Quoted By:
in anthony bourdain's "kitchen confidential", he relates a story of a sensitive young waiter at a swinging singles joint on Columbus avenue. who, in addition to a wide and varied social life
involving numerous unsafe sexual practices, was something of a jailhouse lawyer. After he was fired for incompetence, the waiter took it on himself to sue the restaurant, claiming that his gastrointestinal problem, caused apparently by amoebas, was a result of his work there. Management took this litigation seriously enough to engage the services of an epidemiologist, who obtained stool samples from every employee. The results-which bourdain was privy to-were enlightening to say the least. The waiter's strain of amoebas, it was concluded, was common to persons of his lifestyle, and to many others. What was interesting were the results of Mexican and South American prep cooks. These guys were teeming with numerous varieties of critters, none of which, in their cases, caused illness or discomfort. It was explained that the results in this restaurant were no different from results at any other restaurant and that, particularly amongst our recently arrived Latino brethren, this sort of thing is normal-that their
systems are used to it, and it causes them no difficulties at all. Amoebas, however, are transferred most easily through the handling of raw, uncooked vegetables, particularly during
the washing of salad greens and leafy produce. So think about that next time you want to exchange deep tongue kisses with a vegetarian.
