An American tourist is “flabbergasted” that a Toronto hotel restaurant presented them with a waiver after biting into their burger.
Earlier this week a Reddit user posted a photo of their meal next to a release form asking Canadians if it’s common practice in the country.
“I ordered my burger medium and the waiter took it with no question or comment,” the user said.
“She brought it and it looked great!” the user added.
“When I had my first bite she brought me a release form and said we always make our burgers well done but since you wanted it medium now you should sign this!” the user continued.
“I tried to be nice so I paid and left but could not eat the burger,” the user said.
Now Toronto contacted the Hilton Hotel for comment on if this was a common practice.
“Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel & Suites adheres to all Ontario Food Safety Laws. When guests request a cooking temperature for meat that is below the minimum required, our hotel provides a waiver as an additional food safety measure with language consistent with what you might see printed at the bottom of restaurant menus,” Hilton said in a statement.
The Hilton spokesperson went on to say, “I can share that the use of this waiver is not a standard practice for our Hilton properties.”
Since publication there are over 500 comments of people reacting to the post.
“Never seen or heard of this before,” a user commented.
“I’ve actually never been to a place that agreed to cook a burger medium rare, I’d be stoked to sign a release to eat one lol,” another user commented.
Our team also contacted Toronto Public Health inquiring if Toronto restaurants provide their guests with waivers upon their orders.
“Premises may be required to provide a food safety plan for the individual food item, documented process from an approved agency (e.g., Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Health Canada, e.tc.) and may also require laboratory testing results to demonstrate that their food handling practices ensure that the food is safe,” a spokesperson responded in an email statement.
“The use of a waiver would not exempt a food premise from this requirement,” the spokesperson continued.
They also advised individuals to notify Toronto Public Health if they have any concerns regarding the food preparations at a food premises by emailing DineSafe@toronto.ca or by calling 416-33-7600.
