The Chef Expose
Steak from the Heart?
Our first story comes from a local chef who takes up the story.
I briefly worked for a national up-market pub restaurant chain.
The particular outlet in question is located in the Warwickshire countryside and plays host to lots of middle class clientele and a few celebrities. Every shift was busy so therefore tempers were easily fired-up by complaints.
This one particular evening had been extremely busy with over 300 meals served.
At 10pm prompt the kitchen equipment was turned-off ready for cleaning. The last meal to go out was a medium cooked sirloin steak. It left the kitchen at approximately 9.50pm.
At 10.05pm the sheepish waitress brought it back saying the customer had complained because the streak was pink in the middle. Several chefs huddled around the steak and examined it. It seemed perfect. The assistant manager told the head chef that it needed to be cooked a little more.
That’s when tempers began to flair.
The grills had to be relit and many expletives accompanied the lighting. Fifteen minutes later the steak with new vegetables was sent back to the table.
Five minutes later the steak was brought back, this time by the manager.
Even he was a little sheepish but asked that a new steak be prepared.
A minute later he left.
I relit the grills and the head chef took a new piece of steak from the fridge and put it in the microwave and blasted it for two minutes.
Removing the steak from the oven he next plunged it into a deep fat fryer which had remained quite hot.
Then and to my complete horror he took the steak wiped it with kitchen roll and drop kicked it across the kitchen where a kitchen porter then kicked it to another chef.
This was the first time I’d seen football using a sirloin steak.
While all this was going I prepared some fresh vegetables.
The last indignity of the steak was to be placed on to the grills. The head chef wanted the steak to have its familiar grill marks and whilst these were forming he gently scrapped off bits of kitchen floor debris, took his tongs and turned the steak over and then spat on it.
One by one the other chefs lined-up and spat on it too. Even the waitress who was serving the customer spat on it.
Finally the steak was arranged on the plate with all the accompaniments and sent to the table. We continued to clean the kitchen, joking about the antics that had gone before. The best was yet to come.
The waitress walked into the kitchen with a pint of lager and handed to the head chef.
‘What’s this?’ he asked and she told him that his uncle had sent it.
At this point he took off his apron and started towards the restaurant door to see his relative.
The waitress stopped and then explained that it was his uncle who had sent the steak back and further that the new steak was one of the best he’d tasted.
That story is absolutely true.
More next time
From: Chef X
Are you a chef or do you work in a kitchen?
If so, we know you have some wonderful tales to tell.
Share them with us and potentially millions of others.
Obviously names and places should be changed to reduce the chance of legal repercussions but go on expose that chef.
Please send any stories to The Foody UK and Ireland
Email: The Foody UK and Ireland
© Copyright The Delineator 2000-2003. All rights reserved