My husband and I shop at Whole Foods for groceries and the other day we witnessed something that really grossed us out. If you have been to a Whole Foods, you already know they have nice displays and typically let you sample some fabulous foods. If you are not familiar with Whole Foods, you really need to experience it.
Anyway, there was a sample of Campo de Montalban cheese (a cheese made from goat, sheep and cows milk). My husband and son tried it and ran over to tell me how delicicous it was. As I made my way over to the samples, a burly man dressed in overalls literally ignored the tongs and proceeded to stick his entire hand inside the bowl and grab a handful of cheese. He must have thoroughly enjoyed it, because he went back for seconds (and again, stuck his entire hand in and grabbed another handful). Needless to say, I was NOT going to sample the cheese after seeing that and instead just purchased some. My husband was right, it was delicious and paired perfectly with a Russian River Pinot Noir.
What really made me start thinking is the fact I would have sampled the cheese had I not witnessed the man putting his bare hand inside the bowl. I am a bit of a germaphobe so the thought of whether or not his hands were clean made my stomach turn a bit.
Have you ever witnessed something like this? Do you think signs should be posted asking people to use tongs or is this just common sense? Obviously, this man didn’t understand sampling etiquette!
When I was in high school, I worked at a fast food place and used to sample our menu items. I would tell people not to double dip; however, some would do it anyway. I would immediately take my display back inside the restaurant and toss the contaminated sauce in the garbage can. Unfortunately, some people probably don’t agree with my philosophy so you never know how clean your sample is.
Thanks for visiting The Unemployed Mom.