I've been at this new spot in Portland for about 6 months and always smashed garlic with the side of my knife. Then this kid Marcus, maybe 19, says "you're bruising it before it even hits the pan, chef." He showed me how he slices it paper thin instead and lets it sit for like 2 minutes before cooking. Tried it on a batch of aglio e olio last Thursday and the flavor was way cleaner and sharper. Anyone else have a junior cook teach them something that basic?
I kept getting mad that my edge would dull after just a few rounds of prep work. Then I watched a video from a guy in Philly who showed me how to feel for the burr instead of just counting passes. Two weeks later I can slice through a tomato with barely any pressure, no tearing at all. Has anyone else had a lightbulb moment like that with a specific sharpening trick?
For years I would lay a damp towel over my bread dough while it proofed on the counter. Worked fine most of the time until last summer when I found mold growing on a towel I'd used three days in a row. That grossed me out enough to switch to a 4-quart cambro with a lid. Now I just set the dough in there, put the lid on but not all the way, and it proofs perfectly without drying out. Plus I can stack multiple cambros in the walk-in for overnight cold ferments. The clear plastic lets me see when the dough has doubled without opening anything. Has anyone else dealt with mold issues on proofing towels or found a better setup?
It was 4pm on a sold-out Saturday night at the bistro I run near downtown Austin. I had specifically written "2 cases of shallots" on the order sheet Wednesday. My new prep cook only ordered one case. We had maybe 3 quarts of shallots left and needed probably 8. I told everyone to stop, grabbed a knife, and started slicing every single shallot into the thinnest rings I could manage. Then I changed the sauce recipe on the fly - reduced the shallot quantity by 40 percent and bumped up the wine and butter. Nobody at the tables noticed. But my guys watched me slice for 45 minutes straight without saying a word. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize your prep cook's idea of "enough" is totally different from yours?
He said salt pulls moisture out faster than you think, so now I season right as it hits the pan and the crust comes out way better, anyone else have a cooking rule they ignored for years?
Last Saturday we got slammed out of nowhere, a double booking and a walk-in party of 12 all hit at once. I was working the line alone because my sous called in sick, and somehow I pumped out 200 plates between 6 and 10 PM. My knife hand is still cramping up two days later. Has anyone else hit a crazy number like that and just felt totally numb after?
Spent $700 on a used Excalibur from a restaurant supply auction and it paid for itself in one weekend of dried herbs and jerky. Anyone else fight with their home oven for way too long before making the switch?
On Thursday I had time to perfectly julienne a single bell pepper. Saturday night I just chopped a case of them into vaguely uniform chunks and nobody complained. Has anyone else noticed your knife skills decline as soon as the tickets start piling up?
I was prepping for Saturday service and overheard this kid Jose telling the dishwasher my onion dice was inconsistent. At first I was pissed, but then I looked at my board and he was right. My brunoise was all over the place size wise, like 3mm to 6mm in one batch. So now I'm slowing down and actually checking each handful before it goes in the pan. Has anyone else had a junior cook call them out on something stupid that ended up being a good thing?
So last Saturday I got stuck running the line alone at The Rusty Spoon in Athens, GA because my guy called in sick. I thought I could handle it, but when the 150th ticket printed I just stared at it for a solid minute... wondering if I really picked the right career. Some chefs say that number is a badge of honor, proof you can handle the rush. Others think it's a red flag that the owners are cheap and setting you up to crash. Have any of you hit a specific cover count that made you question everything in the moment?
We had a lunch rush where the AC died, the walk-in cooler broke, and a server dropped a full tray of ribeye plates all within 45 minutes. By the end of service, we were grilling steaks with a fan pointed at us and ice packs strapped to our necks. Has anyone else had a shift where everything just crashed at once like that?
I used to think a fish spatula was a gimmick. Last month I was flipping delicate sole fillets at work and they kept falling apart on me. A line cook handed me his fish spatula and said just try it. First flip was perfect, thin and flexible but sturdy enough to lift. Has anyone else had a cheap tool completely change how you prep something?
I've been cooking for 15 years and thought I had knife skills figured out, but breaking down that duck took forever with all the little bones and cartilage. Has anyone else run into a prep job that just humbled you out of nowhere?
Honestly I spent 20 years just sort of hacking away at stuff, then I forced myself to do 30 minutes of basic cuts every shift starting in January. Now my prep time is cut by a solid 40% and my line cooks are actually asking me what I changed. Has anyone else seen a jump that fast just from repetition?
I kept wondering why my walk-in was cycling so much and the compressor sounded rough. Checked the coils, cleaned the condenser, even replaced the thermostat. Then one slow Tuesday I noticed a tiny gap in the gasket near the bottom hinge. I finally swapped it out and the compressor hasn't kicked on as much since. Anybody else spend way too long chasing a dumb fix like that?
I overheard this kid telling a new guy to just cook steaks faster to get through the rush last Saturday night. I stopped mid-plate and told him that's how you get a ticket back for a raw inside with a burnt crust. Took me 3 years of working grills in a busy spot in Austin to learn that speed comes from timing and prep, not rushing the cook. If you push the heat too high you lose control of the doneness and then you're comping a $45 ribeye. I wanted to pull him aside but the expo was screaming and I just had to shake my head. New guys listen to that kind of advice and it screws them up for months until they mess up bad enough to get yelled at. Anyone else have a junior cook who thinks shortcuts are the same as working smart?
Last Friday I was sitting at the counter of this little Italian spot in St. Louis and I couldn't stop watching one of the cooks work. He tore through a whole case of bell peppers like it was nothing, no wasted movement, perfect cuts every time. Made me think about how I used to hack through tile cuts with bad form until I finally slowed down and paid attention to my setup. Any of you guys ever watch someone work and realize you've been doing your own prep all wrong?
My first week at a busy spot in Portland, the head chef saw me wiping down a new cutting board and told me to give it a mineral oil soak overnight. I thought he was just being picky, but after a month of skipping that step, my boards were all cracked and warped. Had to replace three of them at $40 each because I didn't listen. Now I keep a bottle of food-grade mineral oil under the sink and treat every new board as soon as it comes in. Anyone else had a board fall apart on them from not oiling it?
I walked into the bake shop at 5am last Tuesday and saw my brioche had gone from perfectly puffy to a collapsed, sticky mess in just 90 minutes because someone bumped the proofer temp up by 8 degrees. The head pastry chef pointed out the slime on the surface and told me the whole batch was toast, no saving it. Has anyone else had a proofer malfunction wreck a whole morning's work like that?
I was making eggs benedict for a brunch special and the sauce just split right as service was about to hit. Took me way too long to realize I just needed to whisk in a tablespoon of ice water and start over slow. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that take forever to figure out?
I've been making demi-glace for 15 years and never had this problem until now. Three batches in a row at the bistro, all broke during the final reduction on Tuesday. I think my new burner from the supplier runs too hot even on low. Has anyone else had issues switching equipment and messing up a basic sauce?
I had this choice to make back in 2016 when I was setting up my first real kitchen in a little spot in Portland. I went with stainless because it was cheaper and tougher, but last month I finally grabbed a set of copper from a restaurant supply place near the Pearl District. The heat control is so much better for sauces and fish, but man do they need constant polishing or they look terrible after one service. Has anyone else made the switch and regretted the upkeep?
Our line cook kept tally marks on a corner of the walk-in door and it added up to exactly 50,000 orders since we opened two years ago. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that just kind of snuck up on you?
I always figured a $40 knife block set was fine for prep work. Then I stopped by Kitchen Kaboodle in Portland last Tuesday and tried a Wusthof chef's knife they had out for demo. The way it sliced through a tomato without any pressure made me realize I've been fighting my blades for years. The weight and balance felt completely different from the cheap stamped steel I've been using. Anyone else think good knives are worth the extra cash or am I overthinking this?
I always thought they were too flimsy for a flat top but the thin edge slides under patties without smashing them, has anyone else had a tool change their mind after years of sticking to the same one?