Do NOT order this – the reactions are brutal
An (anonymous) chef explains what he would never order in a restaurant he doesn’t know. The reactions on Facebook are anything but mild: the article is a stab in the back to the struggling hospitality industry, complete nonsense and besides: what’s actually wrong with eating some leftovers? Still, there are also people who recognize it.
Actually, it’s reassuring that most people don’t recognize the chef’s stories. That means the hospitality industry in the Netherlands is doing just fine. Cooks work cleanly and neatly, label everything in the refrigerator, strictly follow the HACCP rules and no one puts anything on the table that they wouldn’t serve to their own mother. Some of the reactions paint a different picture: in a few kitchens, things are still being handled rather carelessly.
Vintage schnitzel
Thrift and hard work build houses like castles, as the saying goes. But you can also take thriftiness too far, Mariëlle knows from experience. ‘Some bosses are soooo stingy that you have to serve things you yourself totally don’t stand behind. Labeling things, why? That schnitzel that was taken out of the freezer last Tuesday is still perfectly good, you know. Yeah, right.’
Crispy crust
It’s very unpleasant when you work in service and have to take out food you’re actually mortified by. Monique experienced this. ‘Burnt? No, that’s properly cooked. And then you can take it out, red-faced.’
A second chance for the wedding cake
Reusing leftovers from a buffet? Most hospitality workers can’t imagine that happening, but Kristel experienced it. ‘The boss asked the chef to sell the leftover wedding cake from the day before to his customers. The cake had already been fully paid for by the newlyweds. When the chef explained that it would always be obvious that it had been a wedding cake, the boss threw it in the trash. Instead of giving it to his staff, as he had promised the newlyweds…’
Steak from the floor
Is everything to your liking? Well, this steak isn’t actually quite as it should be. Back to the kitchen with it, where the mistake is corrected. But that doesn’t always go well, Kristel knows: ‘A steak that came back was thrown onto the floor and thoroughly stomped on. It went back into the pan and to the same customer. He later came into the kitchen to say that the second steak had been delicious.’
Dish ‘forgotten’
Roel: ‘One time I had to make tomato and mozzarella dishes. (…) The owner let me use mozzarella that had been past its expiration date for a week. “It’s fine,” he said. “It still smells good.” No matter what I said, his word was law. I made the dishes, but “forgot” to serve them and afterward threw the dishes in the trash. “I could have used those next week in my delicatessen shop!” he shouted angrily. That’s when I left, never to return.
Sound principle
Simon: ‘I also wouldn’t eat at a restaurant with 30+ main courses. They can never specialize in the quality of any one dish.’
Read also:
- 30 times people would rather have had normal tableware than this nonsense
- Where is it dirty and where isn’t it? Food authority reports go online
- Hilarious! Chinese restaurant owner writes his own commentary on the menu
