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Lamest excuse by a chef 'too busy to smell'

post #1 of 14
9/29/09 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
I have a chef who has a heart of gold, but will never run a kitchen; he is great at cooking brunch, preping veg etc. but has difficulty accepting responsability.

Case in point: I walk into the kitchen on Monday afternoon and smell burning food, I open the oven to find a batch of Yorkshire pudding smoking and looking like a blackened offering. The only chef in the kitchen was xxx and he was busy making a sauce. When I asked him why he hadn't noticed the burning food he claimed to be 'to busy to smell!'

Have you ever heard of a lamer excuse?!
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post #2 of 14
9/29/09 at 11:24am
i have alot more respect for people that own thier mistakes.......here's an idea SET A TIMER
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post #3 of 14
9/29/09 at 12:46pm
IMHO, there is no such thing as a "chef who will never run a kitchen", he is, maybe, a "cook".
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post #4 of 14
9/29/09 at 12:49pm
I had a cook once who burned boiled potatoes so bad it was not possible to save the pot! Every time I hear some one use the phrase "idiot proof" I explain that they keep inventing new idiots!!
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post #5 of 14
9/29/09 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 
ask me about the kitchen porter who washed the stick blender through the dishwasher sometime..thank god no one got electricuted. Needless to say he left the next day!
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post #6 of 14
9/29/09 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
there is such a thing as chef who will never run a kitchen correctly, sensibly, effectively etc. I guess that's what I meant:)
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post #7 of 14
9/29/09 at 8:23pm
I'm reminded of the guy that had made his mashed potatoes too runny and tried thickening them with cornstarch.

It was really really funny to see the chefs face when he tasted a spoonful
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post #8 of 14
9/30/09 at 4:15am
This excuse is not acceptable for me. If he was there at the moment the food burns, he should be more sensitive and doing sauce doesn't block your nose for such a certain smell. Even normal person could sense it. And It's more irritating if he reply with something that's senseless.

nichole :chef:
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post #9 of 14
9/30/09 at 5:26am

Then why is he your "chef"? How old is Shane? Sounds like a young cook and not a Chef. It takes some a little time to be able to say hey "I *ucked up" !
As long as we learn on the way and no one gets hurt it it's just another day but every one needs to own their miss-takes. I've seen owners and managers pull some hair brained stunts as well. I recall one that decided it would be a great idea to power wash an entire kitchen that was not electrically sealed and had exposed wiring coming out of the floor under the fryers. Watching some one get zapped by 220 is not a lot of fun.
I've heard some pretty lame excuses along the way.
The worst ever? I swear this is a true story. I had a gay waiter call in and say he wasn't coming in because he was in the middle of a three way.
:rolleyes:
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post #10 of 14
9/30/09 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 
In England, at least where I work, we only employ qualified chefs. A chef is someone who has completed a 2/3 year culinary arts course normally through a regional college. I have commis chefs, demi chef de parties, chef de parties, junior and senior sous, head chef and exec (Me:). I worked in the US for many years so I understand the confusion; when I say chef I'm not refering to the head chef but a member of the brigade with qualifications. We have different grades of chefs each with different salaries, this way we can promote slowly through the kitchen over a period of a few years....or leave certain people permenantly at a fix grade/salary scale.
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post #11 of 14
9/30/09 at 9:41pm
Ah, THAT explains my confusion! You use the term "chef" interchangeably with "apprentice" or "cook" while I am more familiar with "chef" meaning someone who has the culinary skills (cook) PLUS the management skills (financial, personnel, inventory control, food cost controls, etc.) necessary to "run" a part or the overall operation.

My apologies for misunderstanding, we seem to be separated by a common language :crazy:
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post #12 of 14
9/30/09 at 11:35pm
Oh dear.

Although, here in Australia the quintessential qualification gives you the title of cook. Of course the line begins to blur. The technical qualification is of "Commercial Cookery Trade". Of course, there are others that havent served their time as apprentices and climbed the rungs of the ladder unseen.

On one hand, if they are really good, then so be it. But if they are really bad at what they do, (like the talentless hack im currently seeing on TV now) it doesnt really does the industry much good (Oh wow, now they're advertising vitamins).

But I digress. If you look closely, in the traditional kitchen system or partie, each person is both a cook and chef, but to a differing degree. The Chef De Cuisine is the Chef in charge in total. Demi Chef? = Half Chef, Sous Chef = Under Chef, Chef De Partie = Chef in charge of section and so forth.
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post #13 of 14
10/1/09 at 3:14pm

Oh my.. that definitely takes the prize for worst ever excuse!!
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post #14 of 14
10/1/09 at 4:58pm
Originally Posted by DuckFat View Post
The worst ever? I swear this is a true story. I had a gay waiter call in and say he wasn't coming in because he was in the middle of a three way.

My response would be " then how are you able to talk to me" !:crazy:
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