Nue Denies Unsanitary Kitchen Practices After Cook's Online Allegations
Seattle kitchen nightmare? On Wednesday night, a cook at the acclaimed Capitol Hill restaurant Nue publicly accused her employers of unsanitary practices, not long after she was fired on her first official day on the job. Quinndolyn Harley — who worked at the recently-closed Poppy, and has eight years of restaurant experience — posted photos on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and Facebook, of what she said was “raw lamb being thawed in the mop sink” and “dirty knives used and then hung up again” in Nue’s kitchen during her shift. She also says she witnessed “saute pans not washed until the end of service” and raw chicken “being cut and prepped in the dish area.” Some of the social media posts have since been deleted, but the Facebook post remains up.
Nue quickly pushed back on Twitter, pointing to its excellent safety record, while also lobbing accusations about Harley’s tardiness and attitude.
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But that only seemed to fan the flames, as many — including renowned California chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt — wondered why the restaurant didn’t directly address what was in the photos or any of Harley’s observations.
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Owner Chris Cvetkovich now explains, “The raw meat seen [in one photo] was defrosted in vacuum-sealed bags under cold running water, in a sterilized Cambro [this type of container], as per health code regulations,” he tells Eater Seattle. “This Cambro was then transferred to our mop sink temporarily while still under cold running water as we were clearing space to wash the vessel they were to be stored in.” He says the photo was an example of “bad timing for someone wanting to spread a malicious rumor,” but claims it was not an egregious code violation.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/nue-denies-unsanitary-kitchen-practices-after-cooks-online-allegations/ar-AAFAtag