Both areas of the Mar-A-Lago Club and the smaller 30-seat Beach Club at Mar-A-Lago passed their annual inspections by the State of Florida’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants, but like most, they fell a little short of perfection. Problems were mostly fixed on the spot.

Mar-a-Lago is the Winter White House and National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach owned by President Donald J. Trump in a role that was envisioned for the property by heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, who built the Palm Beach estate from 1924 to 1927.

President Trump acquired the property from Post’s foundation  in 1985. The Mar-A-Lago Club is open only to members who have access to the 126-rooms on the property. The president’s private quarters are separate in a closed off area of the house and grounds.

The state filed reports for two areas of the Mar-A-Lago Club from inspections conducted on Jan. 26, 2017, one week after Trump became 45th president of the United States. It found 10 violations for the main 700-seat area of the Mar-A-Lago Club, and three violations involving the smaller 95-seat area.

Both areas met inspection standards for 2017, as they have for the recent years where records are readily available.

At the smaller of the two club venues, two “basic” violations, one having to do with plates not be stacked in a proper inverted or protected manner and the other for an employee not wearing a hair restraint. One “intermediate” violation was recorded for no paper towels or drying device being available at one hand-washing sink, a violation that was “corrected on site.”

The larger 700-seat club area was found with 10 violations, including three deemed to be of a “high priority” status. All three were for improper temperature controls on reach-in or walk-in coolers. The coolers were all called “potentially hazardous” because it was found they might not be keeping such foods as shrimp and burgers cool enough. The report says the Mar-A-Lago officials took corrective action during the inspection.

Four basic violations at the 700-seat club area were cited including an employee drinking a beverage without a lid and straw, an ice-making machine being located outside, no sign on a hand-washing sink, and rust on a cooler shelf. The larger Mar-A-Lago Club was also written up for three “intermediate” violations. One hand-washing sink had hot water shut off. It was immediately corrected. A reach-in cooler and a walk-in cooler were found not in good repair, and a chef removed the items they were holding during the inspection to correct the situation.

Finally, the inspection said there was no current insurance report or certificate for the club’s boiler, but it was determined it was exempt from that requirement.

Food safety at the Winter White House is the responsibility of the Florida State Department of Business & Professional Regulation. Its Division of Hotels and Restaurants (H&R) is charged with licensing, inspecting and regulating all food service and lodging establishments. Last year it found 784,555 violations during 118,136 inspections.

“Each inspection report is a ‘snapshot’ of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection,” H&R’s website says.

As for Mar-A-Lago, it has come full circle. Post — the one-time  Mrs. E.F. Hutton — until her death wanted it to become the official Winter White House. She even willed it to the federal government for use as a diplomatic or presidential retreat when she died in 1973. But the federal government returned it to her foundation 10 years later, due to maintenance and security concerns.

When New York real estate developer Donald J. Trump purchased the estate in 1985, few would have predicted that transaction would be the route to Post’s dream of making Mar-A-Lago the Winter White House. Trump has even gone further by occasionally calling it the “Southern White House.”

Inspection Reports:

Beach Club At Mar A Lago
1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach ( County)
30 seats

2595047		01- 26-17 Inspection Completed – No Further Action (Met Inspection Standards)
		Inspector’s Note Basic – Clean glasses, cups, bowls, plates, pots and pans not stored inverted or in a protected manner.plates outside by the grill **Corrected On-Site** Basic – Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation. **Corrected On-Site** Count Violation 1 Clean clothes; hair restraints; jewelry; painted / artificial fingernails 1 Storage / handling of clean equipment, utensils; air drying

 

Mar-A-Lago Club
1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach ( County)
700 Seats

2598356		01-26-17 Inspection Completed – No Further Action (Met Inspection Standards)
		Inspector’s Note Basic – Employee beverage container in a food preparation/clean dishware area does not have a lid and a straw or equivalent dispensing mechanism to prevent hand contact with lip contact area of drink container. **Corrected On-Site** Basic – Ice making machine located outside. Basic – No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees.restroom and bar **Corrected On-Site** Basic – Walk-in cooler/freezer shelves with rust that has pitted the surface. High Priority – All potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods in reach-in cooler cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit.one door cooler on cook line shrimp (49°F – Cold Holding); burger (49°F – Cold Holding); turkey (50°F – Cold Holding); octopus (50°F – Cold Holding), hotdog 49°, chef moved items to walk in cooler **Corrective Action Taken** High Priority – All potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods in walk-in cooler cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Poultry (49°F – Cold Holding); duck (50°F – Cold Holding); rice (50°F – Cold Holding); Beef (50°F – Cold Holding); ham (57°F – Cold Holding), chef call technicians to lower setting. technician said it was on defrost and has corrected the problem **Corrected On-Site** High Priority – Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded. **Corrected On-Site** Intermediate – Hot water not provided/shut off at employee handwash sink. In front of kitchen and kitchen not at 100°, technicians corrected problem **Corrected On-Site** Intermediate – Reach-in cooler not maintained in good repair. Do not store potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food in this unit until the unit is repaired. one door cooler on cook line shrimp (49°F – Cold Holding); burger (49°F – Cold Holding); turkey (50°F – Cold Holding); octopus (50°F – Cold Holding), hotdog 49°, chef moved items to walk in cooler **Corrective Action Taken** Intermediate – Walk-in cooler not maintained in good repair. Do not store potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food in this unit until the unit is repaired. Poultry (49°F – Cold Holding); duck (50°F – Cold Holding); rice (50°F – Cold Holding); Beef (50°F – Cold Holding); ham (57°F – Cold Holding), technicians said it was on defrost and set a different defrost cycle. **Corrective Action Taken** No current insurance inspector boiler report or boiler certificate available for boiler. For reporting purposes only. Technical team said the boiler was exempt Count Violation 1 + Approved source 2 + Time and Temperature Control – potentially hazardous / time / temperature control for safety foods (PH / TCS) 1 + Food protection, cross-contamination 1 + Hands washed and clean, good hygienic practices, eating / drinking / smoking 1 + Handwash sinks, handwashing supplies and handwash sign 1 * Water source safe, hot (100F) and cold under pressure 3 Food-contact and nonfood-contact surfaces designed, constructed, maintained, installed, located

 

Mar-A-Lago Club
1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach ( County)
95 Seats

2588433		01-26-17 Inspection Completed – No Further Action (Met Inspection Standards)	3
		Inspector’s Note Basic – Clean glasses, cups, bowls, plates, pots and pans not stored inverted or in a protected manner. Plates at outside grill not inverted **Corrected On-Site** Basic – Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation. **Corrected On-Site** Intermediate – No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Outside grill **Corrected On-Site** Count Violation 1 + Handwash sinks, handwashing supplies and handwash sign 1 Clean clothes; hair restraints; jewelry; painted / artificial fingernails 1 Storage / handling of clean equipment, utensils; air drying

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