These hospitality guests left their brains at home
Working in hospitality is never boring. Every day is different thanks to the ever-changing guests. Some of them left home in such a hurry that they forgot their brains. Or their manners.
Well, everyone who works or has worked in hospitality can relate. The things you experience with guests are sometimes downright hilarious. Or strange. Or a combination of both. It’s never boring, at any rate.
Great profession. Never boring
Take Ingrid, for example; she worked in hospitality for more than 25 years. ‘Finger bowls were drunk. Prawns were eaten shell and all. Waiters set on fire while flambéing. Japanese guests burping loudly (compliments to the kitchen), and so on. Always done with great pleasure and love. Great profession. Never boring.’
Unexpected questions
Dion: ‘Waiter, I see a card saying reserved on the table—does that mean the table is actually reserved…??’ Birgitte: ‘Fresh mint tea… do you grow that yourselves?’ Dianne: ‘I come to the table with the meat, and the guest asks if I’d like to taste it first and give my honest opinion?!’
Fries special without curry and onions
Annelies: ‘Do you have one of those rolls with vegetables and cheese and ham? Sure, a ham-and-cheese “smos.” Well yes, then I’ll have that, but with chicken instead of cheese and ham.‘ Veer has one in this category too: ‘Fries special without curry and without onions. So fries with mayonnaise? No, you do understand what I’m saying!’
Special allergy requests
Marcel: ‘Just yesterday, a guest asked for a lactose-free goat cheese salad, and we still often laugh about the fried eggs without egg.’ Mariëlle often experiences this too: ‘A lactose allergy and ordering a cheesecake, or gluten-free bread and a beer… It’s also just so incredibly hip to have one of these allergies…‘ Kim finds it very recognisable: ‘An allergy to gluten and lactose. You list everything they can choose, and what do they choose… a butter croissant.’
Does fish taste too much like… fish?
Simone: ‘The fish tastes too much like fish, the prosecco has too many bubbles…‘. Ria: ‘Ordering oysters, but they mustn’t taste like the sea.‘
Mushroom soup without… mushrooms?
We often hear that the texture of mushrooms is disgusting. But then you simply don’t order them, right? Apparently not. Ria: ‘Someone really wanted mushroom soup, but without mushrooms because she didn’t like mushrooms, so the soup was put through a sieve!‘
Shell and peel struggles
Jasper: ‘We once had prawns in their shells on the menu. The server came back with an empty plate, adding: they were very tasty, but could you ask the kitchen to peel them a little better next time.’ Linda, meanwhile: ‘Once had a guest dipping his prawn in his finger bowl; he thought it was the “sauce.‘ Shell trouble can also happen with beans, as Danielle’s anecdote shows: ‘Once saw someone chewing on a soybean for half an hour. I walked over and told them that it was meant to be removed from the pod.’
Stew works too well
Richard: ‘Your stew stays hot for too long in this pot..‘
Strange drinks
Chantal: ‘Once had a customer order Duvel with grapefruit juice… it already looked as if it had been drunk.‘ Remco once got to serve ‘Strawberry tea with forest walk’.. Speaking of forest walks, Ingeborg regularly serves ‘Forest walk with milk… Or an Iceberg: iced tea with Couberg!’ And do you need a kick-start to begin the day? Bart knows what to serve the guests then: ‘Breakfast. Duvel with a Nutroma milk cup and a raw egg.’ Cheers!
Read also:
- Staff meals in hospitality: there is a lot of misery
- 10 tips from chefs that will make you better in the kitchen
- So good it’ll make you cry: another tip to stop those onion tears
