Should High-End Chefs Be Allowed To Cook With Their Bare Hands?

By SheSpeaksTeam Mar 26, 2014

Whether it’s adding a lemon wedge to your water or placing the finishing sprig of parsley on your dish, chefs and bartenders often take a hands on approach when preparing your meal. But now many states are enacting laws banning bare hand food preparation and some chefs disagree with being forced to wear gloves.

The Washington Post reports about the negative reactions many high-end chefs in California have to the new law that will ban bare hands in the kitchen. The California law, which will begin being enforced in July, is nothing new to most chain restaurants that already practice glove-wearing in the kitchen but high-end chefs feel the gloves will be nothing but a nuisance.

The FDA has long held the recommendation to use gloves in restaurant kitchens to avoid spreading food borne illness and as a result 41 states now have laws requiring gloves be warn. State Assemblyman Richard Pan has openly opposed the law as it pertain to bartenders and explains, “It’s not about whether you wear gloves or not. It’s about how clean the surfaces (touching food) are. We need to have the conversation go back to, ‘This is about food safety’.” And food scientist Don Schaffner points out that even gloves can be unsanitary if they are not changed often enough.

Randy Paragary, owner of the high-end California restaurant Hock Farm, feels that the laws requiring glove us in the kitchen will disrupt his current and well-established hand-washing routines his staff practices and hinder the creative process in the kitchen. Paragary explains how gloves will also detract from his kitchen-to-plate atmosphere, “You’ll feel like there’s a doctor back there preparing your food.”

What do you think of laws that requires gloves when preparing drinks and meals at restaurants?

Do you think the law should make exceptions for high-end restaurants that already practice routine hand-washing?