In Madrid, Spain, there is a restaurant going out of their way to stop the spread of H1N1, or Swine Flu, in their particular restaurant. The Thai-themed restaurant, Silk and Soya, goes above and beyond the basic health requirements to ensure their customers satisfaction not only in the food, but also in the comfort of their health.
The restaurant employees' temperatures are taken every day when they arrive at work, and there is hand sanitizer in the elevator on the way up to the restaurant, and also at every table. The bathroom doors are always open, the lights turn on automatically, and the faucets are also 'hands-free' ensuring that customers' hands can stay clean. Also, servers can not touch plates directly, and every person involved with preparation of food must wear gloves and a mask. Another precaution that was taken was table placement. All of the tables were moved further from one another to avoid airborne germs from spreading.
While this may seem extreme (especially to certain restaurant owners) in the U.S., this seems very extreme to me, because I have been on European standards for the past five months. There are certain restaurants here where the hygiene is not at the fore-front of the owners' minds. Just yesterday, my server had open-toed high heels while she was serving me. I know that the food will never touch her feet, yet it seemed incredibly inappropriate for a restaurant.
I commend this Spanish restaurant for their efforts, and the feedback from customers has been popular, but I also think that certain precautions are unnecessary due to the fact that an immunity must be built up in order for people to stay healthy. If every patron and employee is responsible for their own hygiene, extreme measures like this are not needed. I also realize, though, that people frequent places they feel comfortable, so, if nothing else, this is a great marketing strategy.
Interesting post. Is that your photo?
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