Posted By Con.. Can small hand-held blow torches be used in kitchens for torching certain foods. Is it illegal and what is the alternative? Are their any good web pages out their on Kitchen safety?

Posted By Laurie Risk assessment is all! I am in FE and we have a training restaurant where students prepare and serve meals to the public. They both use torches and flambe food at the table. I recently watched aghast as half a bottle of brandy leapt up towards the smoke detector, the lecturer having threatened to to remove certain parts of my anatomy if I identified myself to the students! (I was in as a paying customer) Seriously, adequate fire extinguishers, plenty of room between tables, nightly/daily check of fire routes, good housekeeping and, in my case, close supervision should reduce the risk to an acceptable level. Your local fire prevention/fire safety officer will be only too pleased to help Laurie