# Biggest insult to a chef/cook



## chefteldanielle (Dec 2, 2000)

what is the biggest insult to a chef as far as his/her cooking is concerned?

Just trying to prove a point here.
Thanks
Danielle


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

um. The only time I get a little perturbed is when someone asks me a question about my profession to win a bet:lol: :smoking:


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Danielle,

Haven't seen you in a couple years, welcome back.
CC


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I'll add my "welcome back" too!! Good to see you again, Danielle.

I'm not a chef (and I don't play one on TV either). I've been a lunch cook in a small diner though, and my brother is a chef/owner of a restaurant. I hate to say it, but I've seen a chef, as a diner in a restaurant, get another chef out of the kitchen and complain about the food in front of other guests. That has _got _to burn.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Hey Danielle,
Not quite sure where this is going, but the only thing I can think of off hand that would get my goat is if someone critiqued a dish I made and tried to tell me how "it should be done".
Screw you, next time do it yourself, and don't ask me to make it for you. There see, just typing it raises my hackles! :beer:


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

Although easier said than done, I think it's extremely important not to intertwine our egos with our food. We must always remember that individual tastes vary greatly for a multitude of reasons and anyone's dislike of our cooking and/or techniques` could have nothing to do with us.

_That said_

I find it very annoying when other chefs have a different way of approaching a task, not a better way, just a different way, and they act like THEIR method is the only right way. I detest such egocentricity.

Mark


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

seasoning before tasting.


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## laprise (Jan 4, 2006)

What really thick me off, is when I meet another chef at a social event and some how once they found out that I am a chef too, they look down on me, because I don't work the line anymore or I work for myself or god knowns what else...

I really hate this, spinach is always green, no matter how great the chef is or where he works... a chef is a chef... when I meet another chef, I act just the same way as I act with any other person... I have always wondered if two carpentors would do this...


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## castironchef (Oct 10, 2005)

What ticks me off the most, foodwise, is when a guest turns their nose up at my food and won't even try it.


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

Not all doctors work in hospitals.
Not all teachers work in classrooms.
Not all lawyers work in courtrooms.
Not all sailors work on a ship.

etc. etc. etc.

Mark


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Well I'm thick skinned. But the biggest insult is when people assume that I'm a chef and my wife doesn't, or cannot cook.


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## mikeb (Jun 29, 2004)

2 biggest "insults"

- When someone won't even try an item/whole dish, claiming they don't like it (my family does this - "I don't like sardines..." "Have you ever even had a fresh sardine?" I would ask. "Uhhh, no, I just don't like them.")

- When people pour on the salt without even tasting the item (sure people have different tastes, but at the same time we do season quite aggressively) If people took a bite, then decided they wanted more salt, that's cool. But without tasting it...


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

_That said_

I find it very annoying when other chefs have a different way of approaching a task, not a better way, just a different way, and they act like THEIR method is the only right way. I detest such egocentricity.

Mark[/QUOTE]
Mark,
This is something you probably need to put in your back pocket right away.
It's law, when in my kitchen, do as I do or how I want it. This should never bother you for when you have your own kitchen you will perfer that your staff do things your way.
pan
one of the reasons I stay in production is because Ican't take it when a customer is picking up an order(even though they may shop 4 times a weak) and they ask 'is this fresh?"


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## deltadoc (Aug 15, 2004)

Does this mean that someone can really be a chef but doesn't work in a professional kitchen/restaurant, etc.?

doc


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

paniniMark said:


> Panini:
> 
> Allow me to add a huge caveat to what I said. If it's my boss, then that's an entirely different situation. Every executive/head/sous chef has the right to have things done like they want them. I have never argued about technique with any of my superiors. I am being paid to do it THEIR way.
> 
> ...


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Well MarkV,
I'm not sure where you are in your career but if you're a chef and blatant narcissist is the label, your world is, or going to be, full of them. I'm sometimes guilty. Maybe blatant self assurance is more appropriate when it comes to passion. i don't know pan

doc, sure!


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

Please humor me and allow me to give you an example.

When asked by my head chef to come up with the amuse bouche one evening I prepared a tomato & zuchini gratin. He criticized my recipe on numerous counts, the details of which I don't remember now. Despite his condemnation he told me to go ahead and use them. Midway through the dinner rush the head waiter stated that the customers were loving the hors d'oeuvres. My head chef beamed and thanked him and never gave me credit or a pat on the back of any kind. 

So my work is crap until it's a hit and then he takes all the credit.

Now I ask you, is that not irritating?

But I never said a word and still followed all his orders.

Mark


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## higjse (Feb 8, 2006)

I get a little peeved when one of the busboys or dumbass seasonal servers tells me to "be careful with that knife"

or when I hear "ewww I hate fish" or "specials? I have to remember specials? I hate specials!!"


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## fairfieldchef (Dec 19, 2005)

The number one insult for me: "Did you really make that?" 

Number two: "Is this fresh!"

I only wish one day I could reply to both without fear of losing my job!


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## sushigaijin (Apr 12, 2005)

when i was in retail fish, i used to get the "is that fresh?" question a half dozen times a day. My response was always, "no, thats from two weeks ago, but we have a lot of it and i need to get rid of it before it smells any worse." after delivering THAT deadpan, looking them square in the eye, they would figure out that, yes, it was indeed fresh. sometimes a bit of humor diffuses that situation, and that particular guest will NEVER ask that question again.

Erik.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Have you ever had managers who think they know more about cooking than you? THAT, is annoying.

Ah wait, now I know the reason behind our screwed up measuring system, so people can't bring in a recipe and scale it up for us!


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## gus20 (Jul 26, 2002)

I'm not a chef, just a cook helper probably.

But my family are who make me feel worst. I cooked a cebiche in a different way asked by my parents. It didnt taste bad, just a little diffrent.

So my brother said in front of the guests and family: I dont like it,,,,,,and he repeated 3 times,,,,, and after that he said: I prefer the cebiche that people sell over the road in the corner. That really made me very very angry, I couldnt be more patient and i told him: if u dont like it u dont have to eat it, but be polite during the lunch. 

regards

Gus


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## andrew563 (Oct 12, 2005)

This never fails to irritate me everytime. I will have a guest ask me if a dish is good. I always feel like responding wiht a "no , it is utter cr__. That is why I made it"


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Getting a little off-topic with this, but . . . If by "professional kitchen" you mean one that puts out food for people to eat directly (either on premises or to take out to eat elsewhere, as is or doing some cooking themselves) -- that covers a lot of territory (institutions, manufacturers, caterers, prepared foods for stores, among others) -- even so I have to say yes. Someone new here just asked about research chefs/culinologists. They need the food knowledge that chefs in a "professional kitchen" need, and other skills and knowledge as well. I would even consider people who develop recipes for publications to be chefs.

But to get back on topic: the worst offenses in my book have already been mentioned:
Salting without first tasting
Telling how it "should be done" differently
Refusing to taste something because you "don't like it" even though you've never had it.


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## castironchef (Oct 10, 2005)

LOL!!

You just described my frustrations each time I cook for my in-laws. Grrrrrr!


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## aprilb (Feb 4, 2006)

Culinary art and food is my passion. 

When I was working for the Resort near Yellowstone, I would get glowing compliments from everyone in the kitchen about my pastries and bakery items. A lot of my items wouldn't make it to the floor for dinner because of the Line Cooks and the wait staff was constantly bugging me to do taste tests. 

The F&B manager, who I had replaced because they "promoted" her, was rarely around during my work week BUT on the days she was somehow she FORGOT that I had been single-handedly running the bakery, including making up to 7 pans of homemade bread every day, and seemed to think I didn't have a clue and needed to micro-manage me. I got complaints about "working too much", like if I didn't clock out EXACTLY at my pre-determined end of work day hour! 

For instance, she determined that we needed another p/t bakery 'help' for two days a week. I was just fine without her. Personally, the p/t help was nice BUT she couldn't follow a recipe to save her life and I kept getting the heat from this same F&B "manager" for her screw-ups. I spent MORE hours fixing her mistakes and I got heat when I was trying to FIX them. Like a pan of over-proofed hard rolls for a function that pretty much deflated when you touched them. She complained to ME about waste when I re-proofed another pan to replace them! I got fed up and just stopped trying to fix her problems and bad products went out to the floor. THEN she had the nerve to tell me that the p/t worker and I were no different. Oh, THERE'S good management skills right there! 

At that point she had hired someone to do the cakes and function pastries during the really slow winter season that had "Restaurant Management" experience. I had been hired on for the wedding cakes and catering. This was after using all of my ideas for functions during the summer when I was the ONLY BAKER THERE most of the time. 

I will not be used. That's when I quit.

AAAARGH!
We need an icon with a mallet beating something up!


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## jolly roger (Jan 27, 2006)

I read through the availble responses and I concure with them all. However, I don't believe anyone mentioned the following: 
1. Customers coming in five minutes before closing the f' ing kitchen.
2. A server "instructing" me in the "culinary" preferences of his/her customer. We have a menu...order from it!
3. When a chef from another restaurant walks in and sits at my bar ordering drinks still wearing his f'ing chef coat. Ever heard of street clothes? Or are you too fat for them anymore?
4. People in the buisness that still have no problem undertipping my staff. 
5. Chefs that don't recognize their cooks. You got cook that can spin pies better than you? That can basically cook you under the table? B*tches recognize!


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## aurora (Jan 25, 2006)

I resent chefs and cooks who salt everything heavily in the cooking process claiming that it must be salted to taste good. There are plenty of other flavors and ways to make a dish taste good without resorting to salt before even trying the dish. Salt can always be added, it cannot be taken out of a dish.


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## sushigaijin (Apr 12, 2005)

i think we have diverged from insults to pet peeves. certainly there are a million things that cooks dont like, but how many of them are insults? the worst insult is being called a shoemaker by another cook, be it accidental or straight to your face. i can think of nothing else that is worse.

E


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## cakerookie (Sep 10, 2005)

I often make cakes and things for family and friends at work and I agree with some of the statements about "did you make this!" I want to tell them so bad, no my cat made it!


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Aurora,
When you get a chef or cook that salts heavily, I would venture to bet that 90% of the time, he or she smokes cigarettes. Not trying to put this thread in another direction. So smokers, relax. You're in my 10% 
SushiGaijin,
You're right. We've diverged. I once had a customer come in and ask for 6 canoli shells. I politely told her we were not set up to do that, she barkes back, YOU CALL YOURSELF A CHEF!
Has Chefteldanielle ever returned to give us the point, or were we victims of some PIDGEONING??????


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

how about someone editing you......going offsite and having your sous decide the equipment you laid out is not necessary or the guy supplying your equipment (for induction burners, so you GOTTA have magnetic pans NO others will work) shows up short and he looks at you and asks if you really needed all you ordered......or a head honcho's wife walking off with equipment, because she screwed up was in the weeds and gee didn't realize that planning a professional event offsite means you BRING everything with you and plan timing.........geeeee thanks I needed to vent.

How about a Thomas Keller isc chef coming into town asking for 2 cooks and 3 waitstaff to work a 45 guest dinner and the contact hookin him up with people that have never cooked professionally in their lives ever......!!!!!!


Editing. gotta be number one in my book.


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## jolly roger (Jan 27, 2006)

At the last restaurant I worked at, I was fired by the executive chef. I was one of the sous chefs. We had a wood fired oven and I was most proficient at that station. The cook that worked that station for lunch was horrible and I tried to correct him. When that no longer was effective, I went to my chef and he did nothing (I think it was the yellow streak going down his back), so one day I came in and his station was a wreck and I confronted him and he got defensive, so I told him he was fired for insubordination. The executive chef then fired me and said: "you're more trouble than you're worth." THAT...was the biggest insult I ever received from one of my own. Incedently, the executive chef was fired one week later for being drunk at work.


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## siserilla (May 14, 2005)

I don't see anything wrong with this. There have been a few times where on the way home we all went to a bar to get some drinks/food. I don't know what type of restaurant you work in, but I've never gone to an upscale place just went to a sports bar.


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Hey..y..y..y

Some really good tips here!

I've written down a half-dozen or so. Next time I go out to eat, I'll pick one from the list and try it!

Mike :bounce:


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

MikeLM
be careful, there are CTers everywhere They say they don't do the things in the kitchen with customers dishes but I'm not sure


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## jolly roger (Jan 27, 2006)

Siserilla,
Yeah, a sports bar may be one thing, but a place where the check average is sixty bucks is another. I think it's disrespectful to the chef of the establishment to show up in your uniform and drink. It's kind of like thumbing your nose at the place.


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Siserilla -- the other thing is that whites are the equivalent of surgeon's scrub: they are NOT meant to be worn as street clothes, but only in the environment of the kitchen. Someone wearing whites outside of the kitchen is dishonoring the uniform, by exposing it to the dirt of the street AND by showing the world the dirt of the kitchen. You go to work in street clothes; you change into whites for work; you change back into street clothes to go home. Period.


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## expatc (Feb 16, 2006)

One thing that has really pi$$ed me right off in the past was a review of a place that I took over, revamped and changed the cuisine.

I had a slow roasted duck, about 4-5 hours, hung over a wood burning grill (and, by the way, although the result is stunning, it is a bit like an atomic bomb if the cook doesn't know how to control the fat that is rendered!). This reviewer loved everything, super, GREAT, blah, blah, blah. BUT, in a major magazine in the market said that there was no way that that bird was cooked for 4-5 hours as the menu stated. Why? Because it was just to succulent, moist, lovely and tasty. He basically called us liars.

I can't stand food writers that know nothing about cooking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## siserilla (May 14, 2005)

Alright. I understand what you're saying. It makes sense to me now


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

Salting "heavily" is extremely subjective.

Thanks to the irrational anti-salt movement there are legions of individuals who would interpret normal salting as heavy.

We are biologically programmed to gravitate toward the taste of salt. There are very few foods that don't benefit from being salted.

Mark


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

gosh darn it Mark
I seem to be disagreeing with you lately. That part I don't like because I really enjoy your posts. Subjective is a good word to use because taste buds are not all the same. I for one am really sensitve.
I enjoy the use of salt to enhance or bring up the natural in something. I think that when it crosses that line into altering the taste I start to wonder. I'm a chewer and probably keep my portions in my mouth longer then most. If I can taste the salt I feel the flavor is altered and jeopardized.
I would start to list foods that don't require salt but I don't think there is enough room on 100 pages.
now this is just me.
pan
BTW not all of us gravitate towards salt. I'm a little low on the BP scale and if I injest too much salt I actually have a physical responce, like head ach etc.much like people and MSG salt


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## cakerookie (Sep 10, 2005)

Season at the beginning in the middle and at the end you should always be tasting; what your palette prefers someone elses may not. I tend not to add salt to my food if I do its very little.


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

And I STILL love ya. What a testament to my character. :lol:

What I meant by gravitating toward salt is the fact that that our tongues are biologically equipped to be receptive to salt. Now of course there is great genetic variation but generally speaking, salt, and sweet, are flavors we are naturally drawn to.

There is a small group of sodium sensitive individuals who truly have a physiological reaction to excessive salt.

But the masses of Americans are more victims of our culture's neurosis about food and health fantaticism. Real biological cases aside, many people have been conditioned to prefer less salt because of the powerful influences in our culture about food and health. I'm not saying this applies to you. I'm speaking about general trends in our society.

http://www.ahherald.com/food/2006/ft_060119_salt_1.htm

Mark


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Mark, like i said.
Luv ya too.
I have to dissagree with the article. Low Sodium diets are frequently used in rehabilitation and mending situations. I believe I can supply numerous studies where a low sodium diet is bebeficial. Especia;;y since Americans are injesting
mass quantities of salts. Especially in prepared foods. I guess I better say lower sodium diets. I've got a good friend that will give us all the info on the.
She's close to her DR., cert. chef., reg dietician, menu maker for cardiac units all over the country.
pan


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree.

Or, we could test the sodium theories.

You and I will go out for margaritas. Your glasses will be plain, mine will have salt. After about 5 or 6 we'll measure our blood pressures. Whoever's is lower treats.

:roll: 

Mark


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

MarkV,
I think that is a wonderful Idea. We may want to do a clinical trial with at least a dozen CT members.
I think the margarita is a good idea but I think it should be limited to one.
We can then grab a teaspoon and switch to some private reserve Mezcal.
A 1/2 tsp. between the thumb and index and lemon wedges.:beer: :beer: :smoking:


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Oooh, ooh, can I play too? (I always take my margaritas saltless -- just don't like the interference.  )


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## siserilla (May 14, 2005)

Some of the flavored Margaritas are good with sugar around the rim.


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## nick.shu (Jul 18, 2000)

hmm, insults huh? ok just a few:

1) Being told by a person who ditched their apprenticeship in their 2nd year that my scallop mousseline was crab rather than scallop (being a person who has spent 8 years studying/10 years on the job and working a parallel role with a cookery teacher in a hotel school

2) Being on the job as an agency chef and being told by someone how to cook a steak and the virtues of keeping a deepfryer clean while watching them leave seafood sitting out at room temperature between 6pm and 11pm (oh did i mention the place only having 2 chopping boards)

As an answer to question 1 - i offered to send the mousseline away for DNA analysis, surprise no takers.

As for No.2 - the above job got K-Lined with the agency after i told them about the standards.

What goes round comes around - what more can i say.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

I'll play too, but I take BP medicine so I'll just go along for the buzz:beer:


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

They say a diet high in fruits and vegetables is good for the heart, blood pressure, anti-cancer, etc.

Tequilla is made from a plant so there's the vegetable, and there's lime juice in the margarita for fruit. 

The Food Pyramid recommends 3-5 servings of vegetables per day and 2-4 servings of fruit. Thus, 4-5 margaritas should have you covered.

Why are you all looking at me like that?????

Doesn't this make sense to you?

Mark


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## tarabel (Feb 13, 2006)

It makes perfect sense to me! :lol: Mind If join you?


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## kadthecold (Feb 28, 2014)

Jolly Roger said:


> I read through the availble responses and I concure with them all. However, I don't believe anyone mentioned the following:
> 
> 1. Customers coming in five minutes before closing the f' ing kitchen.
> 
> ...


I have to disagree. I'll go in order
1. That's a chef's job. No customers, no business
2. It might be a matter of allergy or intolerance
3.I take that as a compliment.
4 and 5. That's the business. It sucks, but it is what it is


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

_*Kad* ..._ just as a thought here ... the post before yours was *eight(8) years ago*.

I like this thread too though, so I'll also play along.

I find it insulting when people tell me that I should make dishes a different way (theirs). I am greatly insulted when people salt my dishes before tasting. People should shut-up about telling anything about wearing my _"whites"_ anywhere. I have many more colored chef coats than white anyway. I'm honored when other chefs eat in my place.


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## excelsior (Sep 18, 2013)

panini said:


> _That said_
> 
> I find it very annoying when other chefs have a different way of approaching a task, not a better way, just a different way, and they act like THEIR method is the only right way. I detest such egocentricity.
> 
> Mark


Mark,
This is something you probably need to put in your back pocket right away.
It's law, when in my kitchen, do as I do or how I want it. This should never bother you for when you have your own kitchen you will perfer that your staff do things your way.
pan
one of the reasons I stay in production is because Ican't take it when a customer is picking up an order(even though they may shop 4 times a weak) and they ask *'is this fresh?*"[/quote]


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## kadthecold (Feb 28, 2014)

Yeah, I know lol. I just happened to google search 'the biggest insult to a chef' and found this. I replied because I thought, 'hey, maybe someone else might do that, too'


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

Guests who won't even try my food because they're used to crap. My family is the worst when it comes to this. I've given up cooking anything half way decent for any of them. I know it's a cultural thing, but it actually really hurts my feelings very deeply.

People who won't even try your food because they don't like the most basic ingredients on the planet, like effin vegetables.

Other chefs who add things to stuff you're cooking.

Someone who grabs my chef knife off my cutting board without permission, and even worse, leaves it wherever they used it and walks away. This is something that almost makes me homicidal.

and what panini said:


> I find it very annoying when other chefs have a different way of approaching a task, not a better way, just a different way, and they act like THEIR method is the only right way. I detest such egocentricity.


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

I find it very interesting how we as chefs and cooks are so easily threatened by others in the industry, and how readily our hackles go up over the slightest things. I know many won't admit to that, but it's so true. I have experienced this cave-man behavior since the day I started in this industry. I wonder if other industries are like this, and if not, why do we behave this way?


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Pollopicu said:


> Guests who won't even try my food because they're used to crap. My family is the worst when it comes to this. I've given up cooking anything half way decent for any of them. I know it's a cultural thing, but it actually really hurts my feelings very deeply.


I've had a different experience. I've related before the tales of my first Thanksgiving with Karen's family - canned veggies, instant potatoes, gravy from a packet - salt? pepper? They're in the kitchen somewhere.

It has been a long, slow process, but well worth it. They enjoy real food at holidays now.

mjb.


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## jake t buds (May 27, 2013)

Yowza. 8 year old thread. Ok. I'll play. 

I hate it when people consider food a simple necessity and that over elaborate cooking is stupid and unnecessary. I also hate it when people think all you need to know to cook well is to be able to read a recipe. I hate it when cooks and chefs aren't respected for their craft, and think it's just an activity every housewife can do - something you don't need to have a talent or knack for - and that anybody can do it. Sure, anybody can roast a chicken with practice, but developing a menu for a week without waste while keeping it exciting and interesting is something else.   

Food is more than just sustenance and proteins/carbs/vitamins to fuel your body. Food is society, art, culture, love, and relationships. Some people are good at it and others aren't. Just like medicine, accounting, law, etc.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Pollopicu said:


> I find it very interesting how we as chefs and cooks are so easily threatened by others in the industry, and how readily our hackles go up over the slightest things. I know many won't admit to that, but it's so true. I have experienced this cave-man behavior since the day I started in this industry.* I wonder if other industries are like this*, and if not, why do we behave this way?


Of course there are other industries like this. All of them are like this. It's a matter of ego, and egotists are everywhere!!!! I'm a musician, you would not believe how easily people are threatened by others.


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## soesje (Dec 6, 2012)

I hate it when I've made a nice plate with refined food and see my guest mix it all up before starting to eat!


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## kadthecold (Feb 28, 2014)

Pollopicu said:


> Guests who won't even try my food because they're used to crap. My family is the worst when it comes to this. I've given up cooking anything half way decent for any of them. I know it's a cultural thing, but it actually really hurts my feelings very deeply.
> 
> People who won't even try your food because they don't like the most basic ingredients on the planet, like effin vegetables.
> 
> ...


OMG!! That is the worst! My in laws who are actually living with us right now (long story) basically view my cooking as on par with Hamburger Helper (all they EVER eat). It's like, people PAY for my food, ok? Why even bother cooking for them? Waste of my time if boxed meals will suffice

And at work, if you touch my knife, you will get cut. It's my most prized possession and an anniveraary gift from my hubby


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

I just had to add one more behavior I find insulting, and it's been irking me for nearly 20 years..

When you work in a kitchen (none that I've had recently, thank God for that) and the male chefs don't ever put you in charge of anything having to do with red meat, or any meat for that matter, because in their ignorant little pea brains only male chefs know how to fabricate meat, season meat, sear meat, roast meat, temp meat, rest meat, and slice meat.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Pollopicu said:


> Guests who won't even try my food because they're used to crap. My family is the worst when it comes to this. I've given up cooking anything half way decent for any of them. I know it's a cultural thing, but it actually really hurts my feelings very deeply.
> 
> People who won't even try your food because they don't like the most basic ingredients on the planet, like effin vegetables.


Yeah, I am no professional, but that one gets me, too. Had the misfortune to cook for some yoga fanatics lately. Everything suggested went right out of the window due to some ayurvedic reason or the other. I am sorry, I will accomodate any preferences based on allergies etc., I have no problems making vegetarian meals, but if *everything* is rejected due to some ideological bullcrap that boils down to "anything with taste is bad", well, I am not going to make a dish consisting of beans or lentils without any spice or aromatics. the chicken feed is in the shed out back. Grab a sack of it.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Koukouvagia said:


> Of course there are other industries like this. All of them are like this. It's a matter of ego, and egotists are everywhere!!!! I'm a musician, you would not believe how easily people are threatened by others.


Most certainly - seen the same in academic research as well as in patent law practise. Two reasons, I guess

- "anything done different from my way is an attack on myself" - stoneage brain taking over; or

- "I did this for twenty years and it always worked my way" - well, sure, but I am doing it long enough to know that my way works, too.


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

GeneMachine said:


> the chicken feed is in the shed out back. Grab a sack of it.


/img/vbsmilies/smilies/tongue.gif Lmao


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## everydaygourmet (Apr 4, 2012)

How about owner mud cutters that feel threatened and instead of embracing/recognizing talent respond with "your services are no longer needed"?, w/o cause of course.

Seen it a couple of times to some really good people, pi$$es me off thinking about it.


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## chef norm (Apr 3, 2008)

You graduated from CIA?  Maybe it's not too late to get your money back.


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## samcanchef (Nov 6, 2015)

What I find to be the single most insulting thing a customer can do is mistreat one of my cooks or service staff. Obviously, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. However, It seems to me that their is a perception, among some, that people that choose to work in the food business are below them. While the industry certainly does attract more than it's fair share of misfits, miscreants, and other dubious characters, those that choose a career in the business have generally worked hard to develop a skill no different than that of any other skilled tradesman. I take great pride in the career that I have chosen and I find it deeply insulting and offensive when the people that are following the same path I chose for myself are not treated with common courtesy and respect.

Another thing that customers do that I find to be deeply insulting is to claim that a dish, something they have never had before, is prepared improperly. To say that something is not prepared to their liking is one thing. However, I can assure you that I have gone to great lengths to ensure that your food has been prepared precisely the way it was intended to be prepared. 

Finally, while this has been a rare occurrence, I find it offensive when a fellow chef thumbs their nose at the fact that I or one of my associates doesn't hold the same credentials that they do. I went to culinary school at a community college and don't hold any ACF certifications. The fact that you went to Johnson and Wales or are a C.E.C. in no way demonstrates your superiority as a culinarian. I have worked under chefs that had all the credentials in the world but couldn't cook their way out of a paper bag. On the other hand, I have worked for and with chefs and cooks with zero formal education that were among the most highly skilled, talented, and creative chefs I have ever met.


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## samcanchef (Nov 6, 2015)

What I find to be the single most insulting thing a customer can do is mistreat one of my cooks or service staff. Obviously, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. However, It seems to me that their is a perception, among some, that people that choose to work in the food business are below them. While the industry certainly does attract more than it's fair share of misfits, miscreants, and other dubious characters, those that choose a career in the business have generally worked hard to develop a skill no different than that of any other skilled tradesman. I take great pride in the career that I have chosen and I find it deeply insulting and offensive when the people that are following the same path I chose for myself are not treated with common courtesy and respect.

Another thing that customers do that I find to be deeply insulting is to claim that a dish, something they have never had before, is prepared improperly. To say that something is not prepared to their liking is one thing. However, I can assure you that I have gone to great lengths to ensure that your food has been prepared precisely the way it was intended to be prepared. 

Finally, while this has been a rare occurrence, I find it offensive when a fellow chef thumbs their nose at the fact that I or one of my associates doesn't hold the same credentials that they do. I went to culinary school at a community college and don't hold any ACF certifications. The fact that you went to Johnson and Wales or are a C.E.C. in no way demonstrates your superiority as a culinarian. I have worked under chefs that had all the credentials in the world but couldn't cook their way out of a paper bag. On the other hand, I have worked for and with chefs and cooks with zero formal education that were among the most highly skilled, talented, and creative chefs I have ever met.


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## maulin agrawal (Feb 24, 2017)

Well, I don't get insulted easily, but once it Toronto, my family and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant. My eight year old cousin burned his tongue on the pho and then took the bucket of ice in which the champagne was sitting in, and poured the ice into the soup, and I'm not talking a small handful, I'm talking a whole one-quart bucket of ice! The waiter saw this, and the next thing you know, the chef came and told my uncle to take my cousin to another restaurant.


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