c/chefs

My immersion blender died mid-soup service last Friday

I mean, I've had equipment fail before but this one really hurt. We were doing a butternut squash soup for a 40 person catering drop and the motor just started smoking about halfway through the second batch. I had to grab a potato masher and a whisk from the back and finish the rest by hand, which took forever and left some chunks. The texture was off, not gonna lie, but nobody complained. I was already running late because my backup blender was at home being repaired after I dropped it last week. Has anyone else had a blender or immersion blender just give out at the worst possible time? I'm looking at getting a new one but I can't decide if I should just replace it with the same brand or try something with a stronger motor.

Overheard a line cook quote that flipped my whole prep routine

Last Tuesday I was grabbing a quick bite at a spot in St. Louis and this line cook told the new guy, 'Don't chop to the clock, chop to the count.' I thought it was just drill sergeant talk at first, but it stuck with me. All my career I've been speed prepping, just racing through onions and peppers to beat the lunch rush, and honestly, my consistency was all over the place. That night I tested it on my own station, counting each batch instead of watching the timer. It took me longer at first, like 12 extra minutes on a 30 pound case of carrots, but my cuts came out way more even and actually faster after a few days of practice. Has anyone else switched from time based prep to volume based prep and seen their waste drop? I'm curious if it works for proteins too or just rough veg.

The sous chef's note about my knife angle changed my prep speed

Been doing line work for 8 years, mostly in Austin, and I always thought my cuts were fine. Last Tuesday the sous chef just watched me break down a case of onions and said, 'your wrist is too flat, you're fighting the blade.' Took his tip to tilt the handle up about 15 degrees and honestly my prep time dropped by a solid 20% that same shift. Has anyone else gotten a tiny tweak from a coworker that made way more difference than any class or video?

My Saturday brunch service finally clicked after 7 months of chaos

Last Sunday we did 86 covers with zero ticket mess-ups and I actually got to leave by 3pm for once. Has anyone else had that one shift where everything just flows and you can't figure out what you did different?

Vent: overheard a line cook say 'salt is salt' last night and it got under my skin

I was doing a prep check and heard one of my guys tell the new kid that salt doesn't matter, just grab the cheapest box. I've been in kitchens for 12 years and that kind of thinking leads to flat food every time. How do you guys handle teaching the basics without sounding like a jerk?

Picked up a trick from a line cook in New Orleans last month

I was staging at a busy spot in the French Quarter and saw this guy using a squeeze bottle of cold water to control his pan temperature on the fly. He said it stops butter from burning without killing your heat. Anyone else use a water bottle like that instead of pulling the pan off the burner?

Had to pick between a $30 thermapen and a $8 instant read at the local restaurant supply store

My old thermometer finally gave up during Saturday brunch service. Grabbed the cheap one because I had like 40 minutes before the next prep shift started. Now it's two weeks later and the readings bounce around by 10 degrees each time. Anyone else just bite the bullet and go for the pricier gear after a mistake like that?

That moment the drain clogged on a Friday night and I had to think fast

I was running a fish station at a busy place in Portland last month and the main floor drain just backed up during the dinner rush. Water and fish scales started pooling around my feet while I had tickets piling up. I grabbed a bucket and a plunger from the back, cleared it in about 2 minutes, but then had to mop and bleach everything between orders. Has anyone else had a line cook emergency turn into a plumbing fix on the spot?

Hit 500 covers tonight and almost walked out mid service

We did 500 covers tonight at the bistro downtown and I swear I've never felt so slammed. Our expo station was backed up like 15 minutes at one point because we ran out of clean ramekins. I almost threw my towel down but somehow we pushed through. Anyone else have a night where the numbers just totally broke you?

I finally burned a hotel kitchen's fire alarm at 6am last Tuesday

I was prepping a breakfast shift at a small inn in Portland, just searing some bacon and eggs for a guest. The hood vent was weak, so smoke hit the detector before I could open a window. The whole place evacuated, guests in robes standing in the parking lot. Owner came out laughing, said 'you're banned from the bacon station for life.' Has anyone else set off a hotel alarm with something this dumb?

Stick blender vs immersion blender on the line finally put them head to head

I ran two stations side by side last Saturday with the same soup recipe. One station used a cheap stick blender I bought for $30. The other used the Vitamix immersion blender from the main kitchen. The cheap one left chunks of tomato skin in the soup even after 3 minutes. The Vitamix got it smooth in under 60 seconds without splashing everywhere. Now I get why the sous chef always grabs the nicer one. Has anyone else found a solid budget immersion blender that actually works for pureeing?

Heard a line cook say mise en place is overrated and it got me thinking

I was grabbing a drink after my shift and this young cook said mise en place is just for people who can't handle the rush. I've been doing it for 12 years at a busy place in Austin and I don't see how you survive a Friday night without having everything prepped. Am I missing something or is that just asking for chaos?

Hot take: I think mise en place is overrated for home cooks

I was talking with my buddy Dave, who runs a food truck in Portland, last week. He was telling me how he preps everything in little bowls before service, and I told him I do the same at home. But then he said something that hit me hard. He said, 'Why are you spending 20 minutes dicing onions you won't use for an hour? Just chop as you go.' And honestly, he's right. At home, I'm not cooking for 50 people in a rush. I was just wasting time and dirtying extra dishes for no reason. Now I only mise en place for the next step, not the whole meal. It's faster and I actually enjoy cooking more. Has anyone else ditched the full prep routine and seen better results?

Caught a sous chef slicing basil with a dull knife and lost it

He was bruising every leaf in sight for a $40 plate of pasta. Took me 5 minutes to sharpen his knife and suddenly the basil looked restaurant quality. Anyone else deal with cooks who refuse to maintain their edges?

Spent 45 minutes hunting down a whisk at the start of brunch service last Saturday

Turns out the new prep cook put it in the dish pit bin instead of the tool drawer, and I could have saved that whole rush if I'd just checked there first - has anyone else had a missing tool that caused a total domino effect?

Walked into a walk-in cooler at a diner in Pittsburgh and came out with a new approach to mise en place

Shoutout to the prep cook who saved my Saturday dinner service

Had a ticket printer meltdown at 5 PM last month during a 180-cover night, and my prep cook had already labeled and par-cooked every single component for the specials. Who else has had a BOH crew member bail them out of a disaster?

Got told my knives were dull by a dishwasher... he was right

I remember a kid maybe 19 years old working the pit at this spot I was at back in 2017. He saw me struggling to slice through a case of bell peppers and just said 'hey chef, your knives are dull as hell.' I wanted to be offended but he handed me his own $30 Victorinox and it cut through like butter. That night I went home and watched a few videos on proper honing and stone work. Now I sharpen my own knives every two weeks without fail and it changed my whole prep speed and consistency. Has anyone else gotten a tip from someone way younger that actually humbled you?

Tried a new method for braising short ribs and got a brick instead of butter

I decided to skip the traditional sear and go straight to the oven at 325°F with the ribs submerged in stock. After 4 hours they were tough and dry, not falling apart at all. Turns out skipping the sear meant no brown flavor, and the liquid never reduced right. Has anyone else had a shortcut that just backfired completely?

Appreciation post: That moment I found my squeeze bottle lid in the soup after 20 minutes of looking for it

I spent a solid half hour convinced someone swiped my lid, only to find it floating in the hot stockpot when I went to ladle out orders for the dinner rush on Saturday. Has anyone else had a missing tool turn up in the weirdest place mid-service?

The night a line cook taught me to stop over-salting

Was working a hectic Friday service at a place in downtown Portland. Totally slammed. My seasoning station got buried in orders. A kid from the fry station, maybe 19, grabs my wrist and says “hey boss, your hands are shaking.” He took over for 2 minutes. Showed me how to season by feel instead of counting shakes. Made my life so much easier. Anyone else have a random coworker fix a bad habit like that?

TIL that deglazing with white wine instead of stock does weird things to a pan sauce

I was making a quick chicken piccata last Tuesday and realized I was out of chicken stock right when the pan was hot. So I grabbed a random bottle of sauvignon blanc from the fridge and poured in maybe half a cup. The sauce came together fine at first but then it turned this strange grayish color and had a sharp, almost metallic taste that completely killed the lemon and caper balance. I let it reduce down trying to fix it, but it just got worse. Ended up tossing the whole thing and starting over with butter and a splash of vermouth, which saved the meal. Now I keep a little jar of Better Than Bouillon on the counter just in case. Anyone else ever had a wine ruin a pan sauce like that?

Dropped $300 on a fancy Japanese mandoline that dulled in 3 months

Bought a Benriner after seeing every chef on YouTube swear by them. Worked great for the first month, then the blade got dull way faster than my old $40 OXO. Sent it back and the replacement had the same issue. Anyone else find these overpriced plastic things don't hold up in a pro kitchen?

Hit 10,000 covers in a single Saturday night service last week and I'm still not sure how we pulled it off

We had a walk-in party of 40 show up at 7pm, the ticket printer jammed twice, and I somehow plated 86 entrees in 45 minutes without a single return, but has anyone else had a shift where the numbers just felt totally unreal after you added them up?

I finally tried resting brisket in a cooler instead of on the counter and it blew my mind