Rob Babcock

Ughhh...Many bad ones here but that one's the worst. Especially when asked at a place I've eaten several dozen times. Yeah, I realize you don't recognize all of your repeat customers but I have to wonder if they pay any attention at all. I like like the guys that try to get cute or funny, either. Once my brother and I were eating at a big chain and ordered some buffalo wings. When the server came back to take away the plate he says, "Nicely done!" WTF does that even mean? You like the way I eat wings? Explain why I'm supposed to care. If I'd have been dining alone I'd have asked for the check immediately and left. Lastly I hate servers that have no ability to gauge a patron. Sometimes I'm fine with bantering with the server, but other times I just want to dine in peace. I really dislike the server that starts in like we're long lost buddies before I even get the menu open. How's my day, how about that weather, got any plans for the weekend...What is my server doing, writing a book?

I had a similar problem years ago. When I landed my first gig as Kitchen Manager I was 24, 25- somewhere in there, and had a few cooks working for me that were in their 40's or older. It took a little work to earn their respect, me being a "whipper snapper" & all. Eventually I did, though. Look at it this way- you'll keep on learning and eventually you'll get your shots. And eventually, prospective employers will look at you and decide you're too old and that they want a younger guy with more "fire."

I get ticked off over the slicer; it seems no one ever cleans it when they're done with it. Ditto for the wall mounted dicer- every time I close it has tomatoes all over it. Gross.

Ah, if only that were true! Nearly all the places I've worked had comprehensive menu training for the staff. You can lead a horse to water, as they say... A couple years ago I was the Sous at a hotel property run by my current employer. The training for the serving staff was pretty good, and I myself made it a policy to explain any dish or answer any question in detail. At any rate, the GM called a mandatory general staff meeting to go over some issues (ie a bitch session). To open it, he passes out enough blank scraps of paper for everyone that serves food- all in all, probably 60 people counting regular restaurant servers and banquet servers that work the restaurant P/T. He asked one simple question: how many shrimp are on a grilled shrimp skewer? He was incensed to find that only 2 or 3 out of about 60 got it right, and one of those admitted to me after the meeting that she simply guessed. One server that had answered "three shrimp" lamely offered that she doesn't sell many skewers, leading the GM to exclaim "I can see why!" After that all staff had to pass a written test of menu knowledge in order to serve food. There was a lot of servers sweating bullets, and lots of them coming up to ask me questions!

Hmmm...come to think of it, I could do this all day! I have a lot of pet peaves... Here's another: I hate it when a server demonstrates they have no idea what's on the menu. For instance, when they ring back a carbonara, no red sauce (for example). While I don't expect a server to know every spice and ingredient in a dish to the level of a line cook, I do expect that if they're explaining a dish to a customer they know the basics. If a patty melt is on pumpernickel, they better not say it's wheat or white. It's a rare staff member that will have eaten every item on the menu but they should be passing familiar with them.

I've been known to flip out when FOH staff try to order discounted employee meals after we're already closed or right at close. I can appreciate that they work hard and are hungry but it's incredibly disrespectful to the kitchen. What would they think if I came in on my day off right at close and sat in their section for 2 hours? My suspicion is that they'd be pretty pissed off. One of my hugest pet peaves is when a server rings a 30 top all on one ticket. For those of you not in "the biz", imagine reading a book on 2 inch by 24 inch paper. Now imagine that page hanging down into the bain marie of red sauce. And to make matters more fun, now count the number of times "The" appears on that page. I'm a pretty low key guy but I once crumped up a ticket for a 30 top (all on one) and threw it at the server and told her to re-ring it again, correctly.

Nice to hear from you Magus! I was wondering how No.9 was doing!

God, isn't that the truth!

Good info, Tsulli 1. That's the problem- that's a family of fish. "Pike Perch" on a menu doesn't tell you which one you'll get! Thanks for the link.

Then one needn't study French when one can simply study food. ← Ouch! Tough crowd! Try studying Popper- the words we use for things are hard to disentangle from the things we use them for. No, that doesn't mean you can't cook French without learning the lingo but French names will continue to be used in Western cuisine. And I won't apologize for enjoying French culture and the pure beauty of the language. You can do as you see fit!

I should've known I catch flak for that one! No slight was intended. I agree there are other fine culinary styles: Chinese (of all types), Sushi, American BBQ, Italian. I just got lazy. A better and longer way to say it would be that the root of Western culinary culture is French. Many, many terms used in almost all cooking have French names. It's sort of like how no matter the nationality of a classical composer, the convention was generally to use Italian names for the movements.

Pike perch is the colloquial name. It's a fish of the perch family that looks like a pike. Is "horseshoe crab" inane? (It's not a horseshoe, or a crab.) ← Maybe where you're from it it. To me it's the colloquial name of two different fishes (related ones at that). At least in my geographical area it's impossible to know what you'll get if you order "pike perch."

I've worked that person...but some people probably say I am that person! Aside from cooking skills working in a restaurant requires social skills. It can really be the difference between being a line cook and moving into management. Of course, lots of managers lack those skills, too...

Dave has used everything!

The things that drive me nuts: 1) Fresh Frozen: Grrrr...it's either fresh or it's frozen, it's not both! 2) Walleye Pike/ Pike Perch: Neither of those names makes a lick of sense. Depending on where you live, you may expect the former name to mean a walleye or a pike (typically a Northern Pike). Pike Perch is just inane. Either use the scientific name for a fish or the accepted local/colloquial name, but don't use more than one!

Work on developing a thick skin. You're going to work with a lot of A-holes in your career- you have to learn how do deal with all kinds. It's hard to offer much advice except be professional at all times and stand your ground.

Well, I would (and did) choose French, but Spanish would be an excellent choice. Even in the heart of the midwest (South Dakota) I work with a lot of hispanic people, many of whom know almost no English. The political question of who should learn who's language aside on a practical level it would dramatically improve my ability to communicate with the staff if I knew some Spanish. That said, French is a beautiful language, and if you're going to be involved in high-end cooking, you're talking about French cooking.

What really annoys them is with people I know (eg the cooks I work with most often) I say "Aye"- fine at work but my friends and family find it bizarre! The conversation goes like this: GF- Rob, can you pick up a bottle of Cab while you're at the store? Me- A bottle of Cab, Aye!

Btw, the annoying kitchen habit I slip into outside of work is yelling "HEARD!" when people say something. Like I'll be driving and the passenger will say, "This is my street" and I'll be, "This is your street, HEARD!"

Huge pet peeve of mine that happens all the time. Why would you expect people to move if you shout behind? I'm not even talking about laymen I'm talking about when you are at work. Saying behind means "don't move because I'm behind you" not "move out of my way." When I say behind it's specifically meant for someone to know I am behind them and not to move cause they will run into me. It really irks me to no end when people say behind who want me to move. I would much prefer "reaching" "coming down" "excuse me" etc. ← I hear you, Qwerty. But what really pisses me off is the one's who don't say 'behind' at all. I work with a younger guy at work who I'm always running into. It's like the guy doesn't have a tongue! Oh, he can speak, but he has no kitchen-sense at all. If a guy is hip deep in tickets and just churnin-n-burnin' you can't just stroll thru his area like you're taking a walk in the park.

The nature of celebrity itself has changed. 25 or 30 years ago, NBA players who's teams didn't make the playoffs routinely had to take summer jobs to get by. Hall of Fame NFL QBs made less than college professors do now. The explosion of cable & satellite TV along with the internet has created a "look at me" culture of celebrity that has no true parallel in human history. Now people are famous for making fun of people, famous for eating a lot of hot dogs in a short amount of time, famous for having tons of children, and even famous for being famous. So long as our cultural fad of celebrity endures, so will the celebrity chef.

I can remember when I was a child watching my Dad help my Grandpa castrating cattle (not pigs). There certainly was no anaethesia; a mention of it would probably get you a blank look of disbelief. Humane or not (by current standards) I'm unaware of that being done anywhere. Of course I'm 40 years old and the events I recall were over three decades ago, but my impression is that raising animals for food will always require actions that are by their very nature cruel- at least to modern sensibilities.

Years ago I used to keep a very nice home stereo on my line, and being the Chef I played what I wanted to hear, period! Over the years, though, I've tended to prefer not having music on the line. Firstly it can be distracting, and secondly it can lead to lots of conflict over what to listen too.

UR doin' it wrong!

I disagree- it's a necessity once you've tried one!