pet peeves for cooks - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrairieChef 

 

Customers that have no clue what they're ordering drive me nuts.

Isn't that the job of  good server?  I'm not a chef but I am a financial advisor, and client routinely ask for "something conservative that grows" which is impossible to do legitimately- so I need to educate them to give them the right thing.

I'll have to write that down... must be a generational thing.  If I had told my mom "Yeah, I'll get there in a minute" it would've meant instant death.

As a hands-on ,hard working Head chef-i can sooooooooooooo relate to sooooooo many of the listed pet peeves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and most are funny cos it means theres others out there whom are as anal as i am about things lolololo

Ohhhhhhhhh soooooooooo true!!! I find this an ongoing battle day after day that no amount of ranting  and yelling seems to  fix-n ive got at times between 5-10  cooks n chefs under my watch-damn lazy unorganised slobs at times-the cat cant be away or the mice will play!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by halmstad 

a couple more:

When i turn around at my station and find that someone has snatched my dry towel {and usually leaving a dirty wet one}, tongs or spatula

 

messy, unorganized cooks. their range is covered with spills. more mise en place on the cutting board and the floor than the cold well.

 

people who use all of something:olive oil, cream, corn starch etc. and put the empty container back on the shelf.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluedogz 

Isn't that the job of  good server?  I'm not a chef but I am a financial advisor, and client routinely ask for "something conservative that grows" which is impossible to do legitimately- so I need to educate them to give them the right thing.

 

 

 

 

I'll have to write that down... must be a generational thing.  If I had told my mom "Yeah, I'll get there in a minute" it would've meant instant death.

LOL   yes it is the job of the server and the chef to educate the customers

One instance comes to mind when I had Oyster Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto on special one night and I couldn't't believe hardly anyone was ordering it.The last time I had it on it was flying out the door. When I asked whats up they said most customers didn't like the idea of Oysters in their Risotto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was my fault not educate these newbies .....we live and learn

About coming to dinner late ...I had two brothers and two sisters ...plus mom and dad . If you were not there when the food hit the table ...well good luck finding some scraps. I make it a point to still be at the table promptly ...some things

never change. And it's good manners
 

YES! As the head Honcho ive had so many sleepless nights-stressed  about late, boozed n drugged "apprentice cooks" who  think its fine to rock up 30 minutes to 2.5 hours late and swear they'rve not done nor are effected by  drugs   or booze  yet all the signs are soooooooooooooo clear-the eyes ,the hyper activity ,the dizzyness,  the hot n cold sweats   the ignoring/ doing opposite  of your  specific in your face instructions ,the violence,the mood swings,the answers back ,the mistakes,the wrong ingredients in pastas .etc............been there n lived that! (Nooo! -as the  employer/boss sily)         

I had one who said "dont mess up my effing section"-when i tipped out the mouldy chesse  on his bench in his station-he just cauldnt see that the whole place was MY section!  (Quote " Do your effing job and tell me to trim the cheese!" -he had 12 months exerience.did i need to tell him common sense?.) He latter declarred "you stopped giving a x#x# * 3 months ago-in relation to not having time to teach him new things-i was short staffed,doing 80+ hours per week x 7 days-but it was all about him-hes 19 and thankfully  has gone before i killed him!  (tho we cauld have used the publicity) DAMN!!!!! now im angry again! -Wheres  ma damn Homeopathic stress relief spray!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR / ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Know what-i even bought him a present when he left-a T-shirt with a rolling pin on it -saying "THIS-IS HOW I ROLL!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Buchanan 

Not putting items back in same place where they belong

Eating with hands behind the line

Not wrapping things properly

A messy sloppy station 

Coming in high or strung out on drugs or booze(your gone)

Not caring about what you do

Constantly showing up late

Needing to say things to other people more than twice.  Other people telling me things more than twice.

As Sartre observed, h*ll is other people,

BDL

on the siders! everything on the side,cuz they don't want the sauces to touch their food...it must just drive them nuts to think about what actually happens in their stomachs, with everything touching!... subbing sauces meant for a specific dish...ex: we have a grilled rib eye topped with roasted onions and balsamic redux...then we have a grilled beef filet with a cranberry port sauce and melted gorgonzola on top...cranberry port sauce doesn't really seem to fit the rib eye, but they want both sauces and toppings, which really doesn't seem to fit...i spend alot of time and energy matching foods, and i feel its not snobbery on my part..its my design. would you go buy a dress because you liked it so much, then start ripping the sleeves off? do they have a right to complain if they don't like it?... making specials and having guests try to deconstruct it(again,on the siders!) if i have a habanaro glazed organic salmon with a bluberry mint relish..i want everything to be tasted together...not glaze on the side, relish on the side, no seaweed in the yakisoba noodles etc..... waitstaff that giggle and talk about the most inane things(boyfriends, getting drunk etc.) in the kitchen while i'm trying to plate..... waitstaff in general..especially when they start to complain about how they're not going to make any money that night..and thats at the begining of a shift...how do they know who's going to walk in? how many covers we'll do. they seem to do less work and jabber more when its slow, instead of perhaps picking up a rag and actually cleaning something...i get pissed just thinking bout how lazy some can be...they don't last long with me, but everyone you spend your time training only to realize they are not going to get any better or change, still takes it out of you, little by little, chunk by chunk..and over the years it adds up....been thinking of opening a mobile food truck, just so i don't have to deal with employees anymore....aah, it feels good to vent! good day all...

joey

biggest pet peeve ever!!!....customers who love, love, loved everything..then double tipped cuz they were tipsy, then call  the next day and want their tip back...you would think they would just chalk it up, but they don't...we actually 'blacklist' those people...you'd be surprised to know how often it happens though....

would you go buy a dress because you liked it so much, then start ripping the sleeves off?

Hey, kiddo, good to see you posting again. What have you been up to?

You're analogy, I think, is almost on the button. The difference is, if you bought a dress, took it home, and ripped the sleeves off, that's your business. But what they're doing is asking you, as the dress designer, to rip the sleeves off. And that's just insulting.

a few more peeves...large parties who do not cancel their reservations, so you have a table set up for them and is now sitting empty all night when you had people waitlisted...they also get 'blacklisted"... god, i love that little book..i don't mind demanding customers cuz that what the restaurant biz isall about, but leave the rude at home, please and don't be rude or insulting to my waitstaff...even though i complain about them, we are all in the 'hood'.i did tell a very difficult  rude customer one extremely busy night to 'enjoy the view' on his way out, cuz it would be the last time he  ever saw it...know that wasn't very savvy on my part, but it sure felt good! that's why they keep me in the back i guess....i agree with what all of you say about sloppy lazy cooks, about having to repeat everything, and about high or drunk employees...i love to have a few cocktails as much as the next cook, but i atleast wait til after service...ky...about the dress..its like ripping the sleeves off and pinning them to the bottom or the neckline!...go figure...thanks for remembering me, and asking..i've been working my little tail feathers off..business is off to one incredible start this season...as for this past winter..all i did was shovel!!!! hope you wintered well...know i've been out of the chef forum loop, but am planning a comeback...ciao

joey

Quote:

Originally Posted by teamfat 

To be honest, the last few years I have been getting unpeeved, so to speak.  My wife and I have been married twentymumble years.  Usually during that time we've gone to her family's places for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It used to be turkey way overdone and dried out, instant potatoes, canned veggies, gravy from a packet - you get the idea.  Mark, shut up, smile and act like you enjoy it.

 

It has been a long process but they have come around.  I do the basic menu planning and most of the cooking.  I'll put in requests for various fresh produce and seasonings and such, it will be there when we fly in.  A couple of years ago I requested fresh rosemary sprigs.  Her older sister found some that were so fresh they were still growing - packaged with roots in a clump of dirt.  I was impressed.

 

I'd like to be able to throw a couple of my knives and such into my carry on luggage, but that ain't gonna happen.  The kitchens in Phoenix and Orange County are not equipped as I would like.  Maybe I'll mail a box of tools to precede us, it would be nice to have a decent blade to work with once there.

 

mjb.

My solution to the knife issue, was to buy my sister a pair of decent chef's knives.  Now when I go their and we cook together, we both have a decent knife.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef Tomain 

When a restaurant advertises Philly Steaks Subs and use under par hoagie rolls, meat other than ribeye, and does no used melted yellow cheese. Geno's or Pats? How hard is it to keep it real.

What I would give for a place around here that could do an honest to goodness Philly cheesestake.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

on the siders! everything on the side,cuz they don't want the sauces to touch their food...it must just drive them nuts to think about what actually happens in their stomachs, with everything touching!... subbing sauces meant for a specific dish...ex: we have a grilled rib eye topped with roasted onions and balsamic redux...then we have a grilled beef filet with a cranberry port sauce and melted gorgonzola on top...cranberry port sauce doesn't really seem to fit the rib eye, but they want both sauces and toppings, which really doesn't seem to fit...i spend alot of time and energy matching foods, and i feel its not snobbery on my part..its my design. would you go buy a dress because you liked it so much, then start ripping the sleeves off? do they have a right to complain if they don't like it?... making specials and having guests try to deconstruct it(again,on the siders!) if i have a habanaro glazed organic salmon with a bluberry mint relish..i want everything to be tasted together...not glaze on the side, relish on the side, no seaweed in the yakisoba noodles etc..... waitstaff that giggle and talk about the most inane things(boyfriends, getting drunk etc.) in the kitchen while i'm trying to plate..... waitstaff in general..especially when they start to complain about how they're not going to make any money that night..and thats at the begining of a shift...how do they know who's going to walk in? how many covers we'll do. they seem to do less work and jabber more when its slow, instead of perhaps picking up a rag and actually cleaning something...i get pissed just thinking bout how lazy some can be...they don't last long with me, but everyone you spend your time training only to realize they are not going to get any better or change, still takes it out of you, little by little, chunk by chunk..and over the years it adds up....been thinking of opening a mobile food truck, just so i don't have to deal with employees anymore....aah, it feels good to vent! good day all...

joey

biggest pet peeve ever!!!....customers who love, love, loved everything..then double tipped cuz they were tipsy, then call  the next day and want their tip back...you would think they would just chalk it up, but they don't...we actually 'blacklist' those people...you'd be surprised to know how often it happens though....

Now that's Chuzpah.  Calling the next day to try to get your tip back.  I'm gobsmacked.

Now that's Chuzpah.  Calling the next day to try to get your tip back.  I'm gobsmacked.

But it happens. Boy does it happen.

Friend of mine's son worked a high end restaurant with an automatic 18% gratuity for large parties, which they were made aware of up front. They are told when the reservations are made, and again by the servers.

This group of 12 comes in; private room, David and another server assigned just to them. They loved the food, and made a big deal of how the service went far beyond above and beyond---to the tune they left an additional 200 bucks.

Next day this guy calls, claims they didn't realize there was an automatic 18%, and demanded the additional tip back.

To add insult to injury, the manager expected that the servers would return it, because it would make the customers happy.

I guess so. For starters, if we give them the benefit of the doubt, that $200 worked out at something like 11%, split among two servers who'd devoted their entire shift to those clowns. So much for above and beyond. And, of course, the manager didn't want to hear about the piece they'd shared with the support staff. Weren't no way the dishwashers and busboys etc. would even consider it---not that I blame them.

I told David if that was how this guy defined "manage," I'd have been out of there the next day. And he could, of course, whistle Dixie before he's see that tip returned.

People who show up to a pasta and pizza place and complain that there isn't any gluten free options or are not happy with the substitutions/changes we can make to a regular non gluten free dish in order to make it a gluten free one. 

After having this happen to me way to many times, I just got in the habit of putting my knife roll in my car every time I went over to someone's house. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by halmstad 

a few of mine:

 

going to someone's house and randomly having to cook. the knives are always dull and rest of the equipment is substandard.

 

when people ask "what is your specialty?"

 

people that think that television personalities are the greatest chefs ever.

cooks who think they are better cooks just because they have worked in the industry longer then someone else 

Pet peeve?

The fact that every single guest that has a complaint starts if off with;

"I used to work in the industry"

or

"My brother/dad/sister/dog/dominatrix/et al is a chef/ restaurant manager/"

My single biggest pet peeve?

Fucking hotel guests... the menu is never "right"... if I go higher end, I get 6000 complaints that they just want a clubhouse. If I offer a clubhouse, I get 6000 complaints that the menu is too low end. If I offer both, I get 6000 complaints that "they just wanted a nice dinner, and the dude next to them is wearing a t-shirt and noshing a burger." Plus, they all want breakfast/lunch/dinner for free because their room was too hot/cold/dark or roomlike for their personal preference, or the front desk agent refused to remove "hot tranny XXXholes" from their room charges. Hotel guests suck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Ongtooguk 

 

 i'm not gonna let somebody serve raw chicken out of our kitchen.  

Thank you, Eric.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuan 

People who think you know everything.

 

People who think you know nothing.  :D

I second to that.

He who knows doesn't speak.. He who speaks doesn't know.. :) - Jackie Chan

My pet peeve is a second year or even a first year culinary student who tries to act like one of the TV chefs.

My pet peeve is a chef that thinks they are too good to try and teach someone who is as passionate about food as them but hasn't had the opportunities that they have. We all have to start somewhere. Wouldn't it be better to be a mentor to someone instead of a butt to someone.

My pet peeve people that think are are better than everyone else

Haahahaha- well put,we've all seen them-"Gods  gift to the kitchen" lol (both student and qualified)-arrogance just IRKS me!!!

Once saw a first year  challenge a veteran chef to a pasta cook off-just cos he thought he was top stuff! oh dear.

I am a strong believer in mentoring-we need good people for the next generation-why take knowledge (and organs) to the grave-what a waste! Though-one must SHOW they WANT to learn-interest is paramount for me-if i dont see it-then i wont bother-it takes two to tango right.........

I can't stand it when the hostess shows up after the customers arrive!  I am a chef and should not be seating people while I have food on the grill!

_______________

Bringing back great food to the family table, inspired by Lisa Caponigri

As a home cook:

1. Walking into the kitchen to see my Wusthoff chef's knife being used like a spatula for stir frying by my to-be mother in law. Ya... scrape that burnt mess off with the tip. Bang my knife on the edge of the pan to get that gunk off. What? No, not the flat of the knife, make sure you slam the thing down edge-on.

2. Vague opinions about my cooking (positive or negative). Even if the person I'm cooking for someone who has a miserable pallet, or I bombed completely, I still want details.

3. Dogs under foot. I can't count the number of dogs that I've given a nasty push out of the way using my foot (the temptation to punt is severe). Watch years of training fly away the moment you've got 30lbs of turducken in your hands.

gordon ramsey and other 'entitled' chefs...maybe gordon was a talented young chef back in the day of marco pierre white ,but he grew into a meanspirited entitled, tunnelvisioned, money grubbing old grump, who is not helping or supporting our already tenous, fickle industry... we need to nuture our future chefs, not insult them into the grease mats...why on earth would you want a job that humiliates and destroys young talent like that..tough love? boot camp cooking makes tough chefs? superiority? entitlement? money? all of the above?...and all that yelling, oh my! even a good kitchen is hard enough on a good day...he needs to come down a rung or two, in my book, or actually, getting knocked off the ladder completely would be my preference

joey

I've been trained in other things with nasty people who yell and get in your face about things. I'd go home with entire square feet of my body covered in bruises, bloody, my ears ringing for a week after, etc. You know, it was hell, but I learned a ton. I was focused, dedicated, and motivated. Competing and performing on demand seemed like a breeze compared to practice. I thank my brutal trainers for that, and I don't buy into the concept that self-esteem is a great thing.

At the same time, I realize that this approach breaks some people. If you're going to run a high pressure business though, shouldn't pressure increase your drive to achieve? I know my best performance has been under the highest levels of stress.

Of course I'm not trying to contradict you here to be nasty; just offering another perspective.

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

gordon ramsey and other 'entitled' chefs...maybe gordon was a talented young chef back in the day of marco pierre white ,but he grew into a meanspirited entitled, tunnelvisioned, money grubbing old grump, who is not helping or supporting our already tenous, fickle industry... we need to nuture our future chefs, not insult them into the grease mats...why on earth would you want a job that humiliates and destroys young talent like that..tough love? boot camp cooking makes tough chefs? superiority? entitlement? money? all of the above?...and all that yelling, oh my! even a good kitchen is hard enough on a good day...he needs to come down a rung or two, in my book, or actually, getting knocked off the ladder completely would be my preference

joey

His performance on Hell's Kitchen is over the top and I'm sure (well I'd like to hope anyway) that some of it is acting for ratings.  He does have to feed the customers and when the chefs eff up it does screw up service but to insult them they way he does I never could.  I have no problems asking a cook "why is this not done/" when I know I called it and they heard me but I would never run them to the ground verbally like he does.  If I tried that I think I would be slapped with a workplace harassment suit so fast my head would be spinning.  I've been watching HK this season and I have never seen so much undercooked meat go up in my life.. I think the chefs must be afraid of him or something.. if it was me and he was riding me about the chicken I would tell him straight up when it would be ready instead of what those bumblers do.. they say "coming now chef" and serve raw chicken.. wtf is that?? 

Ok rant over.. sorry about that..

People who show up right before closing.

Prep being done wrong and nobody noticing until service.

Dishwashers using knives to scrape cutting boards (or worse still, I once caught one using a knife to scrape sauce spills off a burner).

People who show up right before closing.

I hear this sort of thing fairly often, but have never understood it.

The sign out front says hours --> 10 PM. Doesn't say, "last seating at 9:30." So if I show up at ten to ten, what's the big deal. I should get the same food quality and service as if I'd been there at 8.

KYH, as a late night diner I have to say that I appreciate signs that expressly outline last seating or kitchen hours. Leaving ambiguous signs that don't differentiate is a real annoyance.

My very point. If a sign indicates you are open for business until a certain hour, then it shouldn't matter how close to that time I show up.

Just because it's close to closing time, and the servers and cooks are anxious to clean up an go home, is no reason a customer has to suffer. If, as in the case above, you don't want to serve after 9:30 then that should be spelled out in the operating hours. If not, I have every right to expect good food and good service.

Realistically, of course, I know that they'll take it out on me, one way or another. But that's just one more reason why people believe you can't get decent service in restaurants anymore.