After college, I took a job bussing tables at a very high-end restaurant attached to a very expensive country inn near my hometown. It was the kind of place where you had to stand with your arms spread at the beginning of a shift and submit to having the maitre d' inspect your cuffs and the knot in your tie (even women had to wear ties).

I'd been working there for a few weeks when I noticed that employees were throwing away massive platters of food from the wedding buffets that took place nearly every weekend afternoon -- I'm talking untouched trays of smoked salmon, artichoke hearts, blinis with caviar and mini lemon souffles. I also noticed that the wait staff would pour the remaining pitchers of fresh-squeezed orange juice straight down the sink after brunch. Finally, I asked the head waiter why we didn't just save the food to eat at employee mealtime.

"Because, if we allowed employees to eat leftover food, pretty soon you'd all be eating whatever you wanted straight out of the fridge," he told me sniffily.

What, like untrained dogs?! I gave my two weeks notice the next day.

I was reminded of that incident when I read this New York Times post, about a man fired from Whole Foods for trying to save and eat a tuna fish sandwich that was about to be thrown away. Whole Foods claimed that the man's behavior was "misconduct," which means, in addition to having lost his job, he'd be denied unemployment benefits. The man, Ralph Reece, challenged the misconduct ruling and won.

Good for him, I say. Not only is keeping employees from eating leftover food degrading and wasteful, the "misconduct" charges were, according to Reece's lawyer, souped up in order to save Whole Foods money for not having to pay unemployment. And this from a company that is supposed to be one of the best places in America to work!

Far above a paper bag in terms of design and functionality and probably much cooler than anything you carried while in school, the Lunch Tote from Built NY might just be the ultimate lunch bag. The two-compartment tote is made of neoprene rubber and is fully insulated to keep both hot and cold foods for hours at a time. The smaller compartment is designed as a drink holder, so it is ideal for a water bottle, thermos or a canned drink. When it is fully unzipped, it can act as a placemat, which is useful if you don't know what's been on that table before you or if you simply prefer to set your food out neatly when eating. Because it is flexible, not only can it hold just about any size of container, but it can be stored flat or rolled up when empty. On top of that, it is also machine washable, which makes for easy cleaning. Is there anything not to like?

In almost every refrigerator in every home, there is a package of old, mysterious food. It could be furry, smelly or have actually developed into a new life form by the time you find it and dispose of it. There is one place that contains food more frightening that the home refrigerator: the office refrigerator.

To say that this appliance is the black hole of food is inaccurate only in the fact that some of the food eventually resurfaces.

There are a variety of standard food items in office refrigerators. Most of them contain some form of creamer, often the non-dairy varieties, as well as variously dated cartons of milk. There are always a few jars with condiments like mustard, mayonnaise and jam. The number of condiments is directly proportional to the number of people who work in the office and have access to the fridge, so despite the fact that no one can recall ever adding anything themselves, a fridge in an office of 50 people will have a dozen bottles of salad dressing, a few jars of mayonnaise and at least 3 different mustards, in addition to pickles, soy sauce and ketchup - none of which anyone can find when they want to use it, of course, which leads to the addition of even more condiments.

In home kitchens, cooks have been known to complain about the height of the countertops. If they're too high or too low, you back can hurt after working away for only an hour or two. Imagine, if you will, that you have to work at that uncomfortable counter for hours on end and that will give you a sense of the discomfort that some professional cooks and bakers can feel when they have to work in a kitchen that isn't scaled to suit them.

It is unrealistic to assume that every kitchen can accommodate every chef, or that kitchens must all be custom-built just in case there is both a 5'1" and 6'2" employee working in the same space. The cost would simply be too great. Consequently, kitchens are built to the same standards (33"-36"). Two University of Wisconsin-Stout researchers invented a mobile, adjustable-height kitchen cooktop (with an induction burner) and food prep table that can help make work easier for cooks and still affordable for restaurants. The researchers who invented the cooking table specialize in injury and rehabilitation. They say that the optimal height for a cooking work surface is two inches below the elbow. Working at the correct height can prevent injury and improve efficiency. The tables can range in height from 27"-47," heights that should accommodate 90% of the population. The best part is that the tables adjust automatically at the touch of a button, meaning that the tables remain flat and there is no need to clear off works-in-progress to adjust them.

For now, the patent-pending tables will be aimed at the commercial sector, but there are clearly applications in the private sector, as well.  

[Image Dunn Country News]

If you thought that the country most likely to have its residents eat pre-prepared food was the United States, you would be wrong. While the sheer number of people dining out in the US might be greater than in most countries, the average Briton will eat 365 meals a year out of home - one every day. In comparison, the average person eats out only 306 times per year in the United States, coming in third after Italy, where the Italians dine out 308 times each year. Also high on the list were the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, France and Germany.

The survey, conducted by the group Datamonitor, showed a link between a stronger work ethic and the likelihood of eating outside the home. The reasoning for this is that in countries where employees work longer hours and seem to have trouble tearing themselves away at the end of the day, the employees eat out more frequently. They also show a stronger inclination for fast, snack and pre-prepared foods that can beat eaten on the go or at a desk, as opposed to choosing to dine restaurants.

I recently found a site that deserves a mention if only for its name: My Lunch Can Beat Up Your Lunch! A self-described "ode to bento lunches," the site has photos, descriptions and recipes for roughly 100 different compartmentalized, on-the-go meals. The recipes are very straightforward and many, but not all, have Asian influences. There's yakitori and gyoza, but also chicken salad sandwiches and fried plantains. All in all, good for inspiration if you're looking to mix up what you pack for lunch every day.

A recently published survey of employed Americans found that 15 percent have either drank alcohol before or during work or come to work with a hangover. The results of the survey, which appear in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, are based on the responses of over 2,800 randomly selected adults. Interviews were conducted over the phone, and since interviewees didn't have to reveal their place of employment, their answers were rather candid, according to a recent WebMD article. Those with jobs in management, arts and entertainment, food service, sports and grounds maintenance were the most frequent to fess up to being messed up on the job. While 70 percent of all people surveyed said they did this less than once a month, nearly 20 percent admitted to being impaired at work on a monthly basis and 11 percent said they did so weekly. That probably doesn't speak to highly of our drunk-driving rates either.

[Image: Joe-ks.com]