Unpopular opinion: plating tweezers are overkill for most of us

I overheard two line cooks at a spot in Chicago arguing that tweezers are the only way to plate anything that matters, but I've run my station for 4 years with just a good pair of tongs and a spoon. Tweezers slow me down on a busy Friday ticket and they don't make the food taste any better when the plate hits the window. Am I the only one who thinks precision tools are more about looking fancy than actually helping the rush?

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1 Comment

tessawebb15h ago

Tweezers are the reason I have permanent carpal tunnel from pinching micro herbs for two hours, meanwhile my spoon could plate a whole station blindfolded. Last service I watched a guy spend four minutes arranging three pea shoots while his risotto died in the window, and I just laughed into my béchamel. My tongs have more personality than half the cooks I've worked with, honestly. If tweezers make you feel like a sushi master, go off, but I'll be over here stacking proteins with the same tool I use to flip burgers.