Thank you Snowbird! It’s so sweet that you included the links to the topics - I couldn’t find the right buttons using the phone!
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I do not think it is a good idea to cook a meal for the returning owners. Unless you know them extremely well, the could be vegan, lactose intolerant, diabetic, are on a cardiac diet or a renal diet. It may be simple to make something that is vegan and would tick all the boxes above. Its putting pressure on an owner to eat something they might not normally eat. And… they might be a clean freak( like me!) and sterilse all dishes cups plates before use and before eating anything. After all, they they do not know where your hands have been!!!
HI @Willexcell The rare time I cook for homeowners, I first discuss it with them. Much depends on their return travel arrangements, and how valuable it might be for them on their return. I sometimes also gauge it according to whether they have invited me for a meal beforehand, so that I’m returning the courtesy.
I come up with the suggested dish by first checking their food storage, so that I can figure out their food choices. I do review what I might make, usually in a text close to their return date. I list the ingredients. I make something that’s suitable for reheating. Quite recently I made a dish and split it, leaving half for the homeowner and half for a convenient meal for me when I returned home.
True that I can’t accommodate someone who will have concerns about hygiene. In that case, my guess is that they will just thank me and say that they’ll look after themselves.
Communication is key. I feel like a THS bumper sticker, given I keep repeating that. 
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Great idea Snowbird. When you know the owners’ preference about meals, you can let them have what they want. Just joking about the hygeine, we all practice good hygiene
Or we’d all be sick most of the time.
Actually it’s exactly the opposite 
(not applying to the Corona virus however), because with your reasoning all people from third world countries would have died out by now.
As for cooking a meal, I think by staying in someone’s home for a while you get a good idea of what the owners like to eat and if they follow a vegan lifestyle, are lactose and/or gluten intolerant. Actually it’s much easier for a sitter than for a HO, because the HO doesn’t have any idea what the sitters like.
On the hygiene front - people who live in third world countries have built up immunity to specific illnesses and infections and that is why for example, local people can swim in the waters of the Indian Ocean and it is not recommended for north Europeans to do so.
It is not any easier for a sitter as the owner will have cleared out some of their fridge and cupboard items to make way for the sitters own food. Hope this helps you understand a little better.
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I am a flight attendant for 35 years and I think I know about hygiene in third world countries. Not only people who live there have built immunity to specific illnesses but also those who often travel. Studies show that flight attendants have more than twice as much immunity than people who never go outside of their country. It’s a matter of training.
I don’t think that all HO clear everything away to not give a clue about what they like.
I am a HO and in our house it’s quite obvious just looking at our kitchen.
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All you have to do is ask if people want a meal prepared for them and they will soon you tell you. People who worked in restaurants have taken food safety classes and would have greater food safety awareness. I have seen flight attendants handling trash and giving food to passengers without washing their hands!!
Considerate home owners will leave space in their fridge and I try to avoid the types who are not likely to have that courtesy. You get the picture simply by how a person can/cannot interact wth you and that is enough said on the matter.
I sure don’t!
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You don’t seem to know much about work in an airplane. There simply is no restroom reserved for flight attendants and it’s not always possible to wash hands all the time. Probably that’s why we are a very healthy sort of people, because germs don’t seem to bother us that much.
There’s a difference between clean and hysterically hyperdesinfected and I am not the second kind of person.
I would never raise the topic of the sitters leaving a meal for me. They either do it or don’t do it. It’s for them to ask or guess, not for me.
If you had read any of my comments so far here on the forum, you would know that for me it’s all about communication.
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Food safety classes aren’t required to work in a restaurant, and TBH it’s a big reason why I avoid going to restaurants …and to be sure, having earned my Safety & Sanitation Certification, and also teaching on topic that to others, I know exactly what can go wrong. 
In most developed countries, food safety certification IS a requirement. I personally know of someone who was sent home from work because he had a rash and asked not to return until the rash was cleared up.
As I said, enough said on the matter.
Sorry Miss Chef, this message was not intended for you. It was clumped with a different name on the THS emailing system.
As I said enough said on the matter.
Why are you being so belligerent over this towards @Düsenzofe and to me? Both of us are professionals in our fields and should be given credit for knowing what we’re talking about.
I guess you’d not include US in that category? because, as I said, it’s not required:
"ServSafe certification isn’t required for all food handlers. In fact, whether any food safety training is required for food handlers varies by state or even by county
Well… had that individual been adequately trained in Safety & Sanitation, as you state that such certification is a requirement, (and I reiterate, IT’S NOT) they’d have known that they’re not to handle food if they have that condition. If they were certified, they chose to ignore their training and further proves my point.
SO that said, and to bring it back on the topic. We agree that it is NOT a good idea to cook a meal for the returning owners, but I heartily disagree that we all practice good hygiene, like your friend, with the rash.
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Thank you. Exactly how I feel about these comments.
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A discussion was not possible with you anyway, because you keep jumping from one topic to the next without even acknowledging that others might have better insights or experience.
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Flowers stand for all that is good and bright and beautiful.
It’s obvious you’re simply looking for clickbait.
Don’t waste your time.
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Admin intervention - It looks like for some we’ve got to the point of no agreement on this thread around the debate on food hygiene and flowers, so to avoid this escalating further let’s draw a line under these two topics and perhaps accept that flowers are fine if a person doesn’t have allergies or a scent intolerance 
I think most owners are appreciative of any gift and would accept graciously. It’s the thought that counts as they say. If you go that extra length to make the gift perfect by communicating or observing preferences, that’s good too.
Thank you all for contributing on this conversation, but let’s take the heat out of it to respect the original posters question. Thanks for your understanding, and have a lovely weekend. Vanessa and the team.
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