c/chefs

PSA: A kitchen in Austin taught me to stop using pre-ground pepper

Last week, I was helping a friend open a new spot in Austin. I saw the head chef crack whole peppercorns for every single dish, even during a busy lunch rush. He told me, 'The oils in pre-ground are gone in minutes, you're just adding dust.' I started doing it at my own place and the difference in flavor is huge, especially in simple sauces. What's one small change you've made that had a big impact on your food?

Warning: The fish market in Portland taught me a quick way to spot fresh scallops.

I was at the Saturday market on the pier last week and watched a vendor check his scallops. He didn't just look at them, he picked one up and gave it a quick, firm press with his thumb. He told me, 'If it springs back fast, it's good. If your thumbprint stays, walk away.' I tried it myself on a few and it really works, you can feel the difference. Has anyone else picked up a trick like that from a market?

Heard a line cook call a dish 'chef-driven' and it made me pause

I was listening to a podcast interview with a restaurant owner in Austin, and he kept using the term 'chef-driven' to describe his menu. He said it at least five times in ten minutes. It got me thinking about how that phrase gets thrown around now, like it's a marketing word instead of just the normal way a kitchen should run. Does calling a place 'chef-driven' just mean the cooks get to make the food now? I feel like the real work, the specials and the daily fixes, always came from the chef anyway. Has anyone else noticed this term becoming a bit empty, or does it still mean something specific to you?

I finally stopped using a timer for my stocks after a dinner in Chicago

I was at a small place in Chicago about six months ago, and the chef there told me he never times his stocks, he just goes by smell and look. Everyone I know swears by a strict 6 or 8 hour timer. I tried his way when I got back, and after three batches, my chicken stock is richer. I watch the bubbles and the color now, not the clock. It feels more like cooking and less like a science lab. Has anyone else moved away from strict timing for this kind of thing?

Had a total disaster with a hollandaise during a brunch rush in Charlotte

The sauce broke right as I was about to plate 12 orders, so I grabbed a fresh yolk and slowly whisked the broken mess into it over a double boiler. Has anyone else had to fix a broken sauce that fast under pressure?

My line cook said 'We're just heating up other people's food' and it stuck with me.

We were breaking down a case of pre-portioned, vacuum-sealed short ribs last week. I was showing him the new branded plating guide from corporate. He just looked at the bag and said that line, totally flat. It hit different because he's 19 and I've been doing this for 12 years. I realized we've outsourced so much of the actual craft. The braising time, the seasoning balance, even the sear is done at a factory. What's left for us to actually cook? Has anyone else's kitchen gotten to the point where you feel more like an assembly line than a chef?

Heads up about those new 'premium' scallops from the big supplier

Honestly, I had the worst service night of my year last Friday because of them. We got a shipment of their 'dry pack' scallops in for a special, and they were swimming in liquid by the time we opened the bag. I lost about $300 worth because they just steamed in the pan instead of searing. My sous said they smelled a bit off, too, like they'd been treated. We had to 86 the special an hour into service and scramble. Has anyone else had a bad batch from them recently, or know a better source for real dry scallops?

I keep seeing cooks mess up their miso soup base by boiling it

At the new place I'm at in Portland, I've watched three different line cooks ruin a batch of dashi by letting it come to a full boil after adding the miso paste. It kills the good stuff in the miso, makes the flavor flat, and you lose that nice, round umami. I learned from a chef in Kyoto years ago that you never let it get above a simmer, just hot enough to dissolve the paste. It seems like a small thing, but it changes the whole bowl. The soup goes from being a warm, deep starter to just tasting like salty water. How do you guys teach your teams to handle this without them rushing and cranking the heat?

Had a customer send back a steak because it was 'too perfectly cooked'

Honestly, this was at a place in Denver last Friday, and the guy looked me dead in the eye and said 'This medium-rare is textbook, I wanted something with more soul.' Tbh, I just stood there for a second, my tongs in my hand. Has a line cook ever heard something that just made you stop and stare at the pass?

A simple pan sauce turned into a two-hour mess last night

I was making a pan sauce from some chicken drippings, just a basic wine and stock reduction. It just would not thicken, no matter how long I simmered it. I realized after an hour that the stock I grabbed from the walk-in was a new, low-sodium brand from our supplier, and it had almost no gelatin content. I had to start over with a fortified stock reduction, which took another full hour. Has anyone else had a sauce fail because of a change in a basic ingredient like that?

Trying to fix a broken emulsion on a hollandaise sauce

I was prepping brunch service and my sauce split on me, which should have been a quick fix. It took me 45 minutes of starting over twice before I got it stable again, just adding the butter way too fast. Anyone have a foolproof method for bringing a broken hollandaise back?

I dropped $400 on a fancy digital probe thermometer and I kind of regret it

Everyone in my kitchen was pushing for it, saying it would change how we handle proteins. It connects to my phone and has all these graphs and alerts. But honestly, after six months, I've gone back to my old $20 analog one for most things. The digital one is just too slow to update when I'm checking a dozen steaks on the fly during a rush, and I'm always worried about the battery. Has anyone else found that simpler tools just work better on a busy line?

Spent 45 minutes trying to get a perfect quenelle from a new batch of mousse that just would not set right. Turns out I'd grabbed the carton of almond milk instead of heavy cream when I was rushing.

Appreciation post: I finally understood why we keep a 'family meal' log book

Last week, we had a new line cook who kept asking what we served the crew for lunch last Tuesday, or if we'd used up the beet greens yet. It was slowing us down. My head chef pulled out this beat up notebook from 2018 and showed him five years of daily family meal notes, with ingredients, counts, and who liked what. We found a note from three months ago about a great rice dish that used leftover braising liquid. We made it again Tuesday for 22 people and it was perfect. It turned a chaotic question into a five second answer. Do any of you keep a physical book like that, or is it all digital now?

My line cook said 'we're not saving lives, we're feeding people' after a rough dinner rush, and it kinda stuck with me.

Just watched a line cook nearly ruin a batch of hollandaise by adding cold butter

The sauce broke instantly because the butter wasn't room temp. I had to pull him aside and show him how to whisk in warm, clarified butter slowly off the heat. Has anyone else had to fix this in the middle of a brunch rush?

Had to choose between using a $40 bottle of white truffle oil or just finishing the dish with good butter for a table of 8 last night.

I went with the butter, and the guest who ordered it sent it back twice saying it lacked 'that special something' I was trying to avoid making the whole plate taste like a gimmick, you know?

My walk-in fridge went down right before a 60-person wedding party

Honestly, it happened last Saturday at 2 PM, right when we were prepping the main course. The compressor just quit and the temp shot up to 50 degrees. I had about $800 worth of proteins and sauces in there. I called my buddy who runs a place across town and he let me use his spare cooler space for four hours while I got a repair guy out. We had to move everything in a hurry and it set us back almost two hours. Has anyone else had a fridge fail during a big event and have a better backup plan?

Visited a new bistro in Portland and their plating was all over the place

I stopped by that new spot on 3rd Avenue last weekend and every dish looked like it was thrown on the plate, with sauces smeared and herbs just dropped on top. The server said the chef calls it 'rustic deconstruction,' but it just looked messy and careless to me. Are other places in your cities pushing this style, or is it just a local thing?

Vent: Double-clarifying butter feels like overkill

I keep seeing recipes that insist on clarifying butter twice. It takes extra time and burns through product. What's the real benefit here?

An eggless carbonara order messed up our Friday service

I keep seeing people ask for classic dishes in weird ways now. Last Friday, a guy at table six wanted carbonara but without any eggs. My sous chef just stared at the ticket like it was a joke. We had to stop and think how to make it taste right without the key part. It slowed down the whole line during the dinner rush. Now we have a backup plan with extra cheese and pasta water. Makes you wonder what's next, steak without beef?

Shoutout to my brother for his blunt stew feedback

I've been perfecting a beef stew recipe for weeks now. My family always praises it, but I know they're just being kind. Yesterday, my brother, who never cooks, took a bite and frowned. He said it was bland and needed salt. That raw honesty was exactly what I wanted. I tossed in some more salt and let it simmer. The difference was night and day, and the stew finally tasted right. It's a tiny victory, but it reminded me to seek real opinions. Now I'll ask him to taste all my new dishes.

My hands are cramping up after long prep sessions lately

I've noticed my fingers get stiff and sore towards the end of a busy service. It's starting to slow me down when I'm chopping or plating. Any simple stretches or habits that help you avoid this?

I finally gave in and tried a 72-hour cold ferment for my pizza dough. Never going back.

Salt in my morning coffee taught me about fixing sharp sauces

I was drinking my usual black coffee (no cream or sugar) and added a pinch of salt on a whim. It really mellowed the bitterness, and I suddenly connected it to how I use a touch of honey to soften too much lemon in a pan sauce. What everyday habit have you guys found that gives you a cooking lightbulb moment?