[kingfarvito]

Lets hear the dumbest mistakes you guys have made in the kitchen. Messes, cuts, 86s. There's room for all of it here.

I'll start.
At one of my first line jobs (must have been 16 at the oldest) a fellow cook and I decided the kitchen was filthy, and after days of pestering we got permission from the owner to stay late and deep clean. We weren't messing around. Attached a garden hose with a sprayer to the dish sink and went to town. We pulled apart the entire dry storage, pulled all the shelves outside. Scrubbing behind the stoves (not on wheels) ECT ECT. Well 3 am rolls around and we're getting ready to mop and leave. That's when my coworker looked at the floor. At the same moment we both realize that the water we assumed was flowing into a floor drain was actually flooding the kitchen and had started invading the dining room. And to make matters worse the dining room had carpet floors.

We both rallied as hard as we could. Dragging as much water as possible out of the carpet with a shop vac. We turned the ceiling fans on high and pointed all the other fans we could find at the wet spot, which was by now about 300 square feet. Then we went to town on the kitchen floors that now held about 1.5 inches of horribly greasy water. I dont know how we got it all done. What I do remember is taking the first sips of coffee at the diner across the street as we watched the morning prep guy pull into the parking lot at 530.

 

[panini]

Worked in a pretty nice restaurant in Providence RI while in school. Frank Sinatra was up at the civic center and we knew he would be down for dinner.

Well he arrived with a bunch of young girls dressed in these southern bell type dresses with all the material underneath. Well I wanted to meet Frank, I gave the front waiter a 100 bucs ( a lot back then) and let me do the bananas foster for the table. Well I'm going right along with my 

gueridon all st up and I'm now bullshitting with Sinatra not to mention my checks. All the licquers were kept on the bottom. So I make this big production of lighting the pan from up hi. and I just throw the match under the cart. Well five minutes later all those puffy dresses were on fire. The french owner was running around with a fire extinguisher. It was a mess!!! to say the least. Well the dresses were out,  things had calmed down and I was just numb standing by the swinging doors to the kitchen. Staring at the floor. Then I feel  hand on my shoulder and I get spun around. It was Mr. Sinatra. I figure I might as well run for the back door. He asks me my name and I tell him. Oh, you from New York? I said yes and he stuck $300. in my chefs coat pock and told me those damn broads were off key all night. See you next time kid.

I swear, true story!!

 

[chezpopp]

My first saute gig. 17 years old. Penne ala vodka. The rush comes. Going to fast and next thing i know the vodka bottle shoots out of my hand about 50 mph spewing fire everywhere. Hits the pantry cook in the head and knocks him out cold. Meanwhile i am literally on fire as is the entire range. The grill cook screams like a girl and runs. Chef is downstairs passed out in the office. I put myself out. The range burned itself out. I dump my ice water on the pantry cook. The grill cok comes back out on line. Whole ordeal took about a minute. Best part no one even knew it happened. Right back to work. Cranking out dinners. Not a single server or manager knew what happened. The pantry cook kept his mouth shut because he was new and didnt know any better. 17 years later and i still have that chef coat. The whole bottom edge is smoldered and melted.