Kitchens from Hell

This busy restaurant at Chicago's O'Hare Terminal presents quite a few hurdles for potential handwashers among the food handling staff.

This hotel in California, part of a national chain, offers a custom breakfast served from this atrium bar. Working around the beer taps, the busy staff keeps a supply of food nearby - on the handsink, just below the health department's neatly framed certificate.

This Handsink From Hell, previously labeled as Double Blocked, was originally found in this condition.

Obviously it is regularly used as temporary storage, rendering this critical handsink unuseable during many hours of operation. When this restaurant was first designed there may not have been a lock on the adjacent cold storage area. The lock may contribute to this misuse.

Although this handsink is crowded by income producing beverage dispensers, its bigger problem is the location of the paper towels. Wet dripping hands pass over a variety of food contact surfaces including clean glassware.

Management priorities are again evident as beverage dispensing overtakes handwashing convenience.

Making good drinks is a lot easier than handwashing at this four star Lake Tahoe resort.

Temporary convenience trumps access to hand soap ... all day long.

This collection is designed as a reminder that good intentions can pave the way to hell's hansinks. We are confident that acts of maliciousness were not involved in the original installation design and execution. No kitchen designer knowledgeable about food safety would have specified what you are about to see. Some of these handsinks were just plain poorly conceived. Others have likely degenerated over time. Many are likely a response to a local code which often reflects the FDA's model Food Code - stressing the presence of a handsink, but offering little to guide the specifics and use.