Now, I am the kind of guy who eats sushi in a sushi joint. I would not order the steak, or the chicken, but then there are those of us who thrive on meat and potatoes. I guess not everyone is an omnivour. For these folks, most places will accomodate their needs with the likes of Chicken Teriyaki, and other simpler fare.

Regardless of whether or not this is a specialty, the patron is entitled to a properly prepared meal. Well, it was during lunch with some suppliers that my partner had ordered the Chicken Teriyaki. What could be simpler.

Well, the Chicken was a frozen brochette, taken from the freezer and dropped into a deep fryer and then finished on a grill to give it the authentic grill marks, then slathered with teriyaki sauce and dropped on a bed of rice along with the standard assortment of Asian veggies.

One problem... The chicken was red and cold in the center. It was not cooked through.... Noticing this, we returned the meal to the kitchen. 10 Minutes later the plate is returned with cold rice, cold veggies, and what looks like burnt marshmellows on a brochette. The brochette was put back on the grill, the sauce which is high in sugar had blackened to a crusty carbon char, and then was returned to the plate and slatehreed with more Teriyaki..

What a severe disrespect for food. When the plate came back we looked at this atrocity in astonishment, and asked for the manager... Well jackpot, we did not get the manager, we got one of the owners, Sorry Mike I forgot your last name, but you truly cracked us up when you tried to tell us that 'anyone who knows food knnows chicken should be served pink in the middle, and that this is the way chicken should be serrved, any gourmet knows this'....and you actually said this with a straight face... Damn you are ready for a career in standup... Perhaps you can start with a stint with the food inspectors for the ville de Montreal, and move on to the big stage at Agriculture Canada. I am sure that they would all love this act.

Kaizen's bad treatement of food does not end with chicken. It extends right out to the sushi bar, where whole dinner parties have been known to share an array of bathroom stalls the next day at the office...that is if they made it in to the office...

If the VDM had enough inspectors to be a serious force, they would not have to go very far to ring up the offences. Bottom line, if you can't respect the food you are working with, don't attempt to serve it to anyone other than yourself.