“If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
That's folk wisdom popularized by former President Harry Truman, but it's not exactly useful advice for restaurant workers whose backrooms can become dreadfully uncomfortable in the muggy summer heat.
Exposure to high temperatures on the job is an unavoidable aspect of restaurant work: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 70 percent of cooks and chefs are exposed to “extreme heat” on the job, which is defined as prolonged exposure to temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Commercial kitchens, by their very nature, can be uncomfortable due to the cooking equipment used, and typically produce smoke, fumes and large amounts of excess heat.
Air conditioning a restaurant kitchen, especially the “line” where food is prepared and plated, can be cost-prohibitive. Keeping a kitchen space with broilers, ranges and fryers adequately ventilated and cooled requires large, energy-hungry cooling equipment and sophisticated air conditioning technology.
Restaurant kitchen workers themselves have come up with a number of creative, low-tech strategies for “staying cool” as temperatures soar.
Some people opt for lightweight uniforms, T-shirts instead of chef coats, and shorts instead of long pants, but this warm-weather attire leaves the wearer vulnerable to painful splashes and burns, common hazards in the kitchen.
Cool towels or special “neck coolers” are often recommended as upper body accessories when “working the line” on hot summer nights, and some kitchen staff suggest placing floor-level fans and rolling up trouser legs to keep the lower half of the body comfortable.
As summer heatwaves get longer and more intense, regulators are starting to focus on temperature issues in food-service workplaces. California's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board last month proposed heat-related workplace standards for restaurant kitchens in the state, and similar federal guidelines are currently in the ratification process.
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Side dishes
The Springfield Preservation Foundation will be conducting a food history walking tour in downtown Springfield on Saturday, July 13 as part of its second annual Saturday Walking Tour series.
Tours are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on the Worthington Street side of Stearns Square and will be led by James Johnson, vice president of the Springfield Preservation Foundation.
The walking tour will focus on a number of historic buildings linked to the city's restaurant history, and the Preservation Trust has promised to have some tasty surprises in store for tour participants.
Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased in advance on Eventbrite.com or in person at the start of the tour.
The Springfield Preservation Foundation can be reached at 413-747-0656.
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Participating Friendly's restaurants will be serving up some interesting ice cream creations as part of their summer menus.
Sugar Cone Nachos feature vanilla ice cream served with a sugar cone, sliced banana, and fresh strawberry slices, and finished with chocolate sauce, caramel, and whipped cream.
The PBJ Croissant is also on the summer menu: a croissant spread with peanut butter and grape jelly, topped with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and finished with a Reese's peanut butter cup and diced almonds.
The Fresh Berry Slammer is made by blending raspberry sorbet, strawberry puree and chilled seltzer, while the Strawberry Sparkler combines lemon-lime soda and strawberry puree.
Friendly's also now sells Watermelon Sherbet Cake, made with lemon and watermelon sorbet, and chocolate chips serve as an edible substitute for “seeds” in this frozen dairy dessert that pays homage to a summer picnic staple.
Friendly's summer menu will be available through early October.
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In collaboration with paranormal investigators Thomas D'Agostino and Arlene Nicholson, the Publix House Historic Inn in Sturbridge will host a ghost hunting evening on Wednesday, July 17th.
After a buffet dinner, participants will actually explore the inn and its surroundings in search of paranormal appearances. Apparently, the Publik House has a history of being inhabited by “ghosts.”
Tickets for the evening, which begins at 6 p.m., can be purchased on Eventbrite.com. Entry is $70, plus processing fees.
The phone number for Publick House Historic Inn is 508-347-3313.
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99 Restaurants & Pubs recently added a special summer menu.
These include two appetizer options: Seafood Stuffies (spiced scallops and shrimp baked in a scallop shell) and Pretzel Bites.
The restaurant also offers a Hot Butter Colossal Lobster Roll and an Maine-Style Colossal Lobster Roll. Two seafood options, Baked Stuffed Haddock and Shrimp Scampi, are part of this summer's main lineup, as well as a Surf & Turf Combination featuring an 8-ounce sirloin steak and baked stuffed shrimp.
These summer supplements will be available for a limited time only.
There are 99 restaurants on Liberty Street in Springfield, as well as in Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Westfield, West Springfield and Greenfield.
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To celebrate the 2024 Paris Olympics, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews has created the Gold Medal Burger, a multi-layered sandwich with three beef patties, three slices of cheese, and a side of lettuce, tomato and relish on a brioche bun.
The sandwich, which is said to weigh as much as an Olympic gold medal, will be on sale until August 11, the final day of this summer's Olympics.
Red Robin locations are at Holyoke Crossing in Holyoke and 15 Hazard Ave. in Enfield.
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Wickham Park in Manchester, Connecticut will host its July “Taste of the Park” dinner on Thursday, July 18th from 6pm.
The focus of the evening will be the park's Lotus Garden, with a brief presentation on the garden's creation.
The four-course dinner menu has a Japanese theme, with the main course being yakitori or grilled beef skewers.
Tickets for the dinner are $60 per person. A cash bar will be available. For more information about the event or to make reservations, contact Wickham Park at 860-528-0856.
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Overlook Farm in Brookfield will host a Farm and Wine Dinner on July 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Organized in collaboration with 413 on Main, a gourmet cheese shop and cafe in Sturbridge, the five-course dinner will feature seared scallops as an appetizer, garlic scape tagliatelle as pasta, and chicken paillard/grilled skirt steak as the main course.
Five different wines are offered to accompany your meal.
Dinner tickets for the event are $100, with optional wine pairings costing $60.
For more information or reservations, contact 413 on Main at 774-241-0642.
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Enrico Giovannello, executive chef of Sturbridge's Table 3 Restaurant Group, will host his monthly “Cooking with Rico” session on July 17 at 6:30 p.m.
The presentation, taking place at Avellino in Sturbridge, will focus on pasta Bolognese, an eponymous dish in Italian cuisine, with Chef Giovannello preparing his own version of the dish alongside a range of side dishes from the Emilia-Romagna region.
Cost to attend the demo is $52, not including tax or gratuity. Wine and other beverages can be purchased with cash.
Prepaid reservations can be made online.
Avelino answers at 508-347-2321.
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16 Handles, a New York City-based frozen yogurt chain with nearly 30 locations nationwide, has launched one of the most unique frozen dairy desserts of the season. As part of the chain's lineup of summer flavors, 16 Handles has introduced French Fry Frozen Yogurt.
The frozen dessert is heavily salted, deep golden in color (thanks to a natural coloring formula) and contains real french fries, and a company media release describes it as tasting like “freshly fried fries dipped in a vanilla milkshake.”
16 Handles CEO Neil Hirschman said the yogurt was developed to poke fun at McDonald's and bring a smile to customers' faces. While 16 Handles is careful not to mention Mickey D's by name, it does promote the flavor of the yogurt in an oblique reference to the major chain's ongoing problems with its soft serve ice cream machines.
The French Fry Frozen Yogurt will be available at 16 participating Handles locations through July 15th.
Hugh Robert is a faculty member in the Hospitality and Culinary Arts program at Holyoke Community College and has nearly 50 years of experience in the restaurant and education fields. Robert can be contacted online. OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
