Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

Channel 2 is featuring a 'Catering Hall, Eat at your Own Risk' tonight @ 11:00.

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

oh god! I hope its not too bad

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

oh boy i hope i can stay up that late

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

bumping for those that haven't seen

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

Hang in there, everyone! Last year, they featured most of our favorite halls, including Leonard's.

You can call your hall in the morning to talk to them about what you see.

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

so since i didn't stay up to watch what halls were on it???

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

OMG! I cant believe i missed it! I hope somebody will post a summary of it! thanks girls!

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

Anyone have the dirt on this? What halls were mentioned?

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

C'mon ppl spill the beans! im shopping rite now and i would like to know which ones to avoid thanks

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

Heres what I found when searching the net, but its from 2003:

CBS 2 - New York News | cbsnewyork.com
Eat At Your Own Risk: Wedding Receptions
A CBS 2 Special Report
May 12, 2003 11:35 pm US/Eastern

It's one of the most dazzling restaurants to host a New York City wedding, Tavern On The Green in Central Park, but health inspectors weren't so impressed in March when they found two critical violations. Food from an unapproved or unknown source, spoiled or adulterated food and vermin. The management says the violations were rectified and they passed the inspection.

CBS 2 obtained the health inspection records of dozens of popular wedding reception halls, hotels and caterers in our area and found critical health code violations. Violations Dr. David Nash, president of the Amercian Food Safety Institute, says could make you and your wedding party seriously sick. CBS 2’s Kirstin Cole reports in this Eat At Your Own Risk investigation.

“You've heard too many cooks spoil the broth, well the more people that handle the food the greater the risk it will become contaminated,” says Dr. Nash.

Food borne illness outbreaks can and do happen, “We were sickened over this event and we are not using that purveyor anymore,” says Janine Dion, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, Long Island.

Dion said the fish was to blame for an outbreak of scrombroid poisoning that sent eleven wedding guests, with complaints of shortness of breath, upset stomachs and skin rashes, to the hospital after attending an August, 2001 reception, “In close to 50 years of catering this family was very upset and still is upset.”

But on their most recent health inspection report in January, the caterer received one critical health code violation, two boxes of lettuce were stored on the floor in a puddle next to six boxes of raw chicken. This created a possibility for cross contamination. “I don't think anyone can have a perfect report cause there will always be something but we strive to do our best,” Dion told Cole.

Despite the critical violation Crest Hollow did receive an 'A' rating on the report, but Dr. Nash says all caterers must be vigilant about food safety, “It's the responsibility of that catering hall to maintain cleanliness.”

And at Windows On The Lake in Lake Ronkonkoma it was an affair to remember when approximately 60 wedding guests were stricken with food poisoning after a reception in October of 1998. 'I was mortified,” said Jodi Galeotafiore, the bride.

Galeotafiore, the blushing bride at the time said “to have and to hold in sickness,” came a lot sooner than she had hoped, “I got headaches, nausea and diahrea, but my husband was bed-ridden for the three days of the honeymoon.”

The Suffolk County Health Department confirmed the culprit was fecal coliform, found in samples of the wedding cake and other food.

“There is nothing more important in food preparation than washing your hands,” says Dr. Nash.

Currently Windows On The Lake is violation free.

But at Fountainhead in New Rochelle health inspectors found smoked salmon held at unsafe temperatures in the basement refrigerator last December, “Keep it hot, keep it cold or don't keep it,” says Dr. Nash.

The management said they take sanitation and health code requirements seriously and corrected the temperature immediately.

At the ritzy Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan inspectors found three critical health code violations last April of 2002. They included thirty one cartons of milk found 24 days past their expiration date and, 'waiter, there's a fly in my drink,' inspectors found flies buzzing around the bar and one floating dead in a bottle of Johnnie Walker.

In New Jersey at the Highlawn Pavilion in West Orange, inspectors found the improper storage of chemicals and pitted cutting boards last April of 2002. Despite the violations, the caterer received a satisfactory rating. In a statement the management said 'inspectors arrived at an inopportune time, we keep a very clean operation here....'

Last September inspectors found eleven fly strips hanging in food preparation areas at the Richfield Regency in Verona and the improper storage of raw vegetables. The manager said all problems have been corrected.

Lena and Anthony Spordone say they had a picture perfect setting for their September wedding at Leonard's in Great Neck, Long Island, “We had a full cocktail hour, five course meal and a venetian hour.”

But last May health inspectors found two critical violations at Leonard's, raw ground beef was stored over cooked rice in the walk in refrigerator, a possibility for cross contamination, and a half flat of raw eggs were lying under a counter at room temperature, a possibility for salmonella poisoning.

'These two violations were taken care of as you can see by our last inspection two weeks ago we had no red violations and again an 'A' rating,' said Ernest Langstrand, the manager of Leonard’s.

Leonard's did receive an 'A' rating on their most recent inspection on April 23rd, and while Lena's big day went off without a hitch, Dr. Nash says couples should ask to see a caterer's inspection records before booking their big event.

If you're about to take the plunge there are plenty of other caterers that are currently violation free. These include: Tappan Hill Restaurant in Tarrytown, Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach and Milleridge Carriage House in Jericho, to name just a few.

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

Here - I think this is it! It says prom caterers but its the same night and its from channel 2 CBS.

click here

Click on the video on the right

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

There was another thread the night this was on..I think Kdrainey (sorry if I misspelled!) posted it.

All i remember is that the Coral House had no violations!

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

whew..glad to not hear carlyle

Re: Catering Hall Special Report - TV TONIGHT

Hi saw the broadcast--it was really about proms--they mentioned 3 places-One of them being Terrace on the Park. The others I didn't know. Then they said that the Coral House and some others were violation free.