/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Food safety is important to every foodservice operation, and the costs of a foodborne-illness outbreak can be high. Let's take a look an example of when regular working-joe Jerry had a bad day:

Jerry was not happy because he was working by himself. His coworker had called in sick and they were expecting their regular Wednesday night group of softball players. Jerry was not feeling too well himself, and on top of this, the large group canceled at the last minute. Unfortunately, Jerry had already started cooking a dozen burgers on the grill.

Jerry finished cooking the hamburger patties until they were well-done, and then he put them in a pan on the counter. "Maybe someone will order a burger later," he thought. Because there were no customers yet, he made a quick run to the restroom. When he finished, he wiped his hands on his apron, combed his hair, and headed back to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Jerry got his first customers of the evening. They were an elderly man and his four-year-old granddaughter. Jerry was happy when they ordered a burger to share. "Cook it medium," the man said. It looked like the premade burgers would stay on the counter for a while.

Jerry went back to the kitchen and put a fresh patty on the grill. Then he wiped off the cutting board he had used earlier for prepping raw chicken. He sliced the tomatoes and onion. When the burger just passed medium-rare, he plated it up.

When Jerry delivered, the little girl asked for a glass of water. Jerry grabbed a glass and used it to scoop some ice. But, the glass broke. Jerry carefully picked the broken glass out of the ice machine. Then he got the girl a fresh glass for the ice water.

What did Jerry do wrong?