# Are Chefs Abusive?



## tcapper (Aug 29, 2006)

Hi guys, there is a an interesting thread going on in the UK, what is your take on the subject.

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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

I like that thread. There is a lot of truth in what was posted, and I have to agree with most of yet. Also the abuse that happens only happens to those who mess up in one form or another. I'm not saying it's right necessarily but the chef is not going to cut your head off if you do something right. Of course if the chef doesbn't like you then you might as well move on because it will likely never get better for you. I have worked for great chefs and a-holes, and I myself have been a great chef and an a-hole at times, same with employees. It's a 2 way street. Some people on both sides can truly drive you to distraction!:beer:


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

I've been known to utter the f-word a few times myself.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Uh, stands for "fine job," don't it Kuan? :blush:


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## chefphil68 (Sep 5, 2007)

The kitchens ever since the first one in France has been run like the military. Why? Because it has to be done like that. We have people waiting on the meal they are purchasing, which means they need immediate gratification. So does the Chef running the kitchen! Is it abusive? How is it said?? "hey why did you do something so freaking stupid you dumb ***" or "hey why did you do something so freaking stupid why are you acting like a dumb ***" Needless to point I have been a HR nightmare, I call no one names directly, I simply ask them why they are ACTING like such n such.


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## chef ladybug (Aug 14, 2007)

Give them a break... they HAVE to be a little abusive because there are a LOT of expectations from the customer. Which is why I never did and never will have the guts to work with chefs or in the cooking industry, period. Who can stand the abuse is braver than I am, and they show potential to thrive in that environment.

Anyone remember that "Friends" episode with Monica being forced to hire Joey so that she could ultimately make a big scene and fire him in front of everyone? :lol:


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## headless chicken (Apr 28, 2003)

My absolute favorite! 

I actually don't mind abusive chefs, a lot rides on them and I've been in their shoes for the cafeteria (yes, a lot of pressure and high expectations there too). What irks me the most of managers being abusive like chefs. Its 1 thing for someone who complains about something they know about, but to argue about something that doesn't make sense. I went toe to toe a couple times with our new director, he made lots of huge changes to the whole cafeteria, introducing new concepts and changing how things ran. We've been opened for 3 days and its been total chaos since and all I can do is have that big "I told you so" grin on my face. Chef and I actually, we grin together whenever he passes by.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

abusive? no way..... always a lady......
F bombs overused lose their effectivness.....thus utmost care must be used in selecting the right time to drop one.....or so I've been told.


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## rblum (Jul 14, 2005)

abuse is a bit strong for what goes on, i call it pointed motivation. its never been my prefered style, i choose to be very mellow and friendly and patient, but when i do raise the voice it has that much more emphasis. also, i am a BIG fan of the sarcasm. "No, actuallly, thats better , i dont know what i was thinking ... that porkchop should be burnt, here I was leaving all that flavor and moisture in it , what a lie ive been living, what a sham of an existance" 
working on my book, Better Management Through Sarcasm.


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## andyg (Aug 27, 2007)

I am like a lot of people and will do even worse when I am stressed. My boss flips out a lot. Now I try to let it not stress me as much. But it took a while to come to that point. It also means I don't respect what she says as much, but she is still my boss and I learn to cope better.

Abuse is defined by the recipient, I guess, but you also have to be able to shake it off somewhat. That's part of the job, as I see it.


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## chef bacchus (Sep 9, 2007)

Every chef loses it once in a while. It's expected. Calculated mental abuse is not tolerated in my kitchen and I don't really give a rats *** who might think it's old school romanticism to behave this way. It will not motivate your cooks to be better at their jobs. Mentoring, behaving in a manner that defines professionalism and having patience with struggling cooks will create a loyal environment. I'm 6'5" and weigh 300 lbs. I don't need to yell. Just one look will speak volumes and I've learned from "screamers" that they are creating a compensation that must not lie in their pants.


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## andyg (Aug 27, 2007)

Even if someone is 8 feet tall I don't see it. I see the person.


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## chef bacchus (Sep 9, 2007)

The last restaurant I was a sous chef at was in a environment of a constant screaming chef. He was divorced, his girlfriend left him and he was bragging about how his behavior cost him a lot but hey, that's how it is and he seemed quite pleased with his foul behavior. I quit. If you hate going to work everyday, what's the point?


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## fstfrdy (May 9, 2007)

Unfortunatly in todays kitchen we have lost a lot of the work ethic and chain of command mentality. It is one of the truths that we deal with. I am an HR nightmare, but those that survive are those that have what it takes. Every plate is my plate it is mine because I designed it and formulated it. It is mine because the customer wants to see the Chef when things go right or wroung. It is my reputation on the line with every service, so yes I can be a little :crazy: over the top. But there must be accountability. I use the F bomb only when needed and I have yet to actually kill some one for screwing up, I dont consider my motivationaly moments to be abuse.

Cheers fstfrdy


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## spicednut (Sep 21, 2007)

I think this is a good topic. Alot of employees do not understand the kind of stress that the Chef is under. The other day at work, after having two days off, I return to work only to get my tail kicked by the boss because of something that happened while I was gone. As they say crap rolls down hill. I wouldn't say that I am abusive but if you mess up I will call you aout on it. Because so much rides on things being done properly there is no time for unprofesional people in my kitchen. I believe that it is my kitchen I take ownership of it. I am responsible for the product produced in it, the actions of the staff that work in it and anything else that comes around , so it is my kitchen. I will defend it and make sure that everthing everyday is done to my standards. The way that I want them done When I want them done. So if I have to beloud and abusive at times and drop the f bomb a few times to get people to notice the I will.


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## atltournant (Apr 24, 2007)

I guess I'm lucky that I've never really been "abused".Sure,in my early 20's I got my fair share of "What the F**k are you doing?" simply because of lack of experience and immaturity,but it wasn't taken personally.

I've always had the reputation of being easy to work with and for,but with the disclaimer of "Don't tick her off because you won't like it". If someone is doing something incorrectly or any other issue,it's always been dealt with privately,not in front of everybody else if possible.

There are some exceptions,of course...like a blatant,STUPID mistake [too many examples]..well,I will admit to some nasty remarks coming out of my mouth....I've even made a couple of servers cry


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

In an ideal world all our staff would be telepathic and we would understand totally when they screw up when we need them most...Theres no time. the heat's on as well as the noise and the adrenelin is coarsing . We all need a pat onthe back when we do well and to be forgiven when we mess up... So long as we dont expect it during service.I deal out the praise due once the dust settles and a few appologies after the event, when i know i've been a bit OTT. Re-hashing where WE may have gone wrong is done during clean up. Any major problems on both sides are written down and brought up during quiet times..
Seems to work


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

I've even made a couple of servers cry

NO WAY!!! ME TOO.


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## atltournant (Apr 24, 2007)

So,what did you say?

This server kept forgetting to ring in her add-on's,so you know what kind of nightmare that can be during a rush.I told her that if she had any less brain function,she'd have a machine breathing for her.


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## detroitcook (Sep 23, 2007)

I have worked with the extremes on both ends of this "abuse" spectrum. While I'll admit I don't have much personal respect for the chef who wants to be one of the guys during down times and be friendly and approachable, then turn into a raving jerk during service, I'll take it anyday over the current chef who is laughing and joking,conversing with the waitstaff and involving himself in every conversation taking place in the kitchen, even during the rush, while his buddy broilercook sends out charcoal briquettes that a starving dog would have trouble choking down.In essence I prefer a chef who treats his job seriously,and respects his cooks and the food, who cares if a cuss word pops up or a well timed personal jab motivates someone to concentrate a little more on their preparations? The guy who avoids confrontation, and discipline,and quality control, cares not for mentoring,teaching or the betterment of his staff; only cares about his falsely inflated ego, and his fat executive chef paycheck, this guy should be in a different business or at least be a dining room manager!


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

let's see, one was a young woman who would not stay out of my dessert area as I was slamming out loads in a rush....don't remember exactly what I said, but after saying the same thing a couple of times I get this tone in my voice that apparently (I've been told by several) sounds intimidating.....the register goes at least an octive lower it's almost a growl, combine that with eyes that shoot fire and you've got a combo that scorches. Not something I'm proud of (well not much, and certainly does not in the end make things easier to have to calm down waitstaff) funny thing kitchen guys never really are affected by "the growl".

Oh, and another time I was directing a food stage, which means I arranged two temp kitchens out of thin air with equipment behind a curtain to stage/prep for "talent chefs" and then the stage setup in front of the masses of people. Well one morning a year and 1/2 ago, one of the sponsoring grocery store manager's wife (now I've been at this gig for 5 years and have a great relationship with the manager)...wanted to walk off with my equipment. NOT COOL.... REALLY NOT COOL. I was in the middle of breakfast run down with my externs/pro staff when one of them said, "someone is taking our shtuff"......so I stopped everything and went over to the "wife" and asked what's up.....she proceeded to tell me that she had permission to take stage equipment.....I proceeded to tell her NO way did she have permission, and even if she did have permission from the guys who loaned the stuff to me, we needed it and the mainstage takes precident over pretty much anything else. She pulled attitude, I pulled growl. She cried. Her husband chewed me out an hour later finger pointed at my chest....was not a fun morning. My cooking staff was sitting 20feet away, didn't hear any of it.....I was told by "the wife's buddy" standing next to us that I was screaming.....that would be the power of the don't **** with me voice.


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## chamo (Oct 2, 2007)

Well. I used to work under a chef that it was a very big pain in the back; totaly in the use of that psicology that makes you feel like a little bug. I hated it. I believe that some times as a chef, you have to put things in the right path but, without losing the sense that you are working with humans, they fail once in a while....


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## nativechef6685 (Oct 17, 2007)

I've found over the years that being abusive and demanding only leads to chaos and confusions, not mention a lack of respect. As I've grown older I've found that talking to my staff in a calm and collected way produces the desired effect more than yelling and letting my head explode. Granted over the years I've had employees that just couldn't get the grasp of what I expected from them and have had to give them their walking papers. In this day and age the biggest hurdle I'm trying to overcome is the lack of a work ethic and personal accountability. I try to emphasize to everyone of my staff that "Would you eat this dish if it came out to you looking like this?". Nine times out of ten the staff sees it from that perspective and corrects the problem. I've even grown to the point of allowing my staff to produce their own signature dishes. You'd be surprised at how much cooperation you can get when you allow the staff to share in the "spotlight". They tend to see things more from my perspective when it's their name and reputation on line in the same manner that mine is.

Best regards.


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## matt (Oct 22, 2007)

In my experience, chefs who are abusive are unconcerned with how the food goes out; it's more about dominance in the kitchen. I saw a chef scream at waitstaff for asking if he would put more cilantro in the ceviche, when he'd used parsley because he didn't order cilantro. I saw the same chef butterfly a filet, cook it to well done, beat it with his tongs (pieces of the steak were flying everywhere), weight it down, and throw it in a convection oven, mind you, it was _already well-done_.

The chef I currently work for plays elaborate mind-**** games that only make sense to him (not entirely true, I understand it's to show me that he's in charge, I just don't understand why he's so insecure...):

Me: Chef, I need shrimp for fried shrimp, should I defrost this box of U 12s?
Chef: Yes.
I deshell 4 shrimp.
Chef: What are you doing? I don't want you butterflying all those. Just stop. Use the 21/25s, Jesus.

1 hour later

Me: Chef, we need bacon-wrapped shrimp, do you want me to use 21/25s or U12s (there's at least 8 pounds of defrosted, uncleaned U-12s in the walk-in)?
Chef: 21/25s.
I deshell 8 shrimp.
Chef: Just stop! Use these (U-12s), Jesus you're an idiot.

This chef believes I'm stealing coats from the restaurant, has told me I need to restock my own _plates_ (dishwashers imo) and meez (despite being the busiest station when i'm busy, and others are free to call for **** when things are slow), and gives me **** when I follow to the "T" what he tells me to do. I've actually gotten **** for wearing khaki cargo pants instead of checks (sorry, dog; it's electric or gas not chef pants or Armani suits) and I don't think my 100% cotton pants are going to melt if oil gets on them, since my ****ing checks are 100% cotton too...

I have had the opportunity to work with some great chefs/managers/cooks/whatever, and I can say assholes are not the norm (it's more 50/50, like life). You always read that a chef is a cook that manages; but, what does that really mean? The lithmus test I'm using now, as I search for a new job, is whether the chef is going to answer my question or tell me I'm an ******* for asking. :beer:


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2010)

just bringing this back because a friend of mine just had a bad experience in a kitchen... how far is too far? beating the staff with a stick probably isn't ok, right?


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Years ago they were tyranicle if such a word. Today is different. If one strives for perfection and you screw it off, yes he could be.Customers are sometime

very abusive to staff. Everyone has an off day.


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Huy Bui said:


> just bringing this back because a friend of mine just had a bad experience in a kitchen... how far is too far? beating the staff with a stick probably isn't ok, right?


How "big" is the stick? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2010)

i didn't bother to ask, but sounded a bit excessive to me... especially since he fired a cook earlier and made him cry.


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## chefboyarg (Oct 28, 2008)

It has already been mentioned, but constantly berating someone and yelling at them loses its effectiveness after the first few times. The person just tunes you out. I find a well placed "This is extremely disappointing, I know you're better than this" is more effective. It makes the point that you are not pleased and also re affirms to the cook that he/she has mad skillz and isn't just a bumbling f**kup.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I have worked for screamers, and I don't care much for them.  Worked for an "Eigenosische Diplomierte KuchenChef" the highest rank Switzerland has to offer a Chef, and I kinda liked his style:  He'd ride your butt, but only to the point of "general p'o'd" never in meanness or contempt.  If he though you wre un-capable he'd pull you off the line, and if it happened again, he'd fire you.  After work he'd buy everyone a drink while we were cleaning up and could make very interesting idle conversation while we were cleaning and sipping our beers.  And then next day he was back to riding our butts.

I have been known to embarrass a few people.  My second last d/washer for instance, would come in stoned.  The first time I took him aside and explaind he would have to go home, and if there was a seond time he would be fired.  A few days later he shows up stoned again.  Sent him into the walk-in for, zuchinni, I think in.  Waited two minutes, opened the door and found him exctly as I had imagined,staring at the case of zuchinni infront of his eyes.  I walked past him, and in a 250/ second,  whipped out a handfull of zuchinnis, shoved them into his arms, and melted away from the walk-in.  A minute later he walks out,dumps the zuchinni on hte table and walks out.  Never showed up after that.

Another prep cook I had , I whinged and harped on about leaving a teaspoon of mayo,or a single, lonely pickle in a 16 ltr bucket.  "For F's sake, scrape out the last teaspoon in a 1/9 insert, willya" I'd whine.  A week later the eejit does it again, happened to be on payday too.  End of the shift I told him checks would be late.  After work, I grabbed his check and the bucket with a teaspoon of mayo in it, looked up his address, and delivered both to his door....

Or the banquet waitress.  Giving instructions to a group of 20-odd serving staff and this chic interrupts me, saying  something like at" At "X" (very large and famous catering co.) we did it so-and-so way.  My ears turned red.

"Oh, so you work for "X" eh?"

"Yes, part time for 2 years now."

"I thought "X" could train staff to follow instructions and shut up, are you sure you work there?"

She shut up..........

I'm not a screamer, nor am I a thrower of things, but I usually get my point across..........


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## hausfrau (Aug 3, 2010)

I have worked for a screamer AND a thrower.  She was sous at my first restaurant.  I quit there and she was fired not long after I left.  Since I live in a relatively small area, most of the chefs know all of the others so I can and do keep track of where she is and know never to apply there.  The last I heard she was working in the basement kitchen of a large pizza place doing prep.  I guess that means that she has proven that she doesn't play well with others.

The chef I am with now has only yelled at me once in two years...but I thoroughly deserved it after the fact.  When you deserve it, take your lumps, apologize sincerely once and move on.


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## butt3r_chick3n (Oct 22, 2005)

Worked for yellers and screamers before and it takes a lot of the energy out of the kitchen whenever the chef walks into the kitchen. It's almost like everyone is so afraid of fucking up that they forget how to cook.


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## leeniek (Aug 21, 2009)

I don't yell but I do get p***ed off at times.  Most of the time when I get p'd it's because of customer pickiness or server stupidity.  I'm comfortable enough now in my role in the kichen to tell the cooks when they are out of line or need to stay to their own station and let me do my job.  It is MY job to run the kitchen and their job to get the food to the window and then MY job to make sure it is all there before tickets get sold.  How hard is that?????


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## skatz85 (Mar 3, 2010)

i havent really worked for many chefs yet but i wouldnt mnd the dicipline that some chefs instill in the cooks. i never though marco pierre white or ramsy were abusive(even when i 1st read about them) i just though that thier standards are high and they expect perfection. they have gone through it and and that made them into great cooks. i been yelled at when i was at school by some chefs because i made mistakes but i tell you what i will never make the same mistake again. i think that is part of it, when something like taht happens to you where a chef yells at you because u added too much salt or didnt do something right, u know u wont do it again because u will get yelled at. i think that is something that is lost these days, you have to treat everyone nice and sometimes one cant sat what they want. i perosnally think it builds one as a cook, dicipline is part of it and if it means i will learn alot then im game.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

> u know u wont do it again because u will get yelled at


And this is a good reason to justify being abusive?

I much prefer not repeating mistakes because I want to do things to the best of my abilities, not because some dipweed is yelling at me.

Because that is the way I respond to mistakes, when I am chef, I try to remember that and I find that I get much better results when I get people to work "with" me, rather than "for" me.

I won't yell. I will sit you down and try to figure out the problem and what the solution is. Sometimes the solution is that you work elsewhere.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Eric Ripert had some interesting things to say about Ramsay style deportment. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2010/09/a_chefs_suicide.php

BDL


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## chefboyarg (Oct 28, 2008)

I agree with cheflayne. You can't instill the will to do well in someone. You can scream your head off at some cook who is just working for the summer for cash and doesn't give a shit and have him/her turn around and do the same stupid thing over again. Tonight I was messing up at work and I knew it. All it took from the chef was an "I don't want to have to re-fire anything else, got it?" No yelling, no throwing anything. Just a slight change in the intonation of his voice. Like I said before I think yelling is wholly unnecessary and actually counter  productive. That's not to say you should be all sugar and spice when telling someone they messed up. There is a difference between being stern and being and a**hole.


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## halmstad (May 17, 2010)

if Chef is being an A-HOLE to you (you being anyone), perhaps you should shut the F up and just do your job the it's asked of you. otherwise move on and try to find someone who will deal with your BS.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

halmstad said:


> if Chef is being an A-HOLE to you (you being anyone), perhaps you should shut the F up and just do your job the it's asked of you. otherwise move on and try to find someone who will deal with your BS.


Assuming it's you that F'd up, and not because it's the end of the month and he just got reamed out by the owner/f&B that his costs are out of whack, or that his g/f left him and stole his car AND delated his I-pod files, OR.......... You get the Idea.

Then again, if you are being a little dip-wad, a good Chef will only warn you once, then either take over you station or have one of his "boys" take over your station.

Sorry, just worked in too many open kitchens to tolerate a screamer.....


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## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

Been a while since I posted here (have been busy),

I believe as long as you are not abusive for the sake of being abusive, and actually trying to better someone, you can let out some steam, as long as whoever you are talking to understands the situation as well.  I can show my intern how to do something, and stress how important the details are.  If he doesn't produce like I showed him, I can calmly show him again.  By the 3rd messup, then it takes a little more "direct" motivation to get his brain thinking and his body moving.  He knows what is expected of him now, it took a few loud MOVE!!! and I NEED THIS NOW!!! or WTF ARE YOU DOING??? with a few expletives here and there to get the point across, but now he made the cut and jumped from intern to cook over here.

I can take and dish the profanity.  I dont even think twice about it anymore.  What really hurts is when my chef (who has a temper) calmly and quietly says "This is not up to standard, and you know it isn't.  Why would you do this?"  This calmly expressed statement hurts more than all the F's, the MF's, the SOB's, the A-Holes, and anything else someone can yell on the other side of the window to me.  Strange world eh?


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

> I can take and dish the profanity. I dont even think twice about it anymore. What really hurts is when my chef (who has a temper) calmly and quietly says "This is not up to standard, and you know it isn't. Why would you do this?" This calmly expressed statement hurts more than all the F's, the MF's, the SOB's, the A-Holes, and anything else someone can yell on the other side of the window to me. Strange world eh?


That's the kind of Chef I can handle and draw my role models from, there's no BSing around. With the temper tantrums, profanity, and the Bs ing (looks like a burst barf bag, like frozen doggie doo, etc) there's always a "yeah yeah, you're full of crap too, so what" factor. With one or two well stated comments that you can not argue against, you are forced to admit that you are putting out crap/f'ing up and that you have to do better.

Once a Chef looses his temper (O.K., say a force 4 or 5 sh*t fit)--and it doesn't neccesarily have to be with me-- it takes me a loooong time, and sometimes never, to let him earn my respect back.


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## sabbah (Jun 2, 2009)

Quotes from last nights busy service:

"Looks like a dog s*** himself and then dragged his a** across the plate"

"Did you chew the duck and spit it back on the plate? Who plated this? WHO PLATED THIS!" 

But,  I don't think that is abusive. It's colorful and expressive and gets the point across. I have worked with abusive chefs and it's scary, ineffective, and breeds a bad kitchen culture. It's a fine line though, too soft and standards plummet, too much and all sorts of bad things start happening. 

I agree with FoodPump though, more effective then the flagrant tirade is the stern indisputable observation. Though I never seen them not paired so can't say for certain. 

I would like to read a thread filled with quotes of angry chef's though. It'd be a great vent, and hilarious! I'm still kicking myself for not writing down some of the more witty and damning remarks I've heard over the years. I remember once a Chef took some green's off of a salad I platted and shook them violently with each word "What (shake) the (shake) f*** is (shake) this. Apparently is was too much vinaigrette.


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## ohbeary (Oct 3, 2010)

I can only agree with pretty much all of the above, I prefer the reasoned approach myself as foul language really has no place in any workplace, unless I am pushed beyond all reason, then things can be a little spicy!, there seems to be a growing trend for some young chefs to casually verbally abuse eachother, they become inured to the words and when talking to wait staff, forget that the gentler side of food service is not on the same low level conversationally, causing offence and upset.


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## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

ohbeary said:


> Ithere seems to be a growing trend for some young chefs to casually verbally abuse eachother, they become inured to the words and when talking to wait staff, forget that the gentler side of food service is not on the same low level conversationally, causing offence and upset.


The servers at my place are just as inured as the rest of us... it really makes for interesting services.


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## ohbeary (Oct 3, 2010)

Yeah ok when the team has been together for some time, familiarity excuses the low language, what I am talking about is the general degradation of social comunication, do we want this to be our social language?, I have been there and found myself "speaking kitchen" in front of civilians!, the reactions have been less than good, a little or lot of self censorship really does take the sting out of life, I'm no saint nor preacher neither, just a game keeper who would prefer not to listen to foul language in any situation, I do not wish to abuse anyone and tend to react badly when abused( ask the guy who thought I was being too posh!....................


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## headless chicken (Apr 28, 2003)

The caf where I work, much of the union work force have been getting away with murder and I've been there for 5 years to see it all, try to change it with a nice and polite attitude only to get in return that snarky union catch phrase "I'm/We're union, I/we don't do that".  Well I did my best and my new management has brought people who are roughing and toughing them and it's lead to some "interesting" scenes in the kitchen.  But change is being made and in progress; the new chef here is actually fixing almost everything I found faulty about this place.  Literally every other thing in the kitchen, he comments with "this is bull****" and I always have that "no kidding" response or look to acknowledge it. 

My point here is sometimes the abuse is necessary; in an efficiently working kitchen the aggressive attitude may not be required, as opposed to a place hanging on by a thread.  If abuse is called for, it has to be justified.  For instance, if some lazy a$$ decided he/she don't wanna be working a station and does a crap job at it, its called for if they continue to refuse to work the station properly.  Continuation of this attitude calls for termination but you'd be surprised how often that doesn't happen especially when unions are involved.  Added stress to a chef who now needs to rearrange kitchen tasks while in the middle of service taking away reliable people from important jobs, of course the guys is gonna be pissed.  This is just one real world example of where I work where I would say abuse is justified.  You come to work to do you job and you get paid for it, but if you're just jacking off then expect no fair treatment in return.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Light a fire under your Union Shop steward's butt:

Ask for an audited financial statement. By law they are _required _to issue one to every Union employee _yearly._

There's abuse for ya.......


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