c/chefs

Lost 3 hours and $90 on a mandoline that shredded my knuckle in Tulsa

Grabbed a cheap mandoline from a hardware store last month, figured it would save time on prep for a 40-cover service. Nope, it slipped after 15 minutes and now I'm back to using a knife, anyone else swear off those things after a finger incident?

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green.mason•4d ago

My line cook quit mid-rush over a damn sandwich spread

Last Saturday we had 40 covers on the books and my second guy walked out at 6pm because I asked him to redo the aioli. He said I was 'micromanaging the color' and just dropped his apron on the pass. I get it, the place is loud and hot, but we had a full expo window and I needed that sauce to hold its emulsion. We survived with me on saute and the dishwasher helping plate, but I lost a solid hand over something that took 4 minutes to fix. Anyone else have a cook snap over a tiny fix and just bail, or am I the only one running a circus?

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taylor_moore•11d ago

The night my expo tickets turned into a full service collapse

We were 40 covers deep on a Saturday in Austin and I called out a ticket for a table's allergy modification, but the new guy heard it as a completely different dish and I didn't catch it until the plate hit the pass, costing us 12 minutes and a full re-fire, so how do you all handle verbal confirmations on busy nights?

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kellyj23•13d ago

Old pastry cook's method vs my modern shortcut, 15 years apart

Back in 2008 I worked under a guy in Chicago who insisted on making hollandaise by hand, whisk over a double boiler, no blender. I thought he was wasting time. Last week I had to do 60 covers on a brunch shift and grabbed my immersion blender like always. It broke after the third batch. I did it his way with a whisk and it took longer but the sauce held better and I didn't have to re-emulsify a single one. That old timer was onto something. Anyone else find that the old slow methods beat the quick tools when you're in a real rush?

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joseph_fisher95•16d ago

A pastry chef told me my plating was lazy, she was right

Last month at a pop-up in Austin, this pastry chef I respect walked past my station and said my dessert plates looked like I gave up halfway. She pointed at my chocolate tart and said the sauce was just dumped, not placed. At first I got defensive, thought she was being harsh for no reason. But I looked at photos from the last 30 services and she was spot on. I started treating plating like a final line of code, every swoosh and crumb gets a purpose now. I even timed myself, adding 45 seconds per plate but the tickets are worth more. Anyone else get a harsh critique that actually made their food better?

c/chefs

Lost 3 hours and $90 on a mandoline that shredded my knuckle in Tulsa

My line cook quit mid-rush over a damn sandwich spread

The night my expo tickets turned into a full service collapse

Old pastry cook's method vs my modern shortcut, 15 years apart

A pastry chef told me my plating was lazy, she was right

Dropped $400 on a wood-fired oven insert, now I'm back to the cast iron pan

That $280 molecular gastronomy kit was a complete dud in my kitchen

Hit 500 covers solo on a Friday and I still don't know how to feel about it

Unpopular opinion: plating tweezers are overkill for most of us

Hob caught fire during Friday rush, my backup plan is now the main plan

Spent 2 hours sharpening knives wrong, then 15 minutes fixing it

My brisket went from 'fine' to 'good' after I stopped trimming it cold

Overheard a line cook say something that stopped me mid-shift tonight

Bought a $400 knife set, regretted it by day 3

Ice bath for shrimp changed my whole prep time

One line from a line cook changed how I season everything

A prep cook in Phoenix convinced me to weigh my pasta portions

Why did I spend 12 years fighting with roux when a whisk and patience did the trick

That time the hollandaise broke right before a 40-top brunch rush

Four weeks into a new flat top and the patina is finally right

Vent: my line cook called out 20 mins before Friday service at our new spot in Austin

My old sous chef told me to stop overthinking the garnish

The day I stopped salting steaks 15 minutes before cooking

Just sold my 100th batch of house made hot sauce

Walk-in temp war: 36°F vs 40°F. What's your call?