Published March 25, 2015

The Three Second Rule: When a steak hits the floor, is it done?

Imagine your chef is prepping some steaks for the grill. He reaches for some spices and all of a sudden four prime, uncooked steaks are on the kitchen floor. That’s some expensive meat, but you know the floor is filthy in even the cleanest restaurants. Heat is likely to kill any bacteria, but could you consciously serve your customers floor beef?

This question was posed at the Chef’s Diary Facebook page this month, and some of the answers might surprise you. While most people give a resounding “of course not,” others believe that foods such as high end meats and produce that can be peeled shouldn’t end up in the trash after kissing the floor.

Some answered that while they would definitely still eat it if the scenario happened at home, they would definitely not serve it to their customers. Others would trash it either way.

Read the whole conversation here: Dear Diary – “The 3 second Rule”