May 16-Leger's Restaurant Report Card

A Restaurant Report Card Special Investigation:

 A Beaumont restaurant owner is denying allegations that he re-served food that had already been on other customers' plates.

However, a former manager of Baytown Seafood on College Street says she's seen it happen with her own eyes, and that's not the only thing she's concerned about.

Chistina DiMatteo says when the owner told her not to worry about what went on in the kitchen, she decided to give up her job and warn the public.

BILL LEGER:

"stuff that had been on other people's plates already.. they reuse that?

CHRISTINA DIMATTEO/FORMER EMPLOYEE

Yes.

Christina DiMatteo claims the owner of Baytown Seafood restaurant on College Street in Beaumont was so worried about saving money, he would order workers to reuse food that had already been served to other customers.

DIMATTEO

"I saw them re-serving cherry tomatoes from salads. They would have the dishwasher take the cherry tomatoes, lemons wash them off put them in a basket to be reused."

BILL LEGER

DiMatteo is a certified food manager and what really worried her was the restaurant's practice of selling gumbo to go in old oyster buckets.

DIMATTEO

"and what I learned from food safety classes was after you finished with the oyster bucket you are to destroy it, punch holes in the bottom of it and throw it in the trash because it could cause people to get Hepatitis A."

DiMatteo says she was worried someone was going to get sick so she contacted the Beaumont Health Department.

SANDRA GIRARD/BEAUMONT HEALTH DEPARTMENT

"we don't allow them to re-use them at all..."

Chief Beaumont Sanitarian Sandra Girard says an inspector found the buckets in the kitchen and ordered them destoyed on the spot.

SANDRA GIRARD/BEAUMONT HEALTH DEPARTMENT

"and as she was standing there.. she made them cut them up .. and that's what the directive from the state was to us."

Girard says the inspector also saw employees washing and reusing old oyster shells that had arleady been on other customers' plates.

GIRARD:

"it's very dangerous if there were oysters with any kind of bacteria or any kind of virus it would be transmitted to anyone else that ate on that shell."

But after the inspector left last week, DiMatteo said it was obvious to her things weren't going to change.

DIMATTEO:

"that same day they told me don't worry about what happens in the back, you only take care of the front."

So the next day, even though she didn't yet have another job, DiMatteo quit.

DIMATTEO:

"the public's health is in our hands.. they're entrusting their health to us."

LEGER:

We went to Baytown Seafood Thursday to get answers from the owner.

LEGER:

There have been allegations that you reuse food that you take food off of dirty plates and then you reserve it to unsuspecting customers .. has that been happening here?

Trunch Hok told us he had trouble understanding English, but after we asked the question a number of times, he denied re-serving old food.

LEGER

"you're telling me absolutely you did not do that?

HOK

"Yeah we never do it like that sir."

Hok did admit to serving gumbo in old oyster buckets, but says the health department destroyed the buckets and he doesn't do that anymore.

And to Hok's credit when our photographer visited the restaurant with a hidden camera earlier in the week and ordered gumbo to go, Hok served it to us in the proper containers.

LEGER:

"What do you want your customers to know about your restaurant.."

While Hok admits making some mistakes in the past, he says customers should not be worried about eating in his restaurant.

LEGER

All fresh food?

HOK

"Yes, all fresh food."

 NOTE:

Baytown Seafood's most recent health department inspection grade was issued in February.  The restaurant scored a 79 which is on the lower end of the scale.

The restaurant will not get another score until its next regular inspection in the next four or five weeks.

Mr. Hok told us he owns this restaurant in Beaumont and another Baytown Seafood in Houston.

The regular Restaurant Report Card returns next week.