News have the terrifying information that the stunningly lethal deathcap dinner was cooked in a commercial kitchen here in Canberra:
HEALTH authorities in Canberra say the meal which contained death cap mushrooms that killed two people was prepared in a commercial kitchen.
The ACT Health Directorate says the food was for a private meal and no food containing the poisonous mushrooms was given to any member of the public.
In a statement, the authority said the premises in Canberra have been inspected and there is no risk of exposure to the public.
This being ACT Health we are, of course, not trusted with the information as to which kitchen was involved.
Friends will tell you I’ve never been keen on mushrooms (indeed have been accused of not being a funghi *boom tish*), but I’d be wary of the straw mushrooms from Canberra’s more “authentic” Chinese restaurants myself in future.
UPDATE: The Australian reports that it appears to have been the Chinese Bistro at the Harmonie Club.
LUI Jun was a hardworking 38-year-old Chinese chef who made a fatal error of mistaking the toxic “death cap” mushrooms for a common edible variety used in Chinese cooking.
For a year Mr Lui had worked at the Chinese bistro at Narrabundah’s Harmonie German Club, serving food to Canberra’s Chinese community and others who regularly attended the inner-south restaurant for his cooking.
Each week he would send his pay cheque back to his wife, 11-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son he supported in China’s Hunan Province.
It was at this bistro where he met the other victim of the accidental New Year’s Eve poisoning — Tsou Hsiang, 52, who had also left family behind in China to work in Canberra as a casual kitchen hand.
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very worrying that they may have been commercial cooks and didn’t know poisonous mushrooms grew in Canberra
Mushrooms are disgusting. Partly because they are slimy, sporey crimes against nature but mostly because THEY WANT TO KILL YOU!!
Whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant, I have mushrooms, as my husband doesn’t like them much so we don’t tend to have them at home. Also they are seen as good for vegetarians. (!)
So it seems based on other information, that some of the victims found the mushrooms and got the restaurant to cook them, a bit like people will sometimes have fish cooked that they caught. But I am dismayed that I can’t know which restaurant knew so little as to prepare these.
Until I know this I won’t be going near any mushrooms in an Asian restaurant.
By the way, some of the comments on the News site about the one man who is still alive and awaiting a liver transplant (if I have got the details right) are simply appalling.
Well….. That same day I saw cops storming an Asian restaurant in Dickson right next to zeffereli’s.
Food for thought….?
kakosi said :
You’re assuming that the “chef’ was trained locally, and the food standards certificate or whatever it’s called covers mushroom identification. Pretty easy mistake to make imo, thats why i don’t pick mushrooms unless they’re from the fruit & veg section at coles/woolworths.
Henry82 said :
The trick is not to pick mushies that are under trees or have white underneath. The old field mushroom is harmless, especially if it is growing next to a pile of cow poo, they are the best.
I would/will not let this event stop me from eating wild mushrooms as I dont dabble in the odd ones, just the common ones and know what to pick.
“but I’d be wary of the straw mushrooms from Canberra’s more “authentic” Chinese restaurants myself in future” Innuendo and fearmongering – IS THIS NECESSARY?
“(For those wondering we at RiotACT put Tom O’Dea in touch with The Oz following an approach by Lanai Vasek)” Incorrect, I had spoken to her prior to getting your email.
Facts are good!
Now we know that one of the victims was a chef who cooked the meal, perhaps there should be an education campaign directed particularly towards newly arrived people in that line of work on this issue.
Why is the Dept Health not monitoring more thoroughly these shonky operations such as the Harmonie German Club – I have been in that restaurant and it was clear they were hiring illegal workers to run the operation. This is an outrage that the two people who were cooking for members of the public were in the country on tourist visas which is illegal and they have put public health at a great risk. This is simply unacceptable in a first world country! We are paying our taxes, and it is time this government started delivering on it’s services to the citizens of Canberra
Tomo said :
You’re the one who said this is an easy mistake for a chinese chef to make.
I’ll take the note out.
I’ve seen a whole pile of mushrooms growing on the grounds of ANU but won’t touch them because I’m simply not confident of telling them and death caps apart. I’d rather pay dollars at a shop than save a few cents and cark it a few hours later. I have read up on how to tell death caps apart from regular mushies, but really, you need to know what you are doing and what you are talking about. Spore patterns, gill types, and so on. Not worth the risk.
Interestingly, the wikipedia article on deathcaps already mentions this case.
Tomo said :
I thought it was a bit OTT, but assumed JB was (bluntly!) trying to coerce them into releasing the restaurant name….?
I’d imagine that the next few months would be the safest time to eat shrooms at a restaurant/cafe, after this.
kas said :
How is it clear that the Harmonie Club was hiring illegal workers? Where did you find the information that the cooks were on tourist visas?
kas said :
Assume = Ass out of u & me.
Where did you get the illegel immigrant information from? Nothing in that article, it just said they were working here & was sending money back home which is a regular practice for many immigrants.
Post some links to back up your claims or I will call BS.
kas said :
1. Breathe in deeply using your diaphragm.
2. Hold for a second or two.
3. Breathe out effortlessly.
4. Repeat for 10 minutes.
There, you should be feeling a little less panicked! Or you could try using a brown paper bag and run around yelling ‘Im a teapot, i’m a teapot!’ Hahahaha!
Oh Bugger, I am agreeing with Jim Jones……….
KB1971 said :
Tom on 666 this AM said the lady had been here for 3 months as a tourist, though he also said she just helped out in the kitchen and didn’t mention it was a paying job (as such)….
I hope this doesn’t result in people avoiding the German Club restaurant, or any Chinese restaurant in Canberra for that matter.
Remember, it may have been a commercial kitchen, but it was a private meal sourced (obviously) from some off inventory ingredients. No need to go spastic and think of the children.
It is a tragic accident, and after hearing this guy hasn’t seen his children for four years (trying to earn some cash for them back in China) makes it even more sad.
Further, there is good to come out of this- we’ve all had a lesson in edible mushy selection, albeit through poor circumstances.
dpm said :
Yep, I picked up on that straight away this morning – Tom was trying to deny that she was an actual “worker”. Obviously, he suspects she was working illegally.
Still, far, far better to arrive legally and be working illegally in Australia than to come to Australia illegally pretending to be a refugee in order to scrounge benefits and spread noxious religion.
but someone – or an organisation – could well end up on a manslaughter charge.
kas said :
Umm kind of sounds more like a DIAC problem then an ACT Health problem…
1) Chinese people are taught that mushrooms with white gills are safe to eat and brown gills are not.
2) Chinese/Korean/other Asian people have safely rock fished for thousands of years without any safety gear other than a rope
3) Australian mushrooms are different from Chinese mushrooms
4) Australian rock fishing conditions are dramaticially different from Asian waters.
5) Those who assume, loses.
I’ve had a few meals at this Chinese bistro. Which, by the way is an independent business that operates on the club’s premises from what I understand.
They cooked up some really nice food there and people from the Chinese community flocked in.
I suspect I know which chef the 38 year old was, and if so he can’t speak a bar of English. Not even the word hello. It’s clear to me that this isn’t a failing of any Australian authorities or practices.
I am not sure who the 52 year old lady is, but I hope it’s not the lady-owner of the bistro. She was extremely hard working and quite nice.
It is all a bit of a shame. But total accident.
There must have been a lot. Normal morbididty from death caps are 7-10 days. Not so much 3 or 4.
KB1971 said :
Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day.
This tragedy is an unintended consequence of globalisation whereby we have exotic European mushrooms being grown under exotic English trees being harvested by a Chinese Australian in a city designed by an American and consumed by Chinese Nationals in a German Club situated in a suburb with an Aboriginal name.
Did I miss anything?
Clearly these very poor relatives back in China can’t afford to fly the bodies back home, and also can’t afford to come out here themselves. It would be such a travesty if these folk are cremated and put in paupers’ graves.
Can the ACT Government perhaps do a grace & favour thing and fly the relatives out? OK, it wasn’t our “fault” – but they are sad deaths, occurred on our land, and I’m sure no Canberrans would resent $20,000 being spent out of some contingency budget or other. Let’s honour these poor people; these deaths are going to be remembered as part of Canberra’s “strange-death” history, along with Joe Cinque and poor little Brendan McNicol who died at Casuarina Sands in 1986. Let’s put on the historical record, as a community, a caring and compassionate end to their story.
kas said :
For a really good spray you are better starting with something like “When oh when will this Government…”
HenryBG said :
It is the worst possible taste to turn a discussion of a tragedy into a platform for your anti-Muslim views.
As to ‘pretending to be a refugee’ some of them take method acting so far that they have drowned while performing. Impressive.
dungfungus said :
No.
Post of the week.
kas said :
This is not a cattle truck.
Not sure how you can tell if an operation is run just by illegal workers. Was the service better than at other restaurants? Did the staff seem attentive and willing to assist you?
When you ate at the restaurant, do you mean the bistro downstairs near the bar, or upstairs towards the back? Two different operations as I understand.
Did you read the article, or choose to begin a frantic rant based on a headline? If it was the latter, I’d suggest sticking to the tabloid papers, possibly the Canberra Times if you fancy a challenge. If it was the former, I’d suggest you seek help in comprehension.
What is unacceptable to a first world county? Having people working while on tourist visas; or, having a dodgy private meal in a restaurant that is closed?
To clarify, we are citizens of Australia, not Canberra.
Now, would you care for a mushroom risotto?