Having taken a hiatus from American restaurant scene after my last front of the house gig ended in August 2009, I have not had to battle the lemon peel with the espresso habit since then.
A worse crime might be the indiscriminate dropping of white wine bottles in ice buckets where many get chilled to death.
20 years ago, a friend from the wine trade shared her philosophy on chilling white wine to death in a very straightforward way: 'Chill to death only bad wines so guests cannot taste anything'.
I was surprised recently to have the same 'ice bucket' conversation with people who have worked in hospitality for years.
I guess some of us choose 'lemon peel' and 'ice bucket' as default position just in case we would have to run for them later if customer requested them.
Let me note that the restaurant where I had that gig until 2009 was enlightened on chilling white wine. We seldom used ice buckets and instead used marble sleeves.
Eric Asimov shares his frustration and sometimes sense of loneliness on the topic in Not so Cold…Doctor's Order (The Pour, NY Times, June 1, 2009).
Should we do things out of habit?
Should we sometimes question these habits?
Should we educate ourselves on these issues and whenever possible and without being patronising or offensive share that knowledge with friends, colleagues and customers alike?
Chilling me to death kills me sighs the white wine.
(* Illustration is logo of Wine Bucket Boutique and Bar…closed in January 2010)