Wannabe, (and for all the other diners out there...

), A common misconception about getting ill from food.....Most foodborne illness takes 12-24 hours to set in. I know first hand from 2 experiences where it was nearly a day and a half before symptoms set in, and once was hospitalized for it. Both cases were confirmed by other dinners, and lab work. It is extremely rare to get sick from food in just a few hours, usually those feelings of nausia are related to over-eating/mixing rich, spicey, dairy foods ect. Many people even have slight food alergies that they don't even know about, that can bring on a nausious state. And not to mention, some people just don't cook with the amount of butter,garlic, onions ect at home, so when they go out, they get a little woosy from too much of a good thing that they are not used to. I'm certainly not discrediting you about being sick, only that it might have been brought on by something else. In most cases, to get sick that quick from a food borne illness, or food bacteria, the food would have to be so rancid that you wouldn't be able to stand putting it in your mouth. I only know this as I have taken the Serve Safe Course 3 times in the last 12 years, and always scored highly, infact last time I scored high enough to become a certified instructor. A good suggestion to anyone that thinks they may have gotten a food borne illness it to head to the doctors and let them do some lab work. They can identify weather or not it is from food, and also pinpoint what type of food...beef, pork, shellfish, seafood ect... This can be handy in figuring out where you actually got sick from, and then make a phone call to notify them so that the rest of us diners don't get sick off the same thing. Its also a safe thing to do for yourself, Hepatitis is on the rise these days as well as many other funky things, the State is now inforcing a strict handwashing and glove protocol for all food service employees, gloves must be worn when handling any raw food that will not be cooked to it's safe temperature, ie lettuce, cold lobster salad, ice cream ect......basically, if it's not going to be cooked hot enough to kill off bacteria before it hits your plate, they should have been wearing gloves.
Well, I hope you and your mother are feeling better now, getting sick is certainly no fun. And good luck to Johnson Steak and Seafood, sounds like your on the right path with your customers. Restaurant work is a hard life, it's good to prosper.