 5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. We mentioned in our Lunchtime Poll that you'd be hearing about those fine folks at Stone Park Café again, and whaddya know? It’s 5@5 time. Meet the man behind our managing editor’s Brussels sprouts epiphany - Josh Grinker. He’s the executive chef of the Brooklyn restaurant where he crafts the roasted marrow bones, smoked chocolate ice cream and hanger steaks that ultimately earned the restaurant two stars from the New York Times. The old adage goes, "everybody has a secret," including chefs - and Grinker should know because, well, he is one. Five Things Chefs Don't Want You to Know: Josh Grinker In every culinary school in America, they hammer home the same three-word mantra to students day after day, year after year, until it’s like a little voice in your brain that guides virtually every culinary decision you will make for the rest of your career: 'Fat is Flavor.' And you know what? It’s true. You know how you cook a great steak? You slather it in butter, throw it on the grill, paint it with more butter just about constantly, take it off the grill to let it rest - and paint it again. Then you slice it, put a nice big dollop of butter on it and let it gently melt under the broiler. Voila." 2. They aren’t in the kitchen People don’t really seem to understand this. I have a friend who is a waiter at Po in Brooklyn, a small Italian restaurant that opened about four years ago. The original Po, in Manhattan, was once upon a time co-owned by Mario Batali before he sold it and went on to found a restaurant empire. My waiter friend has people ask all the time if Mario is in the kitchen tonight. Actually, he’s just off the red-eye from Vegas, in a cab this very minute, racing back here to make sure your eggplant Parmesan is up to his specifications." 3. There’s salt in everything It’s not some genius alchemy of exotic ingredients, or zig zag farm-to-table freshness that makes you coming back wanting more - it’s salt. I don’t know why lay cooks are so resistant to this ideal, but they are. I taught a class on grilling a steak once and when I showered the beef with a crust of salt there were gasps from the audience as if I had just stabbed a small child. The result was a perfect steak. When I give people a recipe that invariably ends with ‘salt to taste’ and they tell me it wasn’t as good as mine, I know the reason: not enough salt." 4. Your food was cooked by minions The other major demographic working the skilled restaurant job are dumb blue-collar kids who have been lured by the chance of stardom, sort of like playing the lottery. Oh yeah, there’s one group I forgot: alcoholics." 5. Chefs are jerks Many, although not all, chefs are savvy enough to realize that their baby tantrums would be laughed at in the real world, so they step into the dining room in full regalia, all smiles and charm. Rest assured, the more gregarious and charming they are to you, dear diner, the more draconian and out of control they are to that poor fry cook." Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down. |
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Thank you Thank you Thank you Career Cook. I have a new idle and its you! Very eliquant and EXACTLY right to my heart! Who am I ....... I am one of the culinary students spoke of in this article. I am also a career changer. I have been a nurse, I have been a customer service agent, and I have been an inside and outside sales rep. Not one of these career choices left me feeling good at the end of the day. Most days I felt sad (as a nurse) stressed (nurse and csr) or not morally straight (sales). When I work in a kitchen at the end of the day I am Happy, delighted, pleased with myself, all be it exhausted, the exhaustion feels satisfying. I wrote a poem once about being a voyeur... but not in the same areana as most people would assume. I am a different kind of voyeur. I love to watch people eat something I created. From the moment they thier eyes first gaze at the food presented before them. The eyes smile if I did my job with a pleaseing presentation. I watch when the diner lifts the fork or spoon to his lips and his facial response as my masterpiece hits the tastebuds awwwwe I did it well at least nobody has spit it out yet It makes everything else un important. Yes, every other job I have had I made a considerable amount of more money more that twice what i am making in the kitchen (side job for now while in school), but at some point your job has to be something that you can live with. I agree chefs for the most part are egotistical jerks, and so .... the brigade makes it possible for an exec chef to be a jerk. He/She learned from the best before him/her. The brigade is longstanding in tradition. I am entering my externship at a very high end French bistro in a very posh area and I consider myself so lucky and so honored that this particular chef has agreed to take me as his extern. This exec chef is a self proclaimed "son of a b****" but he says he is fair. He also gave me a speech about bringing my "A" game and he in turn will push me further than I believe I can go, but the opposite is also true if I don't bring it I will not be pushed I will not be yelled at I will not be a part of his kitchen. I can chop onions for 6 weeks for all he cares .....That seems fair after all the good chef who wrote this article forgot one very important rule "THERE IS NO CRYING IN THE KITCHEN"
Point 5. yes. Chefs are generally jerks. I have worked as a server for many years and their ego's are typically out of control. I often think of them as losers, unable to understand true social function. I will say however, that for the past six months, I have been working for a Chef that is somewhere between Jesus and Ghandi. He is kind to everyone, rarely raises his voice, and apologizes almost immediately if he does express anger. He calls his two little girls every day at staff meal, and he treats his kitchen staff and the front of the house with utmost grace and respect. He is the only chef I have truly respected. Ever.
As a person who decided to follow his passion over money and have the ability to wake up looking forward to a day at work I am proud of what I do. Too many outsiders are quick to scrutinize without realizing what really goes into your meal. The food service industry is exactly that, service based. It is our ultimate goal- a credo if you will- to provide the best experience to every table and diner as you are our raison d'etre. Hours before the first guests arrive a crew (frequently immigrant, delinquent, and slightly crazy) is working hard butchering, slicing, cutting, braising, cleaning, and preparing the massive amounts of proteins and vegetables that compose your meal. This crew, unbeknownst to you, is often working 6 or 7 days a week for 12-14 hours a day on their feet to make your meal what it is. We often refer to services as "battle" because in searing heat and fast paced movement we are fighting the lackadaisical service staff, needy customers and personal struggles. If you want to label us as crazy do so because it takes a fool to endure this treatment on a daily basis for meager pay, rewarded only with cuts and burns. You as a diner know not who we are, you may only know of the chef you came to enjoy, yet our personal moment of glory comes as your empty plates arrive at the dish washing station. At that moment we have the pleasure of knowing it was all worth it, that you are going home happy with a full stomach and a (hopefully) memorable meal. Gripe if you will when we make mistakes, (remember we are people. Be glad we are not surgeons, an overcooked steak is better than a dead relative,) but when everything goes as it should... revel in the struggle of the fools, delinquents, and immigrants that made that one special moment happen just for you! Thank you
is this what housewives and people with desk jobs do all day... respond to this shit all day. i have an idea, go out and have a conversation with someone, and stop having one with your virtual friends on a blogs comment board.
i cant believe how long this has gone on about this.
Ditto what El Torbo said. Check out Kitchen Confidential.
Oh, and he didn't treat his kitchen staff too poorly, either. It's kind of funny to read the PC reaction to his comments about immigrants and blue collar workers. Congratulations! You provided him with the exact reaction he wanted to provoke! The dude loved to play up his anti-PC, swaggering, rude-dude chef persona. All bark...not much bite. I'm thinking the people who were shocked by this piece have never been in a restaurant kitchen in their lives.
I worked for this dude, and trust me; he is getting nothing but kicks out of these comments. While a semi-dick, he was definitely not as flagrantly abusive as many chefs are. I kinda liked him. And his food was sometimes wayyyyy too salty.
Let's have a toast for the douchebags!
You're going to have to be more specific. Were you referring to yourself?
I've been in the business for 12 years, and I'm hardly a mindless idiot. What Chef Moron Grinker fails to mention is that the truly narcissistic chefs won't hire anyone that they feel is more intelligent than they are, because well it makes them look bad. So, basically they hire people they perceive to be more stupid than themselves, then get pissed off when stuff goes wrong. A chef's choice of kitchen staff is a great indication of the level of intelligence the chef himself and you get what you pay for. My current chef allows us "minions" to create menu items and gives us full credit. He even put my name on one of the items I created, so they aren't all jerks. Also, reading Bourdain's book doesn't make you an industry expert, unless you've actually worked int he business you really don't have a clue what goes on. The stuff chefs really don't want you to know is how often your food gets dropped, picked up, dusted off, and thrown onto your plate. Or how health inspectors are basically too stupid or lazy to realize that no one follows the guidelines when they aren't around. For you jerk-offs that come in 15 minutes before a restaurant closes, you are begging for some nasty surprise in your food, because that pisses everyone in the restaurant off without fail. Servers, cooks, chefs, everyone and they may smile to your face, but they are really hoping you choke on your food at some point or laughing at the cooks spit you are consuming. Enjoy your meal ladies and gentlemen. Just don't piss off the people handling what you are about to eat.
i second that. i work boh and i have yet to experience an obnoxious chef. grinker sounds like a real dick slash bourdain wannabe. i'm sure if i ever meet an egotistic chef i wouldn't even be able to stay at that kitchen through my trail. i'm also not an immigrant, from a blue collar background, or an alcoholic.
Yeah, I'm not an immigrant either, or blue collar, or an alcoholic. I forgot to mention those gross inaccuracies. I will say there a lot of smokers, I'm not one, but that is simply because most restaurant workers don't get the luxury that their whiny office working counterparts get, like say a regularly scheduled meal break. Plus, we are on our feet for 8 to 12 hours, sometimes more, for one shift. They need to think about doing that five or six days a week, with no breaks, and if you are really busy forget about eating. Most "regular" people would go home crying with post-traumatic stress disorder if they worked a single day in a commercial kitchen. It isn't an easy job, and if you boss is dick it is a thankless job. Also, it is a male dominated industry, so if you are woman you have to be able to hang with the guys. I'm one of two women in the kitchen I'm in now, but I've worked in places where I was the only one. And, believe me just because you are a girl in this business doesn't mean you get any special privileges. You are treated to the same kind of berating and hazing as any of the guy cooks, so you better have thick skin and an attitude. It is a fun job though. You do feel like you accomplished something at the end of the day, especially if the guests like your food. That is why I do it; it is the best feeling in the world when people compliment you.
You've clearly never worked in BOH. What Ginker says is spot on. Every real cook knows it. I've worked for one or two cool chefs but most are ridiculous. The idea of being a famous chef is on cue now with folks who think because they get cheered at Kareoke they're destined for American Idol stardom. It's unfortunate that the old adage, "an honest day's work for an honest day's pay," is no longer respected. Its undignified how cooks get treated in the kitchen. And despite my excellent skill on the line, during a rush, and handling FOH . . . at the end of the day I probably am an alcoholic.
I think you nailed it on the head. That was a well written response and I appreciate everything you said. I have been in the industry for many years and am a chef. I allow my guys to come up with specials and will give them the credit where credit is due. I like to think I have a pretty loyal staff because I truly try to educate them about food. Most boh people I have run across over the years will leave then they feel that they are not A, appreciated and/or B, learning anything. I think it takes a certain breed to be in this industry. It's really hard work, the pay is generally crap and you have to work in a hot kitchen cooking for Pauly Prissy pants who's now all of a sudden come down with a mystery case of celiacs disease. So to all those boh house people reading this I for one appreciate all your hard work and I thank you.
I've been a chef for 30 years. Fat is flavor, butter makes it better, and yes, salt is good. Also TV chefs in reality shows are paid to act like that. In real life Gordon Ramseys car would be keyed, his tires flattened, and on day 2 of employment he would be called into human resources and fired. Just sayin.....
Again, clearly not experienced in the industry.
Sugar and flour are going to kill us all faster than butter and salt. Enjoy the yummy steak, nobody says you have to drown your food at home in butter and salt.
The butter and salt is definitely no surprise to me. That's how you can make exactly the same dish at home with half the calories. The funny thing is that I've actually gone to restaurants before with my mother, who has high blood pressure, and we've ordered the same dish only hers without the salt. While hers does have a little less flavor, mostly they still tasted great. I think sometimes we don't realize how much flavor we can get from the food itself without a ton of salt.
Given the quality of ingredients high/mid-level restaurants use, and the techniques/equipment involved, I seriously doubt that even a good home cook can duplicate a dish. I doubt most people could even identify half of the ingredient that went into a dish (even when the list includes basics like mirepoix, seasoning, oils and vinegar).
What stuns me is this notion that all this is bad for you. If you can afford the time and money to eat at a good place every single day, good for you. But, that's not the case for most of us. No matter how much fat/salt goes into restaurant food (And a good restaurant will never add more than it's needed), it's still just a very small % of what you eat.
If you look at it overall – as in over a lifetime, or even over a month – I can see your point. One restaurant visit is not going to be that bad. But many dishes from restaurant carry a whole day's sodium, sometimes two day's sodium – in one meal! That's fine if that's the only meal you're planning on eating for the next couple days, but that's not what most people do.
And please don't discount what people can do. Just because you can't taste the individual flavors and recreate them does not mean no one can.
Again, most people don't eat out every single day. And, even then, there are many, many healthy options at restaurants. As for high sodium, I brought up mid/high level restaurants, not Appleby's or other lower levels places. Even including that, it still doesn't matter. For me, sitting down and downing an ENTIRE LARGE PIZZA in one sitting is a norm in a week. Does it impact my health? Not one bit. Not when I'm extremely disciplined with my exercise/diet during the weekday. That large pizza with its 3k+ calories and 3 days' worth of sodium doesn't even make a dent.
I seriously doubt you can recreate a dish. I'm a somewhat experienced cook and have a good idea of what kitchens are putting out these days and I can barely get half of what goes in. It takes a tremendous pallet and decades of experience to discern most of the ingredients in a good dish. To be arrogant and make claims, I doubt you're one of those people
I agree with you Cole. For the most part, the fat and salt are not part of someone's everyday diet. Dining out is typically special. Now fast food . . . that is a whole other story.
I told you, don't discount what people can do. My roommate has been consistently able to go to a restaurant, eat a dish for the first time, and recreate it almost exactly. It might not be the exact same ingredients that the chef uses, but it tastes the same, and that's what matters.
This is not completely uncommon for those inclined to copy a restaurant's dish. Additionally, all anyone who doesn't have that talent has to do is get a to-go box and trial-and-error the dish until they get to correct ingredients and flavors. Incredibly, some restaurants will give you a recipe for certain things if you ask, and there's a bevvy of cook books that have recipes for popular restaurants' coveted food items.
Clearly you've hit a sore spot in the restaurant world by calling the Chef out....very interesting
i've worked in all types of restaurants – mom and pop cafes, chain restaurants, and a 5 star/5 diamond restaurant. it's all true in all types of places. immigrants do all the cooking, are berated by the higher-ups, the chef is in the office, not the kitchen, butter is on everything, half the staff are alcoholics. but one thing not mentioned in the article? the staff are all sleeping with each other. wait staff, kitchen, management, everybody.
Wait...even mom and pop are sleeping with each other?
What has this world come to?
i would think that it's a given if mom and pop were called what they were they'd already been sleeping with each other
So true! That was one of the first things I noticed in my first restaurant job. They were all sleeping w/ each other!
As for the various "minions" he mentioned – that's true too. GENERALLY SPEAKING. Why are people so offended by what he said? If a kitchen is staffed by illegals, it's staffed by illegals. By blue collar workers? Fine. Dumb blue collar kids? A bit harsh, perhaps, but whatever. (That should only offend dumb people.) Criminals? Well, the daycare wasn't hiring.
In the south, it's often segregated by race: the FOH is mostly white, the BOH is mostly black. Sad, but true. Because I have eyes to see this fact that is glaring me in the face, am I a bigot? Lots of alcoholics on the line too; and they do drink on the job. It's a perfect job description for an alcoholic who stays up late, looks for little responsibility in a job, no real dress code (half of them came to work dirty and stinky), no social correctness, etc... with rare exception. F&B people work all evening in one restaurant, then go blow their money together in someone else's restaurant or bar until early morning, then go sleep with each other. It's true. That being said, the day time workers are typically much different. They are often still segregated by race and social class, but they are responsible, respectful, polite, and just there to do their job and go home. Generally speaking.
There is one demographic not mentioned: college students.
This is extremely accurate as well. tgif is right 100 percent.
Everytime I've cooked steak in the past with salt it comes out tough. I choose to marinade my meats with natural spices or good old Italian dressing. That goes for fish, pork or any other meat and the result is simply delicious.
Salt pulls moisture out of food, and should be used at the end of cooking meats. Plus salt is on the table for the guest to decide how salty they want their food.
The key to using salt with steak: allow the steak to come up to room temperature. no more than 2 or 3 minutes prior to putting it on the grill, apply a *moderate amount* (not three grains and not encrusted!) of coarse salt (not iodized table salt – use a high quality, coarse ground salt) to both sides. Ensure the grill is right around 410-425degF – no cooler, no warmer. Put the steak on the grill and don't touch it for two minutes. Flip the steak after two minutes. Repeat this twice (2 two-minute grillings per side). Pull off the grill, put on a rack, covered w/aluminum foil for 10-12 minutes. You will have a perfect, medium-rare steak every time. The timing is for a 3/4" – 1" thick steak. Adjust accordingly for thinner or thicker slices. If you want your steak well done .. go ask someone else. :-)
Those aren't secrets. It's what readers want to read and this chef wants you to know.
But of course nobody actually wants to read a revealing article about food handling and all the 'exotic' ingredients that are not listed on the menu.
I see Iron Chef winner Mark Tarbell at his restaurant Tarbell's in Scottsdale AZ all the time. But...he's not cooking. :) He's working the room and checking the food that goes out.
Maybe all of that salt and butter is what upsets my stomach every time I eat out. When I eat out I find I'm on the toilet a mere few hours later. Restaurant food just leaves me feeling bloated and unhealthy.
I think you may be right. I have the same problem. I thought I was just going through a period of bad luck with dining out. Every meal seemed to make me feel ill afterwards, despite ordering different types of food.
I think the problem is not the type of food, but how all these foods are prepared. I stopped eating out and don't seem to feel ill after meals any more.
What a great opportunity for a defamation lawsuit CNN. Let's start with my dad, shall we? He was a chef, and yes he used butter (not on steak, THAT was a NO NO), and yes he used salt, but to condemn chefs are all like tihs? Just how stupid is your editor to allow such publications? My dad owned his own restaurant in the midwest and people came from miiles around. He was very good in the kitchen, hired the BEST of staff and made sure their wages were very well above minimum wage (20 years ago, he started them at $10 for dishwashing alone). He paid good money for good staff.
Oh Wait, i see now. it's only the really big, way over priced restaurants that are like this, right? Service the 'little guys' people, you'll be glad you did. My dad made a wonderful penne pasta combined with asparagus and shrimp, sauce, and lots of flavoring as one of his 3 daily specials. Chefs these days have no clue what it's like to really cook. But then they don't service real people, do they so with your lack of expectations why should today's chefs conform to reality?
Wow, out of the gate seeking a lawsuit. Did you read the begining of the story? The story was about 5 things that Josh Grinker, an executive chef, doesn't want you to know. Appartently, you missed the Rally to Restore Sanity? Or did you attend to Keep Fear Alive?
I'd like to offer my services as an attorney for your lawsuit.
I'm not actually a lawyer, but my dad was one and he never threatened frivolous lawsuits and irrational legal maneuverings. Come to think of it, you're defaming his profession. Are there any CNN readers here willing to work for me as my attorney in my lawsuit against natnem?
Perhaps your dad is the exception that proves the rule thus strengthening the writer's point.
After watching Anthony Bourdain's show, and seeing what a jerk HE is, and watching Anne Burrell's QC shtick=dousing the dish over and over again with tablespoons of salt, I agree that the restaurant biz needs to change. I don't cook w/ a lot of salt, and I confess I do use butter rather liberally (but not like they do)–I want my food to taste like the food it is, not like a salted variety of that food. I think my food IS better than what I can buy at a restaurant!!
Here's one thing you can do: if you see a 'chef' mistreating an employee, tell him you are leaving because of that incident. Make it very public, so others can see and understand what you're doing. Be courteous, not rude, then leave. More ppl will copy you and perhaps that chef will learn that he will lose business if you stand up for those w/out a voice (meaning they need that job to survive). BE the change you wish to see. Butter, salt & people!
I know several award-winning chefs and will confirm all of these insights are true (with respect to the ones I know): egotistical, alcoholic, ugly to their "minions," and eerily friendly to the patrons. ...but the food sure is good...
Just an FYI for every person who thinks that everyone needs to follow the same dietary guidelines... not everyone needs to cut down on salt. In fact, some of us have been ordered by our doctors to eat MORE SALT. Some people, rare though we are, have hypOtension, where our blood pressure drops too LOW. Yes, I know we're not the majority, but I get sick of seeing people whining about salt.
Here's a hint: Watch what YOU eat, and I'll watch what *I* eat. If you go out to a restaurant, then accept the fact that unless you're going to a health-food place, your dinner will probably have a fair bit of salt and fat in it. Some menu choices will be better than others, and you can ask the cook to prepare without added salt if you're that worried about it. But remember, restaurant food should NOT be the mainstay of your diet. In fact, if some lazy people learned to cook at home, their health would improve.
So stop crying about the salt in the "sometimes-foods" you get at a fancy restaurant, and start worrying about the garbage you eat every day.
Of course, some people eat McDonald's every day, but that's a whole different problem.
Krull is right on....Been there, done that!
Sorry but I don't buy the notion that profit margins are "razor-thin." Not when so many restaurants, which are basically moderately-priced luxuries, have survived the so-called recession. And also not when I'm paying what I know for a fact is 4-5 times as much what the meal would cost me if I make it at home, especially when I know they can purchase what they use for much less than I do when they buy in quantity.
At home you aren't paying a host/hostess, waiter, bus boy, dish washer, cleaning staff, valet parking attendant, upscale commercial rent, license fees, all sorts of taxes and I saved this for last-4 or 5 different lower chef or cooks not to mention the name guy they have on staff to get people there in the first place. I'm not saying eateries are not profitable but not many make a fortune owning a restaurant.
most restaurants are hardly profitable, which is why we cooks get paid shit. even sous who have earned their spots don't make very much. to actually make money, you have to have a corporate empire. i'm sure jean georges doesn't make money from jean georges, but rather from spice market and mercer.
Julia Child, I believe said, "....if you don't want to use fat in this receipe, substitute with butter..."
Back to the subject at hand...
The article doesn't say salt and butter are the only ingredients that make food taste good but they're prevalent. They don't make Americans get fat and clogged arteries, it's the other crap we eat. Processed sugar and flour has created a diabetes epidemic. Insulin is a fat storing hormone, eat more sugar (carbs), make more insulin, store more fat. The Alfredo sauce on your pasta is not the problem, it's the bleached, over processed, nutrition-less, pasta. Butter is healthier than margarine but both are unhealthy in large quantities. Cutting butter and oil out of your diet is also unhealthy, you're not getting essential fatty acids which are... wait for it... essential. Salt is also necessary but in much smaller quantities than we use. I'm super "lucky" in that I have a condition (vasovagal synchopy) which is helped by electrolyte intake. My cardiologist didn't tell me to eat more salt, he just told me I didn't have to cut back, sweet!
My brother's a chef and from I've seen and heard, every part of this article is true. Besides, people go to restaurants to get food that tastes outstanding to them. It's a treat, not a right, no one is holding a gun to your head to make you eat out. If you eat healthy, one rich, buttery, salty, yummy (don't forget the garlic!) dinner a week is not going to kill you much less make you fat or give you heart disease.
Moderation, something we Americans often have a hard time with.
Kitchen workers love the cocaine. Almost as much as they love hot waitress'. Most chefs' have failed at life. And they smoke, so they don't even have a sense of taste. Aim higher kids.
Best comment yet!!
In my experience it was the waiters that had all the coke, and the kitchen workers that had all the weed. A little demonstration in the economic situation in the staff.
Get back to work. All of you. No more "wait for it" or "like". Just get back to work.
There are celebrity chefs and Chefs who spend time on the pass or do step in & can cook(really great chefs). If a chef owns more than 1 restaurant then he probably fits into the former.
please change the name of this blog
Wow. What an arrogant idiot. I am a restaurant manager and former cook, and once worked for a chef with this kind of attitude. He is no longer employed with our company. Salt is boring. Although it is needed somewhat in food, there are other spices that bring out better flavors in food. And a good chef works as hard as the line cooks, and is on the line making sure that the food is being prepared right with out acting like a prima donna.
This article has been very insightful. My doctor has cautioned/forbid me to eat out at restaurants. After reading the article I now understand why!!! My blood pressure was elevated at my last doctor's visit. At 17, I became a member of the "zipper club" and I promised myself never to have open heart surgery again. After this article, cutting out restaurants from my life is now going to be much easy!!
The phenomenon of the Celebrity Chef is pretty amazing. Who would have thought that a surly no talent New Yaawk punk like Bobby Flay or a Morbidly Obese guy from New Jersey in in Orange clogs could become a TV star. Only in America Kids.. gotta love it.. and yes butter is awesome on steak or just about anything else.
this is how truck stop cooks cook no decent chef will cook like this, this is rubbish.
amen.
Mexicans or immigrants have been cooking as far back as t970 that I witnessed, so for one I don't eat french anymore. Italian, forget about it. Microwave isn'f healthy. But you forgot the sixth and most important one: the waiter! Well that is his secret lies: when he drops the steak on the floor and takes it back to the kitchen, cleans it, spits on his rag and wipes the plate, and brings it back to the sitting customer. I witnessed that at the Cattleman in the late sixties. Between us the list goes on but I don't want to upset your next meal if I haven't already. Chao!
I want to add something to what he says, which I mostly agree with (18 years working as a chef). Concerning salt on a steak: It really matters which kind of salt you use. Never use iodized salt. Use a coarse sea salt or Hawaiian salt (like Alae). It has a tenderizing quality that iodized does not. For a quality grade of meat such as choice or prime, this type of salt is all you need, no marinade or other flavorings. It tenderizes and brings out the natural flavor. Cracked black pepper is nice too but the more junk you put on, the more you deter from what is already there. As for those on low salt diets, hopefully a request to the kitchen will insure that your steak is unsalted.
If we knew what really went on, in and around the food we eat. We wouldn't eat out.. And thats a fact.
As far as the butter and salt comments, these are generalities that aren't necessarily true. It's very easy to reduce salt by increasing the use of other flavorful spices such as onion, garlic, and basil which are healthier, though admittedly more expensive than salt. Meat tenderizer can help to make a steak more tender without overdoing the butter, but usually takes more time to work, ie marinating for 24 hours. I understand, however, that from the business end butter & salt are cheap and anything that reduces the bottom line is more important than being healthier.
That's fine if I'm going to Applebees and picking the "two for $20" option. However, if I'm in a restaurant of high caliber with a chef of note at the helm, I'm paying a very long buck and expect no cutting of corners. Anything else is ripping off the customer.
butter is by no means cheap, even from the business end
I'd love to see them do one of these about the security industry. As someone who works in it, people would freak out if they knew the kind of morons who get hired to work airport security. Most of these people couldn't hold down a job at McDonalds, yet they're the ones screening passengers for terrorists.
i think we've all experienced airport security morons. who knows how many times my lighters and swiss army knives have gone in and out of this country in my check-in? i know people who have brought in fruits and meats in their luggage, multiple times. but out of curiosity, do you know why those people are hired, rather than more competent individuals??
Perhaps someone should speak up for the other chefs. Frankly, there certainly are Chefs who would agree with Chef Josh or Anthony Bourdain. But they get attention for the same reason the Ann Coulters and Keith Olbermanns get attention – they are the loud examples. I'm sure nearly anyone who clicked on this article has read Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations". But that was over a decade ago, reflecting on a time two decades ago. The business has changed.
The Chef-as-tempermental-a-hole time has passed. For the media, the pissy attitude works great. But in a kitchen, it no longer flies. While a few at the very top of the profession may get away with it, because putting up with them for a year looks great on a resume, for the rest of us, keeping a happy crew is the key to good service. The media has made it seem that chefs need to be everywhere but the kitchen. Perhaps once one has an empire, that is true, but I've seen many a chef undone by the idea that it's all about the press, not about the cooking.
In terms of the other aspects, at least in the business, we've all heard "fat is flavor". It is just like "sex sells" – it is true, but it is the easy way out. Any chef worth a damn can make dishes that are low fat that you'll never miss it. Fat is a crutch for which "fat is flavor" is an excuse, not an explanation. The salt one, that's true to an extent. It certainly brings flavor out, but for the record, if you taste salt, there's too much. And, lastly, in terms of immigrant labor, I have to say they are out there. The fact is, this is a low paying profession, overall. If you're going somewhere that has all-you-can-eat for $15.99 some some other unbelievable deal, they are probably relying on that sort of labor. If you're in a higher end place, the only reason for super-cheap labor is to keep more money for the boss (i.e. the chef).
I certainly can't say that anything Chef Josh said is untrue. But the fact of the matter is that it is no longer the norm across the board.
Come on folks! We all know this stuff to be true so get over it! It may not be what we want to hear but stop and think! Chances are that in any place of business things happen behind the scenes which would blow you away!
As for the minions in the kitchen cooking our food, well.....Thank you! At least they are working and not to proud to do 'minion labor'! Keeps them off the streets and off wefare!
Abuse in the kitchen- look at it this way; if there was no one to control what goes out to the tables then your dining experience would be MUCH longer, cost MORe because at the end of the day they will need to make up for the lost revenue of the garbage which was sent to you and the prices on the menu will rise.
Butter, fat, salt......try cooking without it! I am sure you will end up using some too! It will not kill you if used in moderation, come on, how many times do you eat in a place like that and if it is often perhaps you should learn to cook at home!
This industry is a tough one...
Donna, I cook with zero butter. ..heck, zero dairy. By correctly choosing more appropriate fats to accomplish a set of tasks (e.g. browning, flavor transport, etc), my food has superior appearance and flavor. Dairy is used *far* too often and typically when it is used, it's so heavy-handed as to make the entire dish a complete ho-hum experience.
Well, this creep proves number 5, but number three is just not true. The last time I was in a Batali restaurant (the much celebrated Spotted Pig), the food was so acridly salty that I couldn't eat it. Throwing salt at food doesn't improve it, it kills it. The key to a beautifully prepared dish is fresh ingredients, deftly seasoned and carefully prepared. Salt should be there, yes, but only to the point that the dish doesn't taste flat. If I taste a dish and immediately think, "salt," I know tha the chef (and his minions) is a lazy and inept cook.
Perhaps the cook that day was heavy handed but many times it is our bodies which 'deliver' the salt measure. If your blood pressure is low chances are you will reach for the salt shaker and add when everyone else says it is ok. When Blood pressure is high EVERYTHING is salty! just a common nutrition fact...Kind of like cravings. Your body is telling you it needs a particular nutrient from whatever you crave..Ever have a roaring infection or blood loss and crave onions? They are good in building up your red blood cells! pretty cool, huh?
Donna, that is just bs. I have remarkably low blood pressure, and I know a salty dish when I taste one. What I ate at The Spotted Pig was salt that happened to be served with food. Heavy-handed salting is a cheap and lazy way to play to the lowest common denominator. It's disrespectful toward the customer. It takes much more culinary skill to come up with an intriguing herb, fruit or vegetable, or alcohol-based flavoring for a dish than it does to hit it with salt.
And it wasn't just a bad night. Every time I've eaten at that place, the food has been heavily salted. I'm through with it.
Ok Vegomatic, then it is a bad cook! I am a 'chef' 'cook' or whatever lable one wants to give me and what I have said is from nutrition courses, not bs...
Someone else posted a remark about if you tast the salt then it is too much..RIGHT ON! Makes a lot of sense. BUT for you as the customer to NOT bring it to the attention of the powers that be in the resturant then how is one to know the salt is being abused!? Do you always dine alone? If not, do the others 'taste' the same problem?
AND I do know in 99% of dishes regarding vegetables salt does NOT need to be added at all but it does release a bit of the natural juices of the veggie to make it more tasteful! Not to mention the moisture it makes and there fore no oils, butters, fats or booze need to be used! Again..MODERATION!!!!
"The other major demographic working the skilled restaurant job are dumb blue-collar kids who have been lured by the chance of stardom"
This statement is hilariously true. They are also bringing a wave of "pussification" to the kitchen where people need to be consoled every time they've mucked something up and get an ear full from the Sous chef. Good article.
The dumb blue collar kids comment wasn't very nice
Neither is the idiot who made it. I certainly wouldn't patronize his restaurant, after reading this.
Weak list. Aside from the condoned abuse, the rest is avoidable or unimportant. Don't want the extra fat or salt, it's as easy as asking and they'll probably do it. I don't know how many times it has to be repeated but both are ok in moderation.
Is the food being prepared the same way the head chef would? Then he or she really is there in all the ways that matter unless you're there just to star gaze.
And why are migrant workers being lumped with criminals and alcoholics? They're harder working and as skilled as any schooled cook whatever their actual citizenship. You won't be able to tell the difference now for having that knowledge than you did before because there is none.
If Grinker actually wrote or was quoted fully for this article he needs to check out and find work somewhere less cynical and pompous.
To those who say it's OK for chefs or Anyone to abuse others at any place, any time, for any reason -
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
So agreed. I've had many cook jobs in many states and truly enjoy cooking when I'm alone in the kitchen or with the normal people. I have quit these jobs on my own, never been fired. In some cases i've been offered more money to stay on. But I grew up poor, and made "dumb" mistakes when I was young. There isn't much else for me to do. But I still firmly believe that if I'm willing to work, and maintain a great work ethic, then I'm deserving of dignity. Period. Most cooks/chefs are not good people. There is no excuse. I show up everyday willing to work for little pay. At least give me my dignity. If you refuse to do that, i will go work somewhere else, until the next asshole decides to shit all over my day for his or her own selfish reasons.
You forgot bacon(or any pork fat). Butter, Salt, Bacon. The triumvirate of flavor.
Stop talking about chefs, for Pete's sake! Not every grease burner off the street is a chef. Not every fry cook is a chef. That would be impossible. To be a cook is a proud profession requiring years of training and study.. A real cook can handle any station in a restaurant. A real cook must be an excellent saucier, and he or she must be a competent butcher. Cooks do not consider themselves deficient if they cannot step into a bake shop and take over. Baking is a different matter altogether. Just writers and journalists should stop the annoying practice of calling every shoemaker a chef. A chef not only oversees the production of all stations in a kitchen, he or she also does the hiring and firing, the ordering and the writing of the menu.
Many bellyrobbers who call themselves chefs would certainly fall on their cordon bleu butts if they tried to work in my kitchen.
The best trick I ever heard was from a chef in Montreal who said they cook lots of "vegetarian" dishes in bacon fat...that's why it tastes so good!!!
Dad was 34 years in the Army and we were mainly stationed in Europe – 3 yrs Augsburg, Bavaria, 4 yrs Orleans, France. Fantastic food and drink everywhere. You learn the language, especially France, and they take good care of you. You trash their culture and you get garbage a la carte. America has a good cuisine but discipline is not universal in the kitchens. You can usually tell if the food is good but not if the kitchen is clean and free of vermin. One thing I hate is wilted or frozen lettuce in a salad. It means they haven't figured out how to pace the progress of the dish from refrig to table. In a local Italian eatery I ordered spaghetti and red sauce and the pasta was overdone, the sauce was watery – never went back. Another place I stopped at the outdoor cafe for a mixed drink with coconut and pineapple. They forgot to add the booze – never went back. Both places closed shortly thereafter, probably $$$ problems. It's the bar that provides the profit, not the food. Hard, tiring business with no room for tantrums.
Yup, pretty much everything this article is fact in one restaurant or another.
Arjun Sajnani a chef that i knew is the craziest one i have met so far, he just yaps and freaks about in his kitchen and he never realizes that there is nothing better than home made food.
Some of us (chef's) are actually trying to change these things. We're promoting the use of less (but the right kinds of) salt in dishes accross the board. We also use more herbs and spices (of course we sell spice blends so we are somewhat biased) to improve the depth and complexity of a dish... this makes them taste good (actually better) with a lot less fat and salt. Some fat is absolutely necessary as a flavor transport, not a flavor source. But you can use small quantities of the good fats (olive oil, grapeseed oil, etc) instead of buckets of saturated fats. A small (and I do mean small) amount of butter is needed when a dish is actually supposed to taste buttery– but you still don't need it by the bucket. There are NO, none, zero, zip illegal aliens in our facility and NOBODY makes less than $12/hour base pay. The fundamental truth is that you get what you pay for and that certainly includes your labor. Good staff that makes a decent living simply do better work and the customers see it and come back. We're not the cheapest joint in town, but we are the best. You can learn about our spice blends at http://www.chefnicks.com.
Nick– I'm from Bloomington also. Please tell me you have a restaurant there. I've seen your spice blends at the Butchers Block, I'll try them next time I'm getting meat.
Foodie– sorry, at 57 I'm too old to be in a restaurant kitchen all the time. We actually sell things TO the restaurants: recipe and menu development, spice blends, and in some cases partially prepared items. The kitchen staff mentioned in my original post is the people in our production blending room and kitchen.
thanks for the tip Ian. next time i eat out i'll take my doggie bag to the lab.
YUCK John! i never knew ANY chef to drown a steak with sauce! they all knew how to cook it. even the gutter slobs drunks and druggies!
I agree with darnerflyz, but . . .
One things most restaurants don't want you to know for sure is the fact that the majority of prepared ingredients used are NOT REQUIRED to show their nutrition information, in other words, you might have outrageous amounts of trans fats, saturated fats or cholesterol, and the oiliest and saltiest of margarines or spreads or breads, even in the finest of places. Further little known fact? Fat makes things taste better, and most restaurants like to serve tasty food. Not exactly rocket science to add it up.
I own a full service restaurant, And make the soups and sauces. I only work the line when needed. But personal trained everyone.You might need a narrower brush
Could someone translate this from cook-ese into English?
What he's trying to say is that he owns the restaurant, but doesn't normally act as the chef, unless they are in a bind and he's really needed. He's probably agreeing with what the article said about most chefs not actually doing the cooking.
Why doesn't everyone just shut up and eat????????????????????
WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP AND EAT.....JEEZ
The first Eatocracy article I've really liked. Spot on summary of what it looks like behind the walls of the kitchen. I'm not going to sit and argue about to butter or not to butter- I'll just say there are a lot of places out there making money on "fine food." Guess what they use for flavor... it isn't rosemary.
The best part was the part about alcoholics. So true. I work in a posh steak place on Miami Beach, half of our best servers wait on you trashed. Then we all go out with your tips after work and really light up the night. Its the culture of the business. Some get caught and fired by management that used to do it themselves 5 years ago. They go next door and get hired and the cycle starts all over again. I know people that have been fired five or six times and still walk in and get hired. Why? Incompetent management that doesn't care to check your refs. They are only paying you $4 an hour- who cares if you don't "work out."
Butter is used to make steaks "shiny" by lazy chefs.
I know it's praised, but a good chef will season, brown, and sauce a steak properly.
Another chef egomaniac stereotype. Chef's that cling to the idea that they are special and have a special right to act like toddlers are no better than effete art gallery owners. With success all too often comes an unbelievable and undeserved sense of self-righteousness. His comment particularly concerning the patrons asking if the chef is in the kitchen tonight is incredibly illuminating, he sees hes customers as undeserving simpletons when all they are guilty of is not knowing the "secrets" of his profession. I'd like him to ask me a few questions about my job as a particle physicist so I can laugh at his incredible "lack of knowledge" in my highly specialized field.
Good article...now get the FK out of my kitchen.
blah blah blah. More butter, salt and red meat, please.
Cheers to Chef in VA! Now, could you chefs please lay off the fats and salts some? Otherwise, I'll have stick with the EAT AT HOME approach, and will be a happy eater.
I spent a lot of time in my youth working in restaurants from McD's to 100 buck a bottle wine places. The atmosphere is the same wherever you go. A lot of people just can't handle it. I loved it. When you get busy and the adrenaline starts flowing its a rush. The chefs I knew were drunks and druggies.
Hi Jerry, I was in food and beverage too and I enjoyed it so much when the adrenalin was going IF the team was running like a well-oiled machine. However, have had experiences where servers were under the influence of (whatever) and that's when it just became a scene. I eventually left one restaurant because of that, went to another, then got out of the biz altogether because of the drug-use ... scary stuff.
I am a 15 yr restaurant brat. I worked (5 years) in a restaurant that catered to "patrons" who ate out on their cooks night off. I also worked (3 years) for that chef's best friend at another "5 star" place; known for hosting THE wealthiest people in town; celebrities, sport stars, people having affairs out the wazoo. 4 hours per night; I made a nice living. I was "front of the house" (and auto-15% commission for everything I served.....adds up fast). Gossip travels fast via restaurant personnel; everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who works at other restaurants.
Cocaine, $400+ bottles of wine, etc you can't imagine the things we were offered as tips. Once I received a handful of ectasy pills. I had to ask what it was. Handed it right back. (To the remorseful screaming sighs of waiters everywhere)
Regardless of it being offensive...this article is SPOT ON truthful.
This article represents the old school thought prevelant in many restaurants. But, anyone that is up on current restaurant trends will tell you that is changing. Light and natural flavors are new catch words in food service and reducing fat and sodium is a major focus in culinary schools. The future of the industry is heading away from heavy oil and butter laden dishes and using more steamed fresh vegetables and lean lightly seasoned meats. If you doubt this take a look at some of the articles and information put out by the American Culinary Federation and National Restaurant Association. Establishments stuck in the butter basting and heavy salt mindset need to rethink or they will find their tables empty.
Hallelujah! Sounds great! It only seems this way. Respect for the customer/patrons would also lead to great respect for the dining industry overall. thank you for your comment Mark Miller - very hopeful!
Hallelujah! Sounds great! It only seems right this way. Respect for the customer/patrons would also lead to great respect for the dining industry overall. thank you for your comment Mark Miller - very hopeful!
Hi Mark,
Your comment reminds me of when I was in the Navy mess hall at dinner. I was excited for the roast chicken and veggies.. mashed pumpkin yum! All I could taste was pepper !! I asked the cook "why do you put so much pepper in the pumpkin?".... his reply was "to give it flavor"..... to which I inquired "what is wrong with the flavor of pumpkin?"
The natural flavors should be enhanced not covered over. I don't even use salad dressing! I like the flavor of food in it's natural state, especially salad veggies. Mind you, in my salads go slivered almonds, a sprinkle of blue cheese, fresh herbs, stuff like that. I find salad dressing masks the flavors of the salad veggies, but like you said we just do things automatically.
Is this the Mark Miller, Coyote Cookbook?
Nothing that anyone who's worked in a kitchen doesn't know. I'll add: 6. anything you get at a restaurant you could make yourself for half the price, it's not like they have some magic contraption back there making it better.
Most of these are somewhat true, but the last one about all chef's being jerks is not always the case. I am a chef and instructor and have taught culinary students for the past 10 years. Agreed, some chef's are jerks, but not all. I have never once yelled, thrown things, or lost it on a student or employee. Patience is a virtue, which I have a lot of. Do chefs have egos? Sure, many do...but the best chef's I know are very humble and kind. It is all how you approach it and treating people with respect (remember the golden rule??) will get you a long way. As I always tell new instructors, "Remember, there was a time when you didn't know this stuff either." I love the business I am in...is it hard? YES! Are the hours long? YES! But do I love educating future cooks and bakers? More than you all can know...passion, integrity, and patience; that is what gets you far (in my opinion) in the business...
youre the best
David Adjey's whiney-rumped voice: "What are you doing cooking with one haaaaand"?
Me: Waiting to biatch-slap the next whiney-rumped "chef" that asks me a stupid question.
As the wife of a french chef of 30 years butter is not in everything, a good chef knows the balance between salt and herbs. And as my husband says if you get Chefs like the ones on tv in a kitchen, knives will not only be used for trimming a prime rib. If the Chef does not run a respectful kitchen nothing decent will come out of that restaurant. Just like every job you have good people and bad people to work with. Attitude in a kitchen brings chaos on your plate.
Sorry Jeff, I thought you were being homophobic. \you shouldn't be so negative to your own orientation types.
I've been in the biz for 20 years, and for about the last 15 years, when I go to work, I have not spoken one word of english.
Take it from a gay guy - this queen is as gay as a 3 dollar bill. I'm sure he's sliced and diced a few soux chefs himself.
I put catsup on everything
I'm no celebrity chef and I am no culinary student/graduate... but my food kicks @$$ with MINIMAL fat, oil, butter, salt, etc..
Cheers Rebecca757 ! Our food as well, is so wonderful with minimal fat, oil, butter, salt. As other's mentioned, we can't go out to eat because of the problem food with high levels of salt and fat.
Jeff, Grow up and get better - you're sick.
I have to say my ultimate stand-by is a baked potato and salad!
I drizzle the potato with liquid amino acids and sprinkle fried onions.
Sometimes I will sprinkle yeast on it for that cheesy flavor without the cheese.
What type of yeast do you use? I love liquid amino acids too and want to try your yeast idea because I love cheese.
Same here Rebecca. I cook good home cooked meals .. comfort foods etc.
Olive oil is my friend .. and if I have NO fresh herbs, Mrs Dash works quite well .. a COUPLE of shakes of salt, OR, shake on your own, is good enough for me.
BUTTER .. be still my slogging arteries !!
Ok, I've read enough, and am so full, that I need to vomit a little. all the comments are true except from those who never worked in the kitchen and you know who you are! The human palette has 5 taste buds: bitter, sour , salty, sweet, and umami.
Sweet being the first taste to develop on the human palette, bitter being the last, and umami being the culmination of all that gives us a deep satisfying sense of savory. A chef's job is to work and balance the palette that makes it delicious and craveable. Regarding salt, if you use a high quality salt like Celtis sea salts, Himalayan Mountain sea salts, Kosher salts. These salts bring out a ton of flavor without much needed. Salt is good for you. Doctors recommend celtic sea salts to lower your blood pressure. Now demonizing any food that's pure and whole is stupid. It all must be used carefully and enjoyed via a perfect meal thoroughly. Ahhhh, that was fantastic n your not full,btw. The truth of it is I'm a chef. We need a little science, alot of art, and a bit of a ego-driven, slightly wreckless willing to take risk spirit. The way u create and please. I've known chefs to be wonderful people and very demanding in the kitchen. It is necessary. Btw, – Fat is flavor and the right fats will help you stay thin your whole life! I am a testament to the fact. Chefs shouldn't be treated like god any more than a doctor or lawyer should. our society is erecting icons again, big time. That said, I do think some chefs are brilliant. let's hope we can seperate the chaff from the wheat as a society.
Battling chefs are just battling chefs! In deep gratitude simply enjoy the feast – the abundance. Bon apetit!
ALL restaurant food is too salty and too fatty – that's why I prefer my own cooking to any 'Chef".
CUT DOWN ON THE SALT – herbs and spices are for flavor too you know.
French foods are loaded with butter but why do French people are still thin?
Because are they busy studying too sentence structure. Enough time to eat like this they have not constantly.
Mireille Guiliano – author of French Women Don't Get Fat – has tons of healthy, traditional French recipes that call for fresh, healthy ingredients, herbs, and spices with little to no oil or butter. I LOVE her recipes :)
I worked in fine dining for over a decade and I can tell you that this article is spot on.
Oh, and yankee cowboy, thats why you make them at home and dont have people waiting an hour for a table to pay $42 for your prime steak. just something to think about.
As the executive chef of my company, I'd agree with much of the above. One exception – we are not all jerks. If you are two faced in the front and back of the house, the house will fail. Staff turnover can be deadly to business. Consistency is key. I treat my kitchen staff with respect. I constantly demonstrate that I'm not averse to getting the hands dirty and rolling up the sleeves. A staff that holds the chef in contempt doesn't produce the quality that it takes to make it.
I am a classically trained chef of 30 years and we are NOT ALL JERKS, asshole!
You might wanna check and make sure Your apron is not too tightly wound around your crotch area!
The three essentials of French cooking: Butter, butter, and butter. Not that I'm a professional chef or anything. Don't like the food, or can't tolerate butter/salt/oil/gluten, whatever.... eat at home. You pay me to eat my menus in the matter of preparation I deem appropriate. So go blow yourselves.
Unless you're preparing classic French food, you make no point what-so-ever. I won't ever go out for French food. It's far too dairy laden. If I go out for a good steak, there'd best not be one #$(*ing drop of butter on it – otherwise you're passing off a crap cut of meat as something far better than it is.
.. or find a restaurant that cooks with healthier ingredients... who doesn't love great Chinese food mmmmmm
Have to admit it, he's absolutely right. HOWEVER .. to sum it up .. WE are YOUR bread and BUTTER !
If the general public starts to STAY HOME and cooking their own meals .. well .. yer gonna be slicing fries at Rotten Ronnies bud !!
Can't you 'chefs' learn to cook from the heart ... for the heart !!
Perhaps I am out of the loop with pop-culture, but I really don't get this whole celebrity chef "god complex" thing. I mean their main goal is to make and serve people food. Not exactly curing cancer. So when I channel surf and I see these
"characters" yelling and demeaning people, I take it with a grain of salt - so to speak.
Hey, Josh . you slather everything in butter, you're driving off 25% of the population who can't eat diary. F%#*ing idiot. If you can't be more creative than throwing butter at everything, find another #($^ing job, you hack.
When I eat at your restaurant and your use of butter – when I specifically say I can't eat it – makes me sick, I scream it from the rooftops. The food I paid top buck for at your over-rated establishment MADE ME $^%#ING SICK because you're NOTHING BUT A TWO-BIT HACK.
True. I don't get the whole butter thing, nor the whole melted cheese thing. I was in a local pizzeria and ordered a pasta. I thought I would wait until their pizza arrived before eating so I chatted away.... by the time we were ready to eat I looked at my plate it was nothing but congealed butter. I put it in a "to go" container for the husband, who was stoked. I ate salad instead and bread.
Walk a mile in MY shoes .. I have to make EXCUSES for these 'chefs' to my patients !!
I am a Registered nurse working in a new hospital, that BRAGS about the 'chefs, and their menus'.
Picture an edentulous 80 yr old staring at his breakfast, which consists of a GREATLY over baked (burned) bran muffin, an boiled egg that has perhaps been to Italy and back, and a piece of cheese .. I could go on, but you get the drift ..
Ya gotta wear yer BIG BOY SHOES all the time (or, your BIG GURL SHOES) if you wanna be a GREAT chef !!
And that's why I generally don't eat out–because I can get a fresh prime steak from the local butcher and NOT slather it in butter or salt.
agreed !! I would not ruin a good quality steak with butter. gross !
OK, as a former restaurant guy, I was ready to shred this article. I can't. The author hit this one clean out of the park.
This article just reinforces for me that I would not want a chef as a "friend".
#1 definitely makes sense, because I'm lactose intolerant and I get sick from things that shouldn't have lactose in them (like steak).
Totally. Drives me insane to go out, drop $50 to $100 or more on a really nice dinner, only to get sick from stuff that should have NEVER made me sick in the first place.
I call it "Restaurant Syndrome". I feel lousy several hours after eating at most restaurants. Now I know that it's the lactose in all the butter in places I didn't expect to find it. But I think it's also too much salt... much too much salt!
too much butter is nauseating for me.
I like this guy. He is honest and would probably be a good employer.
#4 and #5 - bang on, and even more true (and sad) than his descriptions portray.
#3...when I was apprenticing way back when, one of my chefs had a constant constructive criticism: "More salt".
Remember, salt and fat are what built the fast food/junk food empires and industries.
Is there any fact in this article? And if there is fact, how would the readers know? One person's opinion can not accurately be extrapolated to what is true of an entire empire of business. Are all chefs jerks? No. I work with a chef that feeds people with disabilities at a camp in Colorado and I can assure you he is the one of the most caring and non-jerkish people I have worked with. Is this particular chef a jerk? Yes – the proof lies in the venom that he injects into the stereotypical judgments he describes. The fortunes of Josh Grinker have allowed him to call the cooks 'mindless idiots' , 'dumb blue-collar kids', and 'would-be criminals'. This article does nothing but demonstrates how Josh Grinker values the cooks that allow him to be a chef. I hope Grinker cooks all the food he eats himself because I can't imagine any cook that reads this article not spitting in his food.
Also, regarding chefs and restaurants, I used to have a boyfriend that was a sous chef. Cocaine is rampant and prevalent in the restaurant biz to keep them up and working so hard.
I would love to see 5 Things You Didn't Know About Lawyers. As a 20-year paralegal, I have all kinds of information that would shock the public.
Go ahead, list 5 short ones here.
I worked in a country club kitchen for a couple of months last summer cuz it was the first thing i could find after i was laid off... from my experience, everything here is totally true. they put obscene amounts of butter and oil in almost everything... they like to say butter is the backbone of french cusine.... they also put salt in everthing... althought its not TOO much... the executive chef was present most of the time, but i never saw him cook ANYTHING... he was just there to yell at everybody... yes he was an incredible jerk... and i'd say 90% of the people that worked there were illegal... which i'm sure is why he felt it was okay to yell at them and put them down... but i'm not illegal... which is why i quit the instant he got out of line with me.... only time i've ever walked out of a job... i had ZERO experience in the food industry... and somehow i was hired to cook food for some country club yuppies... and i was getting pretty good at it... the hours sucked but i didn't care cuz i was feeding my family. but i wasn't about to sit there and have some guy on a power trip yell at me... i wish i could say his name... cuz i know the things that went on there weren't totally legal... things being sold past their expiration date.... illegal aliens working there... rats... that experience made me think twice about dining out!!
I can say that I worked in that industry for years, and everything on this list is sooooo true. I actually did a paper in college about the dempgraphic of people who work in hospitality. Immagrants, minorities, homosexuals, single mothers, alcoholics and believe it or not drug addicts as well. Many do not realize that going out is a privliege not a necessity, and being about to eat those things once in a while is okay. I know that when a chef prepares his food its like art on a canvas, and they take it very seriously. I have been in places where the chef has thrown someone out for talking bad about the food. The have complete atonomy of the establishment because so much of the reputation is determined by the menu. This is a great article.
Yum, in fact ill think ill go to Golden Corral this evening.
I don't really have a problem with chef's being jerks, especially the successful chefs. Most successful people in America got there by being jerks. What I don't like about chef's is their arrogance. They act like they are god's gift to earth. Its like, you cook food dude, thats it...your not curing disease or designing the newest piece of breakthru technology...you cook food...your contribution toward the advancement of mankind is minimal, if that...
I'm a chef... But I love you post, hilarious!
Sure... now just show me anyone who actually COOKS their own meals nowadays. I cook for a place where people will pay $8 a pound for tuna or egg salad...
This was a great piece but the writing style was clearly similar to Anthony Bourdain, believe I thinks okay, good writers steal from the great writers and hire amazing editors. I love reading Tony Bourdain and have met him on a few occasions in DC. Everything the Chef Grinker said is absolutely true, similar to what Tony says in Kitchen Confidential. It nearly the, decade or so that Kitchen Confidential has come out not much has changed, and this 5@5 has clearly pointed out. Cooks are still paid nothing for amazing services and are treated even more poorly by most chefs, however I won't say all chefs. I like this post, it did annoy me a bit by how much the writing style was like Bourdains, but that's because I'm a Bourdain fan.
Gosh, I'm going to go out on a limb here, but do...do you like Bourdain? Am I reading your comment correctly?
Yes, as clearly stated in the original post... Sarcasm isn't very becoming, congrats on the obvious.
i used to love to watch cooking shows, but it has been a very long time since i've seen one. i just couldn't sit through one more "unique" meal of poached unicorn uterus on a bed of arugula-steamed crap balls. and the personalities are worse than the dishes. even though their food is completely unpalatable the only chefs i watch are "two fat ladies" because they don't think they're sh*t. (i like the old english kitchens as well, but am sure those old bowls and other pottery contain lead.)
hahaha ! I was NOT ready for that... almost choked on my coffee.
With regard to the butter and salt – these are things that have been in our diets for years and are vital pieces of the nutrition that our bodies need (check out Real Food by Nina Planck). Eating synthetic or imitation versions (or removing them completely) are actually more of a detriment to us than eating the real thing. Just remember the ol' moderation and an active lifestyle. Heck you should thank us chefs for trying to keep you healthy (and satisfied)!
I apologize for my bluntness, however I must say a word about your post. Yes, while it is true that "the real thing" is healthier for us than the fake imitation ingredients, it is not healthy in the quantities that average diners consume them in. Lets take an average meal at a fine or casual dining restaurant and assume an order, having worked in the industry this isn't out of the realm of possibility;Creamy Potato Leek Soup (I'll leave out the garnish, but ineviteable either a fried potato chip or maybe chive oil-more fat), Grilled Hanger Steak (maybe it's with au poive or maybe with melted Blue Cheese- again, more fat) and for dessert maybe a chocolate gatou (cake) or profiteroles. The diner would be consuming: Cream and butter in the soup, majority is made with heavy cream, hanger steak rubbed with butter/oil and served with a cream sauce or butter sauce, and then lets take a gatou which is melted chocolate- with butter, or profiteroles which is flour, sugar, and - of course butter. They would be consuming roughly 3-4 ounces of butter and 1.5-2 cups of cream and/or dairy fat. This is unsustainable for one meal, let alone 2 or maybe 3 a week. I'm not saying we can't or shouldn't eat butter, because we can and should, but not in every dish.
I can appreciate what you are saying John, but you may be taking it a bit far to suggest that most people make that kind of dining choice 2 or 3 times a week. You've picked examples of 1980's french "inspired" cuisine that is not the norm these days as you should know if you are a chef in DC (as am I). My post was meant to be more of a suggestion that fad diets and over zealous doctors have crucified things like butter, salt and carbohydrates to the point that removing them from your diet becomes more harmful that their consumption (notice I mentioned moderation in my original post). Certainly the salt or the butter used to mount the sauce of your grilled fish or the vinaigrette made with some locally grown fruits and *gasp* oil should be embraced rather than treated like the one way ticket to an early grave. No?
... interesting.... I was not raised in the U.S or France where butter is worshipped so heavily. One of the things I have noticed is how prominent it is in the American diet. I do not cook with butter at all, unless it is required in a special recipe. Everyday cooking, olive oil..... just like the Italians ... I put it in everything. I just like the clean favor. I also like to cook a lot of Indian and Asian cuisine because of the flavors. Having eaten in many parts of the world I honestly think the average American consumes too much fat and salt. A good quality steak doesn't need butter IMHO
I agree with Patricia. I'm Italian and I've studied both Italian and Asian cuisine. Since I cannot touch dairy, I find the American and French overuse of this particular fat utterly banal. There are plenty of other fats which are considerably better for the body. I also suspect there's little coincidence in longer lifespans of Mediterranean and Asian peoples corresponding with less use of dairy fat – and dairy in general.
If you cannot be more inventive than applying butter to everything as your "go-to" fat, I humbly suggest you find another line of work, as you will simply never be better than below-average.
I agree with the Geek. Toasted sesame oil has a lot of flavor and I am finding a lot of infused oils on the market that are delicious... truffle oil is nice too.
Yes, as a chef I did realize that I used classic dishes, it was the easiest way to point out common mistakes in a food culture, I wasn't writing a menu. However, most restaurants, aside from the good ones still use menu items like these on their menus... Sad but true (IE Clyde's or The Old Ebbitt, where a majority of American's dine out). I wasn't suggesting that the majority of Americans dine out 2-3 times a week, however if chefs are suggesting to make home cooks make their food taste like ours, they would be consuming more and more butter and fat, we should be educating them on how to make nutrient rich food taste good (IE fiber, grains, etc) and making fish more appealing (especially to younger diners who have and aversion). Consider magazines like "Southern Living" where recipes are fat laden. I noticed the "all things in moderation" but you should also be instructing eaters to use it in wise places, IE a touch of cream in a broccoli or squash soup is nice because broccoli and squash aren't inherently fatty, so they need the fat, but maybe not mounting it with butter to finish. This shouldn't be about lectures or being the food police, but this should be about chefs using their abilities to instruct how to make things better. Cooking in the larger cities (where people mostly are more food savvy about fish or celery root (for example)) shouldn't mean that we forget the majority people who don't know how to prepare fish (or make it more delectable) or cook vegetables like spaghetti squash or grains like quinoa. Thanks for your comments!
....and the world if flat. You can cook good with Zero fat, Zero added salt, Amy's canned food aside. Maybe not at a pay for food place, but it is how you cook, quality, and good spices as well as temp's. You are right, the schools teach you as if the world was flat and, that's the way its always been so lets continue and if you say the earth isn't the center of the universe we will condemn you and lock you away. You can make any food fast, profitable, and taste somewhat good with more fat and salt, but when you are through eating, you sure feel like your going to bust an artery.
Get with it and your correct, you are jerks.
Give us a recipe for a great chicken soup, something very basic and well-known, that doesn't use salt and extra fat.
That would be mine Cole. No fat and no salt just lots and lots of root vegetables which make a great broth. I cook it the day before so the flavors can go through it, and I skim the fat off the top so we have a nice clean broth.
OK.....dumb question here....but if the chef's aren't in the kitchen....where the h@ll are they!?? You mean to tell me they get the big bucks, all the recognition, but aren't required to actually show up for work???
For the big time TV guys, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Mario etc it's hard to be at more than one restaurant at a time, and if you have multiple TV shows too(Fieri must have 8 right now) how do you find time to cook?
I imagine that most of the 'Celebrity Chefs' do make it into the kitchen now and then, but mostly they are promoting themselves and their restaurants and leaving the cooking to others. This is not a big deal to me. Bobby Flay isn't necessarily better at cooking than a sous chef at one of his restaurants. What he is better at is the magic and science behind creating the dish, which he then teaches to his staff.
I am a bit confused:
Point number 2 states that "They aren’t in the kitchen".
And then, the last point states ".... Rest assured, the more gregarious and charming they are to you, dear diner, the more draconian and out of control they are to that poor fry cook."
So, are they finally in the kitchen or not?
After a week in seclusion and following this Blog I would like to make a suggestion. I in no way am a Food writer, a critic or a Chef,yet I notice a trend here toward only The Named Few on the Major Food Channels. You and Sarah have been doing this for a long time-Yet I am certain that Sou Chefs from all these Named Restaurants have a special dish they want to reveal,yet no one has ever asked. Bon Appetit went under yet had numerous Chefs working for them,Why not call some of them for input? I am sure CNN has a phone Budget for New and Exciting things that have Not been discovered yet. You have Top Chefs appearing on CNN,ask them to tell you about new up and coming chefs from their area and do phone interviews. It saves on the Travel Budget. Stale is a word I don't wish to use! So go ahead and put me back in Time-Out.
And that is why we cook and eat at home. Number 1 (fat) and 3 (salt) are not always true, and almost never in our home. To taste, to taste t,o taste - I'm happy we are in the minority then, if true for others.
I have to agree with salt to taste but I do put some in the food while it's cooking. You might want to try Hawaiian salts or other quality salts; the flavor is cleaner and not as strong but still does the job of enhancing flavors while cooking.
Thanks Patricia. i'll check into these other salts; I wasn't aware... other than sea salt.
you think salting only the end product tastes "good".
Every single "layer" of the meal should be seasoned; salted, peppered, other herbs.
Josh, your grouping of migrant workers with "would-be criminals and mindless idiots" is irresponsible and sheer idiocy in itself. Keep your untutored observations to yourself and your focus in the kitchen where it belongs and allow "real thinking" to occur in the minds of the educated and enlightened.
He seems like he might be one of those people who make themselves feel better/more important by putting others down. Pathetic isn't it?
I was just going to say this, Yo. Grouping migrant workers with criminals and idiots only makes Grinker look like an idiot himself.
You are missing the meaning of the statement entirely. The gentleman is not equating that immigrants, mindless idiots, & alcoholics are the same. He is stating that these are three demographics very commonly found in most kitchens. Each of these groups have fewer economic opportunites & rightly or wrongly, after thirty years in the restaurant biz, I can assure you that the statement would surprise utterly no one who has spent any time in the biz.
My step dad is a head chef at a really fancy steakhouse. Nicest guy you'll ever meet. However, once he steps foot into that kitchen, he's like a drill sargeant. He has to be. The dinner service could get so hectic that even the simplest tasks can and will get screwed up.
Oh, and I discovered the butter/salt thing on my own one day out of curiosity. It'll turn any lump of meat into a devine, heavenly pleasure.
So sad to see yet another 5@5 article fail so miserably.
The "fat is flavor" remark is all wrong. Some fats contain flavor (butter, olive oil, lard), but overall, today's processed fats are there for fatty-mouth feel. It's biochemically pleasing to our palette and nervous system to feel the fat coat our mouth. Good flavor comes from the balancing of foods, herbs, and spices. Try any ethnic-driven food and you will see; American cooks just didn't get the memo. I could rant about hundreds of different herbs, spices, and roots that yield endless amounts of flavor, but I am going to trust that you can 'google' that for yourself.
People often confuse flavor, sense, and mouthfeel. Flavor is the culmination of our olfactory senses, tastebuds, and mouthfeel. Plug your nose and take a sip of beer. You won't taste much more than bitter. Why? Because our tastebuds can only taste 4 (arguably 5) things- sweet, salty, sour, and bitter (and umami). Now, unplug your nose and take a sip. Voila! There's the 'flavor' you have come to love. The ability to smell as we 'taste' is what yields flavor.
The assumption that chefs no longer actually cook is also wrong. In fact, it's a stupid assumption. Fantastic food comes from a skilled technician working with foods, tasting, and creating. All of that happens in the kitchen. Simply because the executive chef isn't behind the line every night doesn't mean they are not the ones helping to prep, design, and train the kitchen staff. When it comes down to dinner rush, the chef turns into an expeditor. His purpose and focus is on ensuring organization, timeliness, and quality of food. You should be happy to see a chef expediting, it's a good sign when someone is in control.
Salt is an amplifier. If you follow what I mentioned above, about using true flavor, then you won't need much salt. Salt is overused when we turn to fat for all of our flavor. The example of the steak is a really sad display of this chefs knowledge of food. Flavor in red meat comes from what the animal ate, its age, the process of aging (drying), and maillard browning (that great flavor that comes from a good sear, not a burn). The flavor of steak should not come from salt. A slight pinch of high quality sea salt can amplify a high quality steak, but a dousing of kosher salt is not what nature intended. Don't bastardize the poor animal that has already suffered enough for you.
Your food cooked by a minions? Hardly. A good kitchen is staffed with people who care about their food. Often times, kitchens are staffed with one or two trained chefs and a group of apprentices or understudies. Any place that requires more than the "cut here, pour in bowl, microwave" approach requires more than a mindless idiot.
Dishwashers are a different story, but don't forget how hard they work, too. Ever take a mental tally of all of the utensils, china, and glassware you go through in a single evening out, multiplied by the number of seats, then multiplied by the number of turns the restaurant does? Being the lowly dishwasher becomes quite a job, a job the average proud American is unwilling to take.
Lastly, not all chefs are jerks. Unhappy, uninspired, burnt out chefs are jerks, but put those three adjectives to any person and they, too, will be a jerk. Quacks who attempt to slide-by as a half-worthy chefs quickly discover that being a chef is more than just long hours, it takes a dedication, drive, and focus that not all people are capable of.
Is anyone editing these 5@5 articles? Every single one I have read is poorly constructed, elementary in thought, and borderline insulting. This isn't a high school newspaper, get your act together.
Wow! This is the first 5@5 article I've read, but NoFarmsNoFood, you should be writing an article. I got a lot more information out of your reply than I did from the original article. Hmm...
It's also mostly propaganda.
You can use all the herbs you want, but what do you think will keep the food moist and distribute that flavor? The fat. (This is also why you see so many flavored oils) And, just about ALL fats used by chefs are there for flavor. The only times where they'll veer is in frying/baking when they want to feature a component without adding the flavor of the oil. As for steak, butter is just about mandatory since you need it to baste it during the cooking.
Did the Chef say chefs aren't involved? No, he said that the chef isn't in the kitchen. It's like any other business. The lead has certain duties, and that rarely means doing the basics. A good kitchen, like other enterprises, runs like a well-oiled machine.
How do you go from saying that salt is an amplifier to saying that the flavor should not come from the salt? Those are contradictory remarks. And, no, the flavor from steak doesn't come from the char or other processing – Those are all the underlying notes/flavors. The primary flavor of steak comes from (Remember #1?) the fat. That's why tender, but low-fat cuts of meat, like the filet mignon, has so little flavor and is often cooked with bacon or other fats. And, for the same reason, rib-eye steak is awesome (high fat content).
If you use lines like "fail so miserably," which was born from high school newspapers and grown with Internet anonymity, you're not in a position to criticize the works of other journalists. It's like someone from FoxNews attacking CNN for being biased.
And... All food comes from a farm.
All good points. I, too, learned more from your comment than from this "article". All of your examples, however, were indicative of (in your own words) a "good kitchen" with "skilled technicians" preparing the food. I believe the point of the article is that, sadly, most restaurants in major American cities do not meet either of those criteria. Unfortunately, the author did make the careless (and clearly unedited) mistake of over-generalizing from his experiences, with complete disregard to the fine establishments to which you refer, which definitely do exist.
I openly recognize that the average restaurant is not practicing what I wrote about. On that note, it is the responsibility of the consumer (us!) to go to the restaurants that meet our standards. Not only our standards for cleanliness and cost, but also for how they treat their employees, their relationship to the local economy (purchasing locally as much as possible), and how they treat the food.
I'll admit that there are limited restaurants I am willing to go to, but I always tell the owner, the chef, and the service staff how much I appreciate their commitment. Mom & Pop restaurants stay open because they receive consistent business from a local consumer base, so you (yes you!) have the power to change your local food scene. I'm not advocating for a picket line in front of the junky establishments, just a silent boycott.
As consumers, we need to remember that in our hands we hold a great deal of power. We create and fuel the demand, and it only makes sense that we have the power to change what we have available to us.
I have to agree that this was much more informative than the article itself.
I prefer to rely on herbs and spices as well, especially Indian spices which I have to get overseas.
I also prefer olive oil to butter because, frankly, it tastes better and nothing is more gross than fatty mouth.
Salt is another thing I agree on! I live in Hawaii so I use the different rock salts from the islands, you only need a little bit and the salt flavor is there but not too strong, better quality. I love Hawaiian salts.
cream and oil? consider yourself lucky- add bacon grease to the list. all of the bacon fat from morning bacon is used in soups and other recipes. half of the cooks spend their money on dope. pay is horrible, most restaurants, from sparks to applebees, in city payoff the inspectors, disguting kitchens, roaches, rats. Best job for a teenager is to cook in one of these kitchens- you will get an education and never look back. Greek restaurants are the dirtiest, they just don't get it.
Every TV chef has a container of salt they pinch between their fingers and use and usually a pepper grinder and both seem to go in everything. Personally, unless the cooking process needs it, I leave the salt out and add it as needed on the plate. Fats (butter) in everything? Yeah, but you can limit it and most things can still made to taste good. Right now, I have 12 oz of French fries being "oven fried." After cutting them and rinsing them twice in a bowl of water to get rid of a lot of starch, I strain them through a colander, dry them a little more with a paper towel, them place them in an oven-safe cooking dish and toss them with 2 tsp of cooking oil. A quick, light sprinkling of dry Italian seasoning or ground rosemary and basil plus a little Montreal Steak Seasoning, then 450F for 35 min and they're great. Much less oil than frying, but pretty good! Also you can make a great fondue (cheese) sauce that makes great mac & cheese, veggies & cheese or fish filets and cheese (bake at 450 for 15 min, add a layer of the thick sauce for 5-10 min). You start with 1 tbsp butter/margarine melted on low in a small pan then add 1 tbsp of flour, stir for a min to bake the raw taste out of the flour (this is called a "roux"). Slowly add, over med-low flame, with stirring 1 cup milk (regular to skim) (this is called "bechamel sauce"). When the milk just begins to thicken, add just 2-3 oz of shredded cheddar cheese and you've got a great cheesy fondue sauce that's a lot lighter than commercial stuff. Some add a hint of nutmeg to it. You can also add crabmeat to it when using it as a topping on fish, etc.
How many people you know in a restaurant are gonna wait for your "gourmet" 15 mintues FF? Reminds me of the business men that go with their wives to napa or sonoma or the RRV and come back thinking their a sommalier.
But can they spell?
Thats why theyre professional chefs and you arent. Salt and fat are not used just for flavor but also for the cooking process, they create a crust that is impossible to achieve without them.
I have absolutely seen and experienced the tantrums in fine dining kitchens by chefs. I have always presumed it was because they were under horrible, horrible stress. I have also seen the filth, and I do mean FILTH in the kitchen restroom (don't ask, you can imagine). I have also waitressed (yes, that's the appropriate term for where I worked) in a very, very small town diner. You do NOT want to see who is cooking your food, I promise. There are exceptions (exceptional people in the industry – if you find one, hang on to them like a good hairdresser. They will NOT allow you to eat toast that fell on the floor in the kitchen.) As for me, I'm out of the profession. You're welcome.
At the restaurant I used to work at, an Italian & Middle Eastern bar/restaurant, the head chef was known for throwing food at everyone. If you went back to check the status of a tables food, look out for a bread roll to be coming at your head, or a meatball. Basically whatever was accessible! lol Also, if he was pissed off at anyone for any reason, if you happened to be nearby, YOU were the one getting the brunt of his anger. At the end of the night, he'd come over to you, apologize all nice, then ask for a cigarette. lol It was entertaining to say the least!
A well-placed fist would probably clear that all up for any of his future employees. To quote my mother to her ex-husband who tried to be abusive, "I can't stop you the first time, but I can surely break you of the habit."
As for abusive spouses – they have to sleep sometime...
I like my steaks soaked in marinade (ie italian or raspberry dressing with spices) not butter. Yuck.
The info about the 'migrant worker minions' is completely true. Now, you think about that last delicious meal you ate out... that dude who cooked it deserves to be paid a whole lot more than what he/she makes (in some cases).
Then prepare to pay a whole lot more for your food.
Your dressing has oil in it, which is in the same category as butter – fat.
Marinades consist of fat (butter or oil it really doesn't matter) and acid...
If you've eaten out at all; I'll bet you've eaten quite a few steaks in your time that you absolutely adored and were "Marinated" in butter based marinades. Just in case you wanted to know.
I liked the addendum to the first line, adding cream and oil. I thought what he said was general knowledge. I also expected a drop about how vermin are more frequent than most customers know – Not the fault of the kitchen, which can be spotless, but things just get in with the deliveries.
As long as the food tastes great who cares who cooks it? Give up the pretensions, you'll be happier.
It's not that you are asked care who cooks your food, most American's already fully realize who actually cooks the food in the kitchen - the article speaks to the author's perception that the "average person on the street's" perception of the industry does not reflect the "actuality" of typical conditions in the kitchen - and the "reality" of the archtypes of people drawn into the service laborforce.
Sad.., but true. Every restaurant that I have worked in, has the problems that this article or story has stated. Most of the 'so-called' professional chefs that I have worked with, would actually be called 'cooks'.., (period). I have never met a chef that didn't smoke or drinks to much on and off the job or shift. Sad.., however, it is a stressful occupation. Lets say.., it comes with the territory. Mike in Montana
My husband is a professional chef, I'm a former restaurant manager. (Former because I really didn't want to work 70 hours a week for less than my bartenders were making.)
We might be the only restaurant couple I know who don't smoke, do no illegal drugs and aren't alcoholics. We're the prudes of our friends; all of the rest are at least smokers, many smoke something not so legal, others drink too much and some do drugs beyond the MJ...
Anyone here read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain? Nothing in this article is new.
Thank you. This guy is just ripping him off word for word. Ginker is about 10 years too late with this article.
I always order my food with no oil or butter- I knew they did that! That's why it tastes so good! I'm not surprised to hear about the salt either. I salt my greens when having a salad- it makes a huge difference in the taste. I cut back elsewhere.
As for the cheap labor- I won't be enjoyng my soup as much now after that comment- I hate exploitation!
Not all chefs are jerks. I went to Arian from Top Chef's restaurant in Montclair, NJ, and can say she not only came over to each table, but she surprised a customer with a birthday cake, leading the restaurant to sing Happy Birthday.
I went to one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurant and recieved impeccable food and service. I asked the waitress if he's a good guy in person. She said he definately is- he does the act for TV. He does have very high standards. It shows- that was a wonderful dining experience.
He also said that the chefs are very nice to the guests in the dining area. They are only jerks to their employees.
Anyone who's seen his shows that show him outside the kitchen (on the BBC/BBC America) knows Gordon's not a monster in real life. He seems to do what he has to do to get perfection in the kitchen, though. And who'd blame him...it's HIS name on the door, not the line cook's.
That's exactly the point of those shows. They (the producers) give him 3 decent chefs that have a chance at winning the comp... And the rest are there to be idiotic... Burn the food. Hand him raw fish... And generally make fools of themselves so he can scream at them... That's what makes it a TV show after all....
As a recovering alcoholic, that was kind of a cavalier and scumbag remark Grinker made. What puts him on a high horse when all he does is cook food, same as all the "alcoholics," "immigrants," and "dumb, blue-collar kids" and the rest of the food industry hires at a pittance of a wage? His restaurant certainly won't be getting my business.
Because Chef Grinker clearly has a passion for the profession. If you love your job you naturally want to work with others who share the same passion, not those that don't care much and just want a paycheck.
Another not so thinly veiled secret is that as a recovering alcoholic your business won't be missed. The food might get customers in the door but the alcohol sales drive the profits.
really in no profit in alcohol. it's good for the server to increase the bill total and thus the total amount of the tip, but not a lot of profit for the house. now soft drinks, that's another story.
Actually the booze is where all the money is made. The markup for food is small, once you add labor and overhead there is only about 3-10% profit. Now a bottle of wine... thats about 200% mark up and no labor. A Bottle of hard liqueur, thats 300-400% mark up for cocktails.
As a recovering alcoholic, I learned not to take myself so seriously.
COLE: Being passionate and being a complete jerkoff are too different things. The guy who wrote this is a rude, arrogant, turd that I hope loses business from writing this drivel.
This is hilarious. I'm so glad someone finally has the cajones to put this information out there. As a seasoned restaurant 'minion' myself, I have known these truths for quite some time. Its always funny to me when diners think that the chef gives a crap what their opinion on their dishes are. Granted I'm sure there are a handful of chefs that do indeed care for their clientele, employees, and those around them... but the vast majority, especially in corporate restaurants, are only counting the hours until their shift is over.... while doing as little work as possible, and sneaking as many beverages from the bar as they can cop. Another little known fact: the specials are prepared with not the freshest ingredients, but those that have been sitting and are about to go bad. They need to get them out the door and make money on them before they start tossing cash in the trash... think about that next time you order the beef wellington priced to sell...
Cajones mean big boxes, you mean COJONES
This information has been out there for YEARS. Read "Kitchen Confidential" by Bourdain. It will tell you everything you need to know about the restaurant biz. This guy is just regurgitating directly from Bourdain. Cheap hack.
I'd like to hit that.
You wouldn't know what to do with it!
I don't know about the rest of you, but I would just LOVE to throw some hot grits on Gordon Ramsey's b!tch@$$. He would have ONE time to talk to me like he does the people on that show and he'd either have a meat cleaver thrown at him or hot grits. With cheese. BE NICE PEOPLE! IT ISN"T THAT HARD!
White Madea said:
I don't know about the rest of you, but I would just LOVE to throw some hot grits on Gordon Ramsey's b!tch@$$. He would have ONE time to talk to me like he does the people on that show and he'd either have a meat cleaver thrown at him or hot grits. With cheese. BE NICE PEOPLE! IT ISN"T THAT HARD!
---
The reason that people put up with Ramsey's horrible behavior is because if you survive, if you thrive, you get something that money can't buy: an entry for your resume that you were a Sous Chef for a Michelin starred chef. If you want a shot at Executive Chef at a big time restaurant, you better have something like that on your CV. If you want to open a restaurant in a big time town, you better have that sort of background to attract the restaurant reviewers you need to build good press.
I agree that Ramsey is an a$$ and shouldn't treat people like he does, but the sad fact is that enduring the abuse has tangible benefits and that is why he gets away with it while the manager at the local Outback Steakhouse can't.
Well evidently you dont know or have kept up on the real Gordon Ramsey, he's not who he portrays for his show Hells Kitchen, that is all show, its for the show ppl. I've seen him on his show the F Word on BBC and hes fabulous, isn't yelling or screaming. He's a family man, has 4 kids and is really down to earth, has raised his own sheep and had his own garden, at his home, where he does not live high on the hog. He had an abusive father who abused his mother, so when she finally got out he viwed to make it and has not only supported her but contributes alot to the cause of abuse, so you are really all very naiave if you think that is really how he acts. Its all show, and I would take anything he said to get my foot in the door of one of his restaurants. I am not a chef, but have been in this business for many years.
a large portion of our society responds to a$$ho-ness for entertainment. stop finding that kinda behavior entertaining & 75% (if not more) of our reality based shows would be off the air.
I don't watch those kinds of reality shows and partly for that reason. The other reason is that I have no interest in watching some "celebrity" do anything and definitely not watching your average idiot acting like a HUGE idiot just for the cameras.
Basically. American television audiences eat that up, and Gordon wants to be a tv star in America so he sells what's selling. I think half of that show's appeal is people fantasizing about being that abusive to other people.
This is absolutetly correct. Every word is true and accurate.
No major suprises here, that's for sure. I could have told you the "butter secret" lol.
Paula Deen already told us everything's better with butter. You're right, it's no secret or surprise.
I love Paula's style but I stopped watching after I realized that she really just uses butter, mayo, cheese, cream cheese, and cream in everything... boring.... same with the girl that does the Italian show.... Italian cooking has more going for it than your standard tomatoes, garlic, basil, and mozarella.
I hate Paula Deen. Watching her make biscuits with those blood red claws while wearing her wedding jewlery just makes my skin crawl.
Cue all the people who have absolutely no idea how to cook saying you dont need salt or fat when cooking meat. Salt brings out the natural fats in meat and forms a crust, you cant get a proper crust without it, its science. If you get crust on your burger/steak without salt then its because you burnt the hell out of it, if you dont burn the hell out of it then you get a disgusting greasy grey slab.
Im glad that when I go to a restaurant theres usually a professionally trained chef telling people what to do, not these amateur home cooks who dont know what theyre doing.
I leave the steaks in olive oil, cracked black peppers, some chilli peppers, and fresh herbs from the garden. I make sure the grill is super high so the fat seals in the flavor of the steak. However, I find that olive oil doesn't interfere with the natural flavors of the steak whereas butter does....... individual preference I guess.
What exactly is a dumb, blue-collar kid? You apparently are a great example of one of those jerk chefs. And isn't it well known that restaurant food involves lots of butter, oil, cream, and salt? Salt makes everything taste better - brilliant!
They're the same dumb blue collar kids who think that because they started for their high school basketball (or football, or baseball..) team that they'll get drafted for the NBA and never have to do real work. Or the same dumb blue collar kids that think they can go strike it rich in Hollywood. They want the prestige but don't realize the work involved and are blind to the statistical improbability of their own success.
Or the "Dumb Blue Collar Kids" like myself are slaving away in a bullshit atmosphere to support their family. I've been doing this for a long time and a lot of these "idiots" are just trying to make an honest living.......So to quote some of my "retarted" co-workers, "F**k you, you arrogant C**K S**KERS"
I found this article no shock whatsoever. Of course seasoning food with salt and butter makes things tasty. This was know back when Betty Crocker cookbooks were first put out. However, I did find the remark about "dumb, blue collar kids" rather offensive. Especially the one comparing that stereotype to other stereotypical kids. My daughter lives for kitchen work. At 18 now, she dreams of working her way up the ladder to sous chef. She is well aware of the pay rate, and knows it is not a way to stardom, or riches, But the chance to make food for other people is reward enough. Not everyone going into a blue collar job is dumb or under illusions. Get off the elitist high horse.
So, they try to kill you with butter and salt, but want your business? Won't be for too long. Doesn't make sense.
Yes Marty, they're trying to kill you or at least keep you from eating all that tofu and steamed veggies you consume daily at home. Lighten up, Francis.
They make the food taste good, that is their job, if the food wasn't good, noone would eat there! You can eat butter and salt without falling down dead in an instant. You only live once, the occasional great meal is one of life's joys.
Marty, it makes perfect sense. All the holier-than-thou health nuts gripe about how much salt, sugar and fat is in restaurant food but the truth is very simple: If customers didn't want it like that, they wouldn't make it like that.
Would you pay for meal at a restaurant where they lectured you about what you should be eating because it was good for you? Get real and get off your high horse...
E: If it takes butter and salt to make their food taste "good", I surmise that it's utter freaking crap from the get-go. Salt will enhance flavor – to a degree. Butter does absolutely nothing but smooth over poor flavors and clog arteries. If you need a fat, look to various oils. They're far better for you, you need far less of them, and they'll enhance flavors, rather than masking/burying them.
where in my comment does it say i eat only butter and salt? Where do I say that they are the only flavors? If you do not like butter and salt, then don't eat it, but save the self righteous condescending lectures for people who ask for your opinion.
You know, the French (and most Europeans for that matter) eat more butter and salt each day than you can possibly imagine, and they do just fine health-wise. So lighten up. You are not as health enlightend as you might think!
Agreed Loki,
Butter and salt are at least natural parts of our diet (when not consumed constantly). Nut and seed oils however are an invention of the processed age and should be consumed far less often than they are, especially the super nasty heavily processed oils used for cooking (peanut, canola, etc.) Eat actual nuts, not nut oils. Eat actual fish (the smaller the better i.e. sardines, anchovies), don't take fish oil. Eat actual butter and actual salt.. you'll live longer and feel better than you would otherwise. We should eat what we are adapted to eat: Meats (all kinds), animal fats (from grass fed animals), nuts, some greens, and rarely seeds, tubers, and fruits. This is a diet based on our digestive system's design, notice: NO GRAINS or grain products.
Chefs are jerks.. That is why I cannot stand some of these reality shows featuring douchebags. Screaming at people and demeaning them. I don't care how "talented" you are. I had a boss in real life who tried that with me. When he realized that I was moments away from correcting the error in his ways, the change was remarkable. These guys need the same treatment. Knock them down a peg or 10. Don't reward them with shows!
You do realize that they use the same formula to pick chefs on those shows as they do to pick people from road rule and real world...right? You don't actually think they want the even headed mopes in there.
You sound violent. It's probably best that you get some evaluation.
Big time (sounds like someone may be coming down off their current meds...)
Well, you'd last about a microsecond in a kitchen. Profanity and verbal abuse is the norm in there. To be quite frank, I've heard far worse language from chefs than in my 27+ years in the military!
But then, I consider the language heard from the chow hall while they were cooking...
Again, same pressures. Limited time, hundreds (for the military it can be thousands) of meals. All to be made to a particular specification. If it isn't right, it's cold, it tastes or looks bad, profits go out the window (for military, it could cost a promotion or even GET a cook promoted, straight into the infantry).
So, as the saying goes, can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Because when *I* am in there, it sounds like General Patton climbed out of the grave.
Probably why I don't work as a chef any longer.
Are you crazy? Dont you realize that those reality shows are not really reality? Chef Ramsey has another show on BBC that in no way does he yell and carry on like he does on Hells Kitchen. I've been in the restaurant business for more than 40 yrs and while I do agree that chefs have large egos in no way do they always act like jerks, so your statment makes no sense to me at all, just sayin
What? your mom didn't yell at you while she was slaving away at the stove cooking your dinners? A chef is the same way, but they don't have to pretend to like you.
No, as a matter of fact, she never did! Neither did my dad, who cooks a lot more often.
CajunB: Some of us were raised in normal households.
I don't take meds. If someone is pushing my buttons in the manner that I've seen that Hell's Kitchen a-hole do, then a violent reaction is absolutely coming his way. If you don't f with the bull you won't get the horns. A little respect goes a long way. There is absolutely NO need to disrespect anyone to the degree that guy does. Telling me he does it because it's tv makes it even worse.
There are consequences for pushing the wrong person. If you don't want those consequences don't push. Play nicely together and no one will get upset.
Rufking; I got your point. I don't know why people attack so much on this forum. I'm also really sick of people telling other people to "get your mental heal evaluated" or "guess he stopped taking his meds." This is really sad. Stop saying that to each other. Have your little banter back and forth but stop making cruel jokes about people who you don't even know or agree with.
There are consequences for skipping your meds.
Btw. I guess I should have started out with "Chefs are jerks.." to make it clear that I was responding to a particular aspect of that story and not making a statement of my own. So if you didn't get that let me state it more succinctly. I do not think chefs are jerks. I do think some jerks are chefs though. The rest of my commentary stands for what it is.
I had a boss once, the restaurant owner (not a chef – though he thought he was), who berated ALL his staff in front of his customers. Once, when he was yelling at a waitress, a customer told him to shut up and decked him. Karma! (I hope the guy who doesn't like "wait for it" likes that word.)
Great piece! However – I have been to Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger a number of times and – wait for it – saw him there! Not just once and fresh off a plane but more than once and LOOKING AT THE FOOD EXITING THE KITCHEN!!
Go Ming!
I had a imilar experience at Blue Ginger. I stopped in during the dinner hour to pick up a gift certificate. His family was eating dinner there and his young child (a son, I think?) was walking around the restaurant. Ming came out and looked into my car seat to smile at my 3 month old. I think he's great, all around!
Can we please expunge that phrase from the English language?
"wait for it"
If you stop in the middle of a joke and say "here it comes, this is the punchline. Ya ready? Huh Huh? Ready? Okay here it comes..... WAIT FOR IT..."
So annoying that you really don't want to wait for it at all.
Please just stop this.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Uptight, much?
Wait for it....Here's my response...wait for it.
LOL too funny. We all have our pet peeves..when people use "like" as a filler and end their sentences as if they are asking a question.
The other day? I went out shopping? and like I bought this .. like... fantastic dress? *grrrr*.
Brilliant, Patricia!
Except you forgot to begin the very first sentence with...
wait for it...
"Like."
hahaha! This is much more fun than discussing politics
Hey, leave me alone! Stop picking on me! I don't like you guys! Please, just leave me alone!
You must be a chef haha!
vaf29's "much" thing can go too.
Patricia is right about this being more fun than discussing politics. Not nearly enough salt or butter on politics!
Only as long as the term "pop" can be sent packing along with it. Not only is it a sillyword for soda, but it's now an overused term for describing ones makeup or food etc. When someone says "it really makes things pop", I want to punch them in the face.
Confirmation on things any observant diner already suspects...
Please read "Kitchen Confidential" by Bourdain...........You'll see that this article is truth!
Kinda like your Drivers License?
exactly. i can tell which restaurants use salt and butter because i hate both. i've learned to avoid these particular restaurants.
Wow, you must really like bland food! I could eat just butter & salt!
I second that CajunB.....ICK! How can you AVOID salt and butter?!?!?!!! That leaves you with no purpose to live.
That is HILARIOUS. You actually say you learn to avoid those restaurants as if it is a simple list you keep in mind. HA! It is ALL restaurants except for a very few, and aside from a Raw place or two, I doubt you have any idea.
sounds like he cooks at cheesecake factory.
smiles that is hard to believe salt is in practically everything and is necessary to stay alive ..
birdy: live long and enjoy your bland food!
What about bacon, CajunB?
I agree! I typically avoid butter & salt. After 35 yrs. of eating it, I realized that I was simply not tasting the food. It's simply not a cure all for improving the taste. Good cooking knows when to use it and when good ingredients bring out the taste of the food.
For example, I rarely eat steak out because they cook it just like this chef described. A well trimmed steak will have fat in it to give the salty like taste & adequate juices without having to slather it in butter or crust it in salt. Grilling it medium rare will preserve those juices & the taste instead of burning them off. If it's tough, you need to buy a better cut of meat or use the mechanical tenderizer on it (that little hammer w/the teeth on it).
If you cut out salt and fat, your palate with adjust over a month or so. I have a hard time eating at restaurants due to the salt content.
My husband needs a kidney transplant and salt consumption plays a direct role in keeping him off dialysis.
I am the same way, I'm not a fan of butter or salt. And I think it is funny that everyone is shocked and talks about enjoying your "bland food." But to me, cooking without butter and using minimal salt ISN'T bland! I actually feel lucky that I don't have to do a lot to my food to thorougly enjoy it.
"Dumb blue collar kids"? Elitist much?
You've apparently never worked in a kitchen. Since when is it elitist to speak the truth?
I worked at a popular restaurant, and I was shocked that the cooks were immigrants getting paid about 13 dollars in hour to cook the food. I made way more money as a waiter.
I find it pretty sad that these people are working there butts off sweating over a hot stove, while the owners party it up on their yacht. It's modern day slavery.
It's not slavery. They voluntarily do these jobs.
yeah the yacht is a 99 Chevy Lumina...
And other than what you were forced to tip out, how much of that money did you willingly give to those poor "slaves?"
Volunteered slavery is something we all know.
$13 an hour is more than some get (minimum wage is ~$7-8). Due to commission, other jobs get below minimum wage (retail sails anyone?).
13 dollars/hr...must be a ritzy place, granted that's more than I make.
$13 an hour? I'm a white male and a US citizen working at a desk job (which I was fortunate to get after being laid off due to the recession), and that's more than I make. Modern day slavery? Where do I sign up?
Slavery isn't voluntary. Get off your high horse. Just because you can't live on $13/hr doesn't mean other people aren't more savvy with their money.
Whoever wrote this article is a complete tool. Lumping mirgant workers in with criminals and mindless idiots? Insulting much?
Yachts? Your statement is easily the most ignorant piece of drool I've read in a month. No more phone calls folks, we have a winner!
I enjoyed the article, but wish he hadn't written "migrant workers, would-be criminals and mindless idiots" all in the same phrase. The invisible migrant worker works hard to put food on my table, and grouping the migrant worker with mindless idiots is, well, mindless. Same goes for his phrase: "dumb blue collar kids." I know I'm being sensitive, but it's these little "turns-of-phrase" from supposedly the most intelligent, worldly and "culturally-cool" that create our culture and reinforce stereotypical, and at times racist, thinking. Sound like someone just poured salt on my open wound?!