open kitchen or closed kitchen

[paul]

Originally Posted by Andrew563

Okay what does everyone prefer open or closed. One where the only way you see the dining room and the guests is when the double doors open and you get a quick peek, or when its all wide open for everyone to see. I myself prefer an open kitchen. I love the rapport I get with the guests when they come in and leave. The sparkle in their eye when they have had an awesome experience.

Rapport is great, but, I prefer a closed kitchen because I reserve the right to spit in the food of customers that wear bow-ties to my restaurant

[Andrew563]

Originally Posted by paul

Rapport is great, but, I prefer a closed kitchen because I reserve the right to spit in the food of customers that wear bow-ties to my restaurant

I hope thats a joke

[LWP]

Originally Posted by Andrew563

I hope thats a joke

I don't know if it was or not... but I'm definitely adding it to my list of rules.

[lukeygina]

I cannot STAND to have some as$hole staring me down as I make his pizza or some italian dish.

Although I've only worked at 1 open kitchen, I didn't enjoy it needless to say.

[chefphilhahn]

Open. I get to show off. It makes this cooking thing we do all worth while to impress them with a show as well as with our great food.

[Andrew563]

I totally agree with you. Like i said, I like the ego boost.

[JackButler]

I swear too much for an open kitchen. Though I might be able to deal with a kitchen the customers can see into, but not hear.

[RAS1187]

Closed; when a server mistakes a butterflied filet for a strip or a grouper for a halibut... I have to let out some tension.

[piracer]

i worked in 2 closed kitchens and one open. its strange, cos for the first few days, the open kitchen was really cool and all in showing off and such, but then after a while, it just felt like any other kitchen. i guess it was cooler since it was a restuarent in a shopping centre so the air con was stronger and such. so if that, then open.

[Jayme]

I haven't had the opportunity to be in an open kichen, but I think I would like it- I'm a bit of a show off too(hey at least I'll admit it) I definately like it as a diner. Last weekend I was at a restaurant in Oakland that had an open kitchen, but it was separated by a plexigrass wall. We could watch but the plexiglass seemed to keep diners from bothering the chefs. I was very nice to sit and watch someone else cook. You definately would have to watch your language though (or learn to cuss in another language?? )... the kitchen I work in is right next to the dining room, so we have to watch our language even in a closed kitchen.(but you get really good at finger and hand gestures...LOL)

[Salliem]

I have worked in both open and closed kitchens as well and I rather like the open kitchen concept..we also had our fish cutting station out in the open as well, it was fun to have conversations with people wanting to know all about the differant types of fish we served. Yeah sure you have to watch what you say...but I think it is a good experience.

[firiki03]

Like a few posters have mentioned, I prefer an open kitchen when dining as a customer and a closed one when I have to handle a big menu especially on weekends. Needless to say, the kitchen is like a mad house!

[jonowee]

It depends on the situation (eatery setup):

- Cafe/Resturant-types and larger: Closed Kitchen
* I prefer a closed kitchen because the kitchen is a smoky, 'smelly' (some folks are quite sensitive about the smell of cooking), noisy (order being read out, exhaust hood) and to me the basic thing about not feeling guilty handling food with bare hands cos the customers can't see it (to me I can work faster overall in a closed kitchen (guilt-free).
Most people just don't want to see what their food used to look like uncooked, they might love meaty steaks but they don't want to know it was a bloody slab of dead animal.

- Short Order style cooking: Open Kitchen
* I currently work in a short-order establishment, and I love the open kitchen setup mainly because it's easily the most comfortable kitchen I've ever been in. Heck I sweat more in the hour's worth getting to and from work than I do in the kitchen.
Our company has rules that doesn't allow us to eat or drink anything in view of the customers, so not even a glass of water at the hot section. So at home I sometimes get cramps from 'dehydration' after a long day, yes I know... I can easily work around it to take better care of myself.

Open kitchen allows a short order cook like me to better suit dishes to customer, some folks don't want the vineragrette with their salad and before I add it, they can see it and request accordingly.
Customer interaction is good in a short order because the cooking is fairly simple and you've got time to chat with customers especially the regulars.

I just wish I could use my bare hands more and do it guilt-free, but with customers watching me I prefer not to. We use vinyl gloves and I more or less hate them, when I got use to the fairly tactile latex gloves the switch to the vinyl ones wasn't too nice for me, took a quite awhile to get used to them. Still feels like cooking with oven gloves on.


All depends on setup of the estaiblishment and menu, if it's 'simple' I say go Open, if it's more complicated go closed kitchen.

[Blueicus]

I agree, when you work in an open kitchen long enough, you sort of learn to tune everything out and it feels perfectly normal. Of course at our open kitchen we're partially blocked by the heat lamps, a long rack of dishes and so forth so it's not as "open" as I've seen in other restaurants, but I have found that I don't need to watch my language unless there are people sitting at the two closest tables to the hot pass.

[mochefs]

There's such a thing as a closed kitchen? Not to me!

I have this 'quirk', don't remember when it started but it's become a bit of a joke with my friends when we go out to eat and they generally try and hide the fact that they're with me when it occurs. But I walk straight into the kitchen, (or service window depending on setup) everyone looks up to see what this wierdo is doing and I say hello, and proceed to discuss what they recommend I should eat (not to the entire kitchen usually, primarily the expeditor/chef)

I'm sure this developed at some point because I visit so many restaraunts where everyone knows me and vice versa and I just got comfortable being in and out of the kitchen, and I'm sure I must freak out some folks in the kitchen from time to time when I'm at a new place. What can I say, I know it's wierd. You'd think they would be irked at someone interfering with their hectic pace, and god knows why they don't send me packing with a string of obscenities, but virtually always the expeditor/chef is happy to be asked their opinion and in many cases they end up making something off the menu that they think I should try.

I have no idea why I have such a thing against servers, they've never done anything to me to deserve it, but when it comes to making decisions about what to eat I want to deal with the people who are most invested in the food. If there's a sommelier in the house I can't imagine asking my waiter what would pair well with my dish instad of them, I think of food the same way. And I must say that I end up having some of the best meals because of my odd proclivities.

God help the kitchen if many people become as brain damaged as me though.