Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Dec. 27, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Chef Rick Bayless recently received a call from the inspectors, not to taste his famous gourmet recipes, but to check whether he was creating his delicious dishes with uninspected ingredients. The story had first been published in a Chicago based magazine, following which the police department decided to make an inquiry into the matter. Unfortunately for the celebrity chef, the story turned out to be true.

The story that had been published claimed that a meat product producing company, based in the suburbs of the city, are known for using unprocessed meat for their items. The magazine had further reported that the company got its meat from the same producer that supplied meat to some of the restaurants. This story triggered the suspicion that the pork served up by the restaurants might be uninspected, and the IDA paid an uninitiated visit to the restaurant owned by Rick Bayless, the Frontera Grill.

According to the spokesperson for the IDA, Jeff Squibb, they obtained about 80 pounds of bacon that did not seem to have been inspected, and also some headcheese that had been inspected in Wisconsin, something that is not legal in Illinois. The objects were promptly confiscated, and Rick Bayless himself was given a date for a hearing in Springfield. Along with that, it is being speculated that he would have to pay a fine ranging between $5000 to $50,000. A spokeswoman for the restaurant assured that the unannounced visitors did nothing to disrupt the usual activities of the establishment, and that the matter would do nothing to spoil the reputation of the high end restaurant.