Stories of crazy chefs ....

[UniChef]

That reminds me, since this is a post on crazy chefs- in the same BBQ joint the sous chef and a waitress constantly got into it. (Starting to sound redundant?..) One night the sous chef put two plates on the char broiler for about 5 minutes each, then put her order on the plates. She came into the kitchen to pick up her food, picked up the plates, dropped them, and walked right out the door and never came back.

That kind of retaliation is ridiculous. A short time after that I got into it with the same guy. I got fired for beating the snot out of him right over the steamtable, but it was worth it.
(BTW- As I said, I was very young and immature at the time. I would never condone that kind of behavior today.)

[shroomgirl]

QJWIN625 was that the same chef? Was he French or from the Deep South? And did the waitress get a meal out of the deal?
Inquiring minds


[This message has been edited by shroomgirl (edited October 08, 2000).]

Oh yeah! I hadda get involved in THIS thread... Over time, I've seen a chef:
Leap over the pass and clamp his teeth on a waiter's nose, then shake him like a dog, snarling viciously.
Receive "oral gratification" while on the line, apron raised to conceal a friendly waitress from her peers..
Insist on a solemn invocation of Elvis, whole crew turned to face a bust of the King, while "Love Me Tender" was played like the national anthem before each and every service period..
Quit, mid-shift on Saturday night, pausing in the dining room to burn the menus before leaving...
Throw an entire ten-tops food in the garbage because ONE plate had a tiny, imperceptible defect.
Physically grab a customer and throw him in the street (that was me) (the ******* was drunk and harassing a table of women--it was my finest hour--GOD, it felt good!)

Oh, I'd say she got a meal alright!

[shroomgirl]

LOL could have been only an appetizer.

The chef in question (re; shroomgirl's question) was a Cape Cod chef-my first. I've already written about the "bride incident" in KC-- the same guy.

[Nick.Shu]

im constantly reminded about this industry from stories. Sometimes your even lucky enough to be there.

Last monday, i was at college and our class is doing desserts. Next door, is the "shortcut class" (6months tuition and 5 years work experience=chefs papers)

The teacher gives me quite a wry smile and disappears into the next kitchen. Teaching the class next door is the culinary version of hemmingways "old man of the sea" (who happens to be the senior head teacher of commercial cookery).

My teacher comes back and he's laughing hard. He tells me that: "hans next door is diabetic, so i gave a dessert to eat. Give him 5 minutes and he will be so hyped up, he will start yelling at the class".

As sure as the sun sets in the west, we hear the chef's equivalent of the wail of the banshee and and it doesnt let up for 20 minutes. Heheh, we were laughing so much, that even the teacher ended up burning stuff.

P.S., dont try this at home, its naughty.

[This message has been edited by Nick.Shu (edited October 13, 2000).]

Let me preface this by stating that the crazy chef in my story is my Grandfather (lucky me!). And trust me this is just *one* small story...

One night we were packed, the kitchen was deep in the weeds, my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were working the floor.

I had a party of 14 from a local business, who all, as always, had rack of lamb.

My wife had a party of 6 (who ordered after the 14). Well a guy at the 6 had a *well* done surf & turf. With the confusion in the kitchen the steak got on the grill late, and (surprize) had to be sent out a little while after everyting else.

After the meal the guy with who's dinner was screwed up was jawing at my girl - "This was your fault." "Who's fault was this?" "You've made me look bad in front of my guests." (?!) He was putting on a show for his guests.

I explained that the table in the back had 14 racks, our joint is small, and sorry, mistakes happen. The guy responds with "You're saying they (the 14) are more important than me!"

My Grandfather sees the guy yammering at me, comes out of the kitchen and asks what's going on. The guy makes a big scene, spouting off about his *well done* filet taking so long, and ending with "I'll never come back!"

To which my Grandfather puts his arm around the guy and responds "Good, I hope you don't you prick. Pay your bill and get the f**k out."

Classic.

I never felt better. Talk about pride in your job, employer, and place of employment...

Heitz

[m brown]

Heitz,
great story!!!!!!!
thanks for the shared memories.

Heitz:
I wanna work for your Grandfather!

My favorite story:
The butcher liked to play a radio in his cold room. The Chef being French felt there should be no distractions when working.

Well the butcher would pull out his radio every morning and them have it put away before 11:00 when the Chef would arrive.

One morning the Chef came early and walked directly to the cold room, grabbed the radio with both hands, flipped the band saw on and cut the radio in half. He turned to the butcher and said , "Here's your f****ing radio".

All the butcher could do was stand there with his mouth agape.

Now I don't think this was out of line in the least.

I have seen things that at the time I've just taken in and now on reflection think were wrong and something should have been done.

I have seen something similar as the heating of the plates incident. For something like that, the chef should be arrested and charged with assault.

[This message has been edited by dlachez (edited 11-29-2000).]

O.K., one more ;-). Now this one took place before my days, but I've heard it told by several folks.

One evening my Grandfather was tending bar, at what was a fine dining joint. Keep in mind, his idea of tending bar involves a drink for the patron, and a drink for him.

Well, it so happens that a Bishop (I believe) from Buffalo came in with some other priests for a nice dinner.

Needless to say, my Grandfather spies them, and HAS to go out on the floor.

The Bishop had ordered a Cesar salad, so my Gramps proceeds to mix the dressing at the table, and then give the Bishop a nice scalp massage with Caesar dressing.

Oh, but that wasn't enough. He grabbed a table cloth, a can of whip cream and a butter knife and went on to give the guy a nice straight razor shave.

The next day, after hearing the story from my Grandmother (his complete opposite, of course) Gramps is thinking "what have I done this time?" As he put it "I wanted to ride in the trunk of the car when we went to the grocery store."

When they get to the joint, the Bishop calls - TO MAKE RESERVATIONS. He was bringing down some top chruch officials. He had so much fun, he just HAD to come back!

Only, *only* my Grandfather! Then again this is the guy who greets everyone with a middle finger and a "you prrriiicccckkk" and gets a response of TOOOOONY!!!

Gotta love it.

Heitz

[shroomgirl]

What a guy! You just want to shake your head and smile.

Heitz:
Istill wanna work for your grandfather!

[Nicko]

Just a friendly reminder that believe it or not there are several kids who frequent the ChefTalk Cafe. We know this because they have to fill out a COPPA agreement in order to be a member. The stories are great, but could we please keep watch on certain words. Sorry to be a stickler.

Thanks.

------------------
Thanks,

Nicko
ChefTalk Cafe Administrator
nicko@cheftalk.com
www.cheftalk.com "A food lover's link to professional chefs!"