Try as I might to ignore the fact that winter is coming – the start of October signals the arrival of Autumn. Whilst I long for hot summer days the one good thing to come of the leaves turning orange is that over the next five weeks we have plenty of fun planned. From half-term fun and Halloween right through to Bonfire night we’re jam-packed.
We’re really fortunate to live opposite a large park in the suburbs that every year puts on an out-of-this-world fireworks display with a massive (and I mean massive) bonfire afterwards. The real perk for us and everyone living on the surrounding roads is that we can enjoy all the magic from our front garden.
Each year lots of neighbours decide to sell food and drink from their garden wall to the thousands of people who attend the park. Up until now, I’ve kept our hot chocolate with far too much cream on top and marshmallows to ourselves – yet each year friends and family suggest I join my neighbours in selling food and drink on the night.
A fair few years as part of the school PTA has taught me that even a child’s lemonade stand seen in Hollywood movies takes so much planning; throw in food and the list gets even longer.
BBQs see a resurgence in November after winning the dinner prize throughout the summer; food hygiene is paramount whenever handling and cooking food but becomes even more important when you’re selling it to the public.
Being safe starts with making sure that your equipment is safe, fit for purpose and clean. Next up is ensuring that the food you’re cooking is in date and being stored appropriately until ready to be cooked. The biggest culprit of germ trails with food is humans; wearing Brosch sterile gloves is one of the single most important actions you can take to reduce the trail of germs which can ultimately affect food safety. Good hygiene doesn’t stop at just wearing gloves when handling food – it’s important to think about the journey of the gloves. Remember when your parents told you not to put coins in your mouth ‘do you know how many people have touched that coin!’. As always they were absolutely right – cash contamination happens when someone who is touching food wearing gloves handles cash and then touches food again; creating a germ trail. I’ve always found it easier if possible to have one person preparing and serving food whilst wearing gloves and another who doesn’t wear gloves to help avoid confusion who handles cash.
The truth is that whilst I’m confident of food hygiene I’m not ready to share the secret of our amazing hot chocolate with the world so for this year at least we’ll stick to clinking our mugs while watching the fireworks from our front garden.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.
