[Dirk Skene]

4 people had booked a chef’s tasting dinner for last night. They had requested 5 courses. Since these do not concern me I just paid attention to the regular orders coming in. When it came time for course #3 the chef said “Could you give me the foie gras from your reach-in please.” I found 4 pieces, already scored, on a plastic covered plate & sat them by his cutting board. “Touch ‘em with a little salt & pepper, sear them on your grill, put all 4 in a non-stick & pass them over to me.” Bare in mind his grill is a flat top. Mine is open flame. “Are you nuts?” I asked. “Just do it quickly. It’ll be fine.” “Have you done it this way before?” I asked. He smiled & said “Nope.” I felt myself go pale.

On went piece #1, then #2 right behind it. When I went to put #3 down, #1 had caught fire. By the time I got to #4 1 & 2 were balls of flame I flipped 1 & 2 into the nonstick quickly followed by #’s 3 & 4. “You didn’t leave the last 2 on long enough.” Said the exec. He picked them up & put them back on my fire. “O’ yes I did!” I said, “Them puppies are commin off NOW!” I pulled them off with my fish spat and back into the nonstick. “Put #4 back on!” He orders. “No way!” I yelled back. He tosses it back on. I panic I take my fish spat & take it off. He puts the non-stick down into the oven to finish. When he turns around he’s laughing & says “I thought I was gonna lose you there for a second.” I respond, “That was exciting.” “Yeah,” he says, “but I don’t think we’ll do that one again.”

Anyway the party liked their foie gras course. We got raves.

Any other line cook here have an exec chef they think is a mad scientist?

[chefstat]

in my opinion it beats the &$*&#^$!!! out of a chef that carefully copies what everyone else is doing.

[Just Jim]

You argued with your Chef during sevice.
And you're still there.
He must love you.

[Dirk Skene]

Originally Posted by Just Jim

You argued with your Chef during sevice......

We fight on a nightly bases. But he knows that I will always do my best to put everything out to his specs. Bottom line is I know it is his fanny on the line when food goes out & he knows I will not let him down.

We used to work together at the Viking Cooking School before he hired me away to this little bistro.

[chefstat]

i would caution line cooks in general from thinking this is acceptable. you are more than welcome to share your opinion, but on the line during service is not the time to do so.

[Dirk Skene]

Originally Posted by chefstat

i would caution line cooks in general from thinking this is acceptable. you are more than welcome to share your opinion, but on the line during service is not the time to do so.

O' I DO understand and I wholeheartedly agree. He understood I was just concerned about turning the foie gras into a grease ball that wlould just melt into my fire.

I do not normally argue with him

[kuan]

Heh that's pretty ballsy. Who is that one guy who stuck whole steaks straight into the charcoal?

[Just Jim]

Originally Posted by Dirk Skene

We fight on a nightly bases. But he knows that I will always do my best to put everything out to his specs. Bottom line is I know it is his fanny on the line when food goes out & he knows I will not let him down.

We used to work together at the Viking Cooking School before he hired me away to this little bistro.

That type of relationship is rare, and I envy you.
I had that with my last Chef, and who knows if and when I'll have it again.
I did enjoy your story though.
I could feel the atmosphere you created with words.
I was grinning the whole time I read it.

[Chef Spencer]

Dave,

The rules of kitchen etiquette are simple and must be understood if longevity is your goal. If the chef asks you to grill the foie gras then grill the foie gras. Don't second guess, offer tips, freak out or act in a manner that would compromise your relationship with the chef--even if he's a notorious underachiever that employs bad techniques, throws tantrums, and makes you feel like a spud peeling neophyte. The more you push to have your opinions/concerns heard the more the chef will push/threaten/cajole and find ways to get you out of his kitchen. The time to raise concerns is not in the heat of battle on the line when the both of you are in a heightened state. I'm not the first to grill foie...I think I saw the technique used in a Todd English cookbook. Foie gras melts no matter how you cook it, whether you sear it in a pan, roast it, or grill it. The dish we were putting together was "Barbequed Foie Gras with Pork Spareribs "en Crepinette" with Charred Onion and Barbeque Gastrique. Grilling the foie enhanced the concept of barbeque.