoked fish. Personally I would serve it with a nice stilton and some oatcakes. Fait simple. Let it shine on its own, to be drunk in reverence

If you are not getting a decent wage complain to the management who employ you, not the customer. If enough servers complain, the system will change. Since they don't they only have themselves to blame. I suspect the real reason they don't complain is that under the system they are doing nicely thankyou.

Is your yeast stale? Dried yeast has a comparatively short shelf life, and even less (maybe a week or so) once opened or unsealed

Baking for fun and baking for a living are very different. If you are running a business, then its the business part that is most important. Lets say you are making challah. They are good challah, and you can sell a 2lb loaf for $7.50. I use challah as an example, obviously you would bake lots of different things. That loaf has about 1 1/4 lbs of flour in it, some oil and some poppy seed, say $2 worth of ingredients. You pay $3 to the shul for rent, fuel, phone, insurance and all the rest, leaving $2.50 profit. Minimum wage in Connecticut is $8/hour, and you work a 40 hour week, so $320/week. That is 128 challahs, or 4 an hour, every hour, not allowing for cleanup, delivery, sales, chatting to customers etc. How fast can you plait? Can you sell 128 challahs, or 25 a day, everyday? Can you bake 25/day in the ovens? Its at best marginal. Don't do it. If your arm hurts now, think how it will feel after plaiting 128 challahs... If you must do it please do a cashflow and budget first.

It will change if enough customers want it to, and are fed up with not paying the advertised price. If enough people, the people reading this for example, make a fuss, then the media will pick it up and the snowball start. Soon servers will complain to their management that they are not getting paid, and hey presto notices advising of service charges (an easy change) will rapidly appear... Of course these may well be in excess of the 8% IRS assumption I remember not that long ago 10% was the standard tip. Who decided it was 20%? Where next? 25%? 33%? 50%? Why is it a fixed percentage anyway? It takes no more to serve a $200 bottle of wine than a $20 one. We can change the system

If you were to ask me, which is unlikely, I would politely explain that while the tipping system may be locally widespread, and your service perfectly adequate, it is not my responsiblity if the restaurant choses to under pay you; it is a matter for you and your management. I support honesty in advertising and am happy to pay any advertised price. Indeed I tendered the amount on the bill as I am legally required, and no more. If you are an independent contractor supplying server services direct to the customer I would have been happy to negotiate the fee for such services before the meal, but I understand you are on the restaurant's payroll with duties as a server. Further since the practice of not reporting the full amount of tips to the IRS is widespread you are asking me to collude in tax fraud, which is a felony offence. If your case is that you plead poverty and are begging, then I can reccomend several charities. We will then no doubt have a flaming row and shouting match, including your manager and several other patrons, to the amusement of all. Restaurant patrons of the US stand up for your rights! Support honesty in advertising and proper wages! Stop acquiesence in this dishonest, immoral and possibly criminal system!

Time/temperature for monkfish tail fillets (gigot de mer)? I'm guessing 60C for 15 mins, but as fish should they be lower, 50C say? (bacon, tomato, garlic..., served on pea puree...)

It may be the system in some parts of the US, but not in most of the civilised world. A polite notice of explanation would make the system a lot more legitimate Strictly that notice should be displayed with the menu outside so that it forms part of the contract.

pickled

Basil and coffee is the anti-flavour combination usually quoted. A third might be orange, or spearmint, or salt or chili...

tomsto juice, lager, lime (ahh memories of student drinking contests...)