Share your worst kitchen nightmare......

[Jeremy]

So what is your worst kitchen nightmare.... For me it goes back to 1989. I was working at The Royal Garden Hotel in London, we had a banquet for 500 - roasted duck. At the hotel we would always finish baquets at the last minute and with a new chef running the kitchens every one was out to impress. As we (me the chef and three sous chefs) were sending the banquet we realized we were running short on duck, in fact we were 48 portions short.... After a frantic search I found the ducks - still in the oven so roasted they were nearly falling off the bone, I had net checked that oven nor counted the ducks after taking them out. What made it worse was the chef did not kick my *** - the sous chefs got it. And then it rolled down hill..... It is funny to think back on it but at the time...... I am now a counting freak!

Recently... 3 weeks into 1st job as exec chef my kitchen crew, led by sous, walked out at 7pm on a friday night-full board, full dining room. foh came behind line and we got through. Next night was even worse. 188 resos-asked door to slow down flow. They sat 348. I, an asst. mgr, a chef from another store, the regional vp, the gm and stray dws worked. We had $1000 in comps. 2 weeks later 1/2 the crew came back, the sous filed an action and I just left w/new chef installed. After 16 yrs, this was really tops in misery.

[Kimmie]

Small world, Jer. I was a guest there in December 1989/January 1990. Were you in the kitchen at that time?

[cape chef]

Before i post my horror story, I would like to ask Ming where he/she works in napa Valley.

I studied with madeiliene Kammen in 1990 at beringars school for american chefs.

and then took my masters last year at greystone.

I just love the whole feeling out there and have very rarely had a meal I didn,t enjoy.
Also welcome to cheftalk
cc

merci, cc.
shan't say name but it was not in Napa county. I put lots of miles on the little car. Old job 35 miles south/new job 35 miles north... Do Italian and not so much here, mostly French/American...
ttfn

[Ruth]

hi ming i don't know you but while i was redaing the posts i saw someone reference you as to working in napa somehwere?i am currently among other propects send my cv all over the valley for a job at a winery/b&b/.... could you tell me somthings i might be interested in about the valley..like who is hiring?
would be most grateful.
thanks Ruth

[chefboy2160]

About 15 years ago as a youg executive chef of a country club
I had a banquet planned for a Sunday dinner and award presentation following the clubs biggest golf tournement of the year and the club had requested prime rib medium rare for the dinner . I fired the primes in the cook and hold alto sham around noonish and proceede to give my sous chef directions for the rest of the meal as I would be spending the day out on the golf course cooking from the gazebo . When I returned to the kitchen to prepare fo what I thought would be a cakewalk banquet I found that somebody had cranked the hold temperature on my alto sham up to 180 degrees ( not the 120 I had it on before leaving the kitchen ) and my prime rib was sitting at an almost well done state . I really was flustered and did not know what to do so I called a chef friend of mine who asked me if I had any canned beets in the store room . When I told him yes he advised me to open several cans and drain the juice off and to spoon about a teaspoon of it over each piece of prime before it left the kitchen . The dining room was dimly lit with candles on the tables
so I thought why not , and I followed his advice . The meal was a great success and nobody ever new about my overcooked dilema . Thank you chef Jergen Roscher for saving my butt .

[SlaveGirl]

That's brilliant. I never would have thought of such a thing. thank you for sharing that!

SlaveGirl
http://www.restaurantslave.coml

[thebighat]

I used to work for a guy who called himself "The Master of The Rib Disguise." I saw the red liquid trick lots of times except it was pickled crabapple juice. If a rib got sent back as too rare, he would take the grossest side towel he could find and blot the meat.. too medium and he would squeeze it to get the juice to the top. One new year's he opened the oven to get a rib out, and it wasn't on. He put it in the frialator. Same with potatoes (baked) that he needed yesterday. The topper had to be the broiled lobster he got behind on, so he whacked a live lobster down the middle, drizzled butter on it and threw it under the salamander, the poor thing still kicking and it's little flippers going a mile a minute.

[chefboy2160]

What a trip , I guess we learn the good , the bad and the ugly as we grow in this biz???? Glad to give you a tip slavegirl .

[Flash]

lol everybody,


Boy oh boy.

First, Ming we should have a drink? I'm in Vallejo--worked Napa,SF;Larkspur etc.......did some continuing edu at Greystone.

I'm Buying????


hahaha, anyway......if you are looking for work in Napa area go here: http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm

look in the classifieds; search; restaurant or cook or chef or catering etc.

COPIA is currently hiring under the guise of Seasonal Elements, Chef is Mark Dommen do a search on Google for his batting average.

Other Jobs? Martini House in St. Helena--possibly cause it just opened.

best thing to do is to find a job, any job, then work a year and move to where you want to work in the Valley. Cost of living is EXPENSIVE!!! look in Classifieds for romates as well, and apartment rentals to get an idea. I live in Vallejo (20 miles south of Napa) and pay $400/mo.


Good luck all, hope to see you all here soon


Oh yeah, a story, hahaha.......I don't wann a tell just yet, cause i still work for the mf's


Flash