Worst Culinary Short Cuts

[Eman57]

So we all know that some chefs out there like to take short cuts, for example i worked at a place that would make aoli's by just adding chopped garlic to Hellmen's best and writing it on the menu as "homemade" indeed it was.... but hardly a true aoli. I also had a chef that would use pork shanks in place of veal shanks in osso bucco, which i think is a culinary sin. Needless to say i got out of those places fast.

Those may not be the best examples but im sure there are plenty of them out there....

[chileheadmike]

Powdered Hollandaise.

[Holly Moore]

Ten minutes to closing. Just scoured the grill. Customer orders a hamburger. Pattie goes into the fryer.

[JeanneCake]

I've always shared kitchen space - the very first kitchen I rented was part of a banquet facility. I didn't have any prior experience in restaurants so I would often ask what they were doing/making.

I saw the chef once adding powder from a packet into a huge pot of boiling water. I asked what it was (non-dairy creamer) and then asked why he was adding it to the water. His response: we're making the cream sauce for chicken pot pie.

I never ate any of the food offered to me while I was there.

ETA: correct typos

Edited June 15, 2011 by JeanneCake (log)

[Lisa Shock]

A caterer I know has people come in and work shifts if she has big events, and these part-timers work regular jobs at other places so most of their work ethic and habits come from their regular jobs. One guy never washes any food unless you stand over him and tell him to do it, item by item. His regular job is at a big, popular Italian place in town and he preps veg and cooks the line there. So, it's apparently SOP at the Italian place to cook up unwashed potatoes, unwashed mushrooms, etc. I won't set foot in the place.

[TheNoodleIncident]

Not sure if this is technically a "short-cut" (more like theft), but when I was in high school/college I worked at a bar where we had to "make" more top shelf vodka if we ran out and didn't have time to buy more. Simply enough, pour a bottle of the cheaper stuff (Absolut) into an empty bottle of the good stuff (Grey Goose).

I'm not proud of it at all, but it did reinforce my opinion that the people ordering their mixed drinks with top shelf vodka were simply doing it for appearances since no one EVER complained about getting the wrong booze.

[BadRabbit]

Not sure if this is technically a "short-cut" (more like theft), but when I was in high school/college I worked at a bar where we had to "make" more top shelf vodka if we ran out and didn't have time to buy more. Simply enough, pour a bottle of the cheaper stuff (Absolut) into an empty bottle of the good stuff (Grey Goose).

I'm not proud of it at all, but it did reinforce my opinion that the people ordering their mixed drinks with top shelf vodka were simply doing it for appearances since no one EVER complained about getting the wrong booze.

With vodka it is almost impossible to tell any decent one from a top shelf in a mixed drink (because the qualities of a good vodka are that it is has a neutral smell and taste). I've tested this hypothesis with quality bartenders and none of them were better than random on anything with more mixers in it than a martini. Most could tell the difference in dry martinis and straight shots.

This is absolutely not true with gin, whiskey, dark rums etc... however.

It's still stealing but I agree with you that most people are just ordering top shelf for looks when they ask for a Grey Goose sour.

[Dakki]

Not sure if this is technically a "short-cut" (more like theft), but when I was in high school/college I worked at a bar where we had to "make" more top shelf vodka if we ran out and didn't have time to buy more. Simply enough, pour a bottle of the cheaper stuff (Absolut) into an empty bottle of the good stuff (Grey Goose).

I'm not proud of it at all, but it did reinforce my opinion that the people ordering their mixed drinks with top shelf vodka were simply doing it for appearances since no one EVER complained about getting the wrong booze.

Many years ago at my then-favorite bar I was asked to settle an argument between the owner and the bartender regarding the correct conversion between milliliters and fluid ounces for precisely this reason. I haven't ordered a mixed drink at a bar since.

[Edward J]

Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer, and--get this, dumping a flat of whole, shell eggs in the Hobart, put the paddle in, let 'er rip for a minute or two, then strain through a chnoise to gt "liquid eggs" for the B'fst buffet.

[jduncan81]

Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer

Why is putting raw meat in the deep fryer a sin? It seems like a perfectly normal thing to do?

[scubadoo97]

Not sure if this is technically a "short-cut" (more like theft), but when I was in high school/college I worked at a bar where we had to "make" more top shelf vodka if we ran out and didn't have time to buy more. Simply enough, pour a bottle of the cheaper stuff (Absolut) into an empty bottle of the good stuff (Grey Goose).

I'm not proud of it at all, but it did reinforce my opinion that the people ordering their mixed drinks with top shelf vodka were simply doing it for appearances since no one EVER complained about getting the wrong booze.

Not condoning the action but...

Since blind taste tests routinely score Smirnoff better than Grey Goose I don't think the patrons got a bad vodka. Just paid too much for it. Then again if they got Grey Goose they paid too much for it.

[AAQuesada]

Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer, and--get this, dumping a flat of whole, shell eggs in the Hobart, put the paddle in, let 'er rip for a minute or two, then strain through a chnoise to gt "liquid eggs" for the B'fst buffet.

wOw

That's lazy, Back when I used to do that sort of thing I used to be able to do 1 case (or 2 cubes) of eggs in 15 minutes Cracked, Strained and Ready to go. Its really, really not that hard. AND No Hobart to clean! Although someone that lazy prolly let the porter clean it.

[BigJoe]

anything in the microwave, shoemakers

[minas6907]

This is copied from the menu from my first restaurant job:

"Santa Ynez Tri Tip $24

Grilled tri tip, burgundy-pepper marinade, roasted

new potatoes, santa ynez-spiced demi-glacé"

Its the 'demi-glace' that kills me. That was made from salty powdered beef stick mix, a handfull of Christmas spice, and a cornstarch slurry to thicken. It really was great meat, but that sauce kills it, its so salty and jelly like, hardly can be called a demi.

[xxchef]

I once saw an "emergency" brown sauce I'll never forget...

Water, soy sauce, cornstarch, boil, serve. At least it was on meatloaf, not tri-tip.

[piracer]

its funny and sad at the same time i guess, the bistro i currently work in definitely has some short cuts here and there. For example we use a little chicken stock to extend our onion soup and for a chicken dish with mini raviolis we buy them in frozen. I talked to the chef addressing this and i think for the most part, these are short cuts he also doesnt really like, but its out of necessity especially with a cliental asking for more but expecting to pay less.

Make your own pasta? Noooo way. Make 4-5 different stocks? Not in that tiny kitchen. The food is still quality, the stew for example are made completely from scratch, and so are the terrines, confits and whatever else there is.

Also, i think theres a bad rep with microwaves. For example we use it to reheat our braises such as a coq au vin which obviouslly cant be cooked to order, thats impossible. I mean, it is finished to order and what not but again, i dont think all short cuts are bad. All in all, quality food still comes out. Could it be improved, could the chefs work harder? Of course they could, but are they paid too do so, do they care this much? Nope.

[TheTInCook]

Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer, and--get this, dumping a flat of whole, shell eggs in the Hobart, put the paddle in, let 'er rip for a minute or two, then strain through a chnoise to gt "liquid eggs" for the B'fst buffet.

Lollol, that's kinda how the real shelling machines work. I've seen em demoed at restaurant conventions. They look kinda like upright washers. You dump in a whole cube of shell eggs. Let er rip. Liquid eggs come out of the spigot into your bucket. The busted up shells are retained in the drum for you to empty.

[jrshaul]

Not condoning the action but...

Since blind taste tests routinely score Smirnoff better than Grey Goose I don't think the patrons got a bad vodka. Just paid too much for it. Then again if they got Grey Goose they paid too much for it.

I run Popov through a heavy-duty carbon scrubber and use it for my liqueurs and infusions. Never had a comment. I quite like Old Crow, too - most people can't tell it from Jack Daniels, and it's an awful lot cheaper.

Cheap brandy is a crime against humanity, though. Corn is corn, but bad grapes...

[xxchef]

About 30 years ago I worked in the kitchen at a nursing care center in RI. Split Pea Soup was on the menu one day but we didn't have any dry split peas, ham bones or anything I could find close to what I needed with which to make it, so I told the head cook I was running out to the store to buy a few things.

He said "Forget that." and instructed me to open a bunch of #10 cans of canned peas, puree them and add some diced (and I swear to you this is the truth) Spam.

I was a part-time nobody so I did what he told me. It was truly disgusting but a lot of people ate it and nobody complained. That's probably the scariest part of the story.

[paulraphael]

Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer, and--get this, dumping a flat of whole, shell eggs in the Hobart, put the paddle in, let 'er rip for a minute or two, then strain through a chnoise to gt "liquid eggs" for the B'fst buffet.

Lollol, that's kinda how the real shelling machines work. I've seen em demoed at restaurant conventions. They look kinda like upright washers. You dump in a whole cube of shell eggs. Let er rip. Liquid eggs come out of the spigot into your bucket. The busted up shells are retained in the drum for you to empty.

Yeah, seriously, it may be lazy but it also sounds smart. What's wrong with this?

[LaurieB]

"Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer, and--get this, dumping a flat of whole, shell eggs in the Hobart, put the paddle in, let 'er rip for a minute or two, then strain through a chnoise to gt "liquid eggs" for the B'fst buffet."

And I thought I'd seen it all.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Worst sins I've seen were raw meat in the deep fryer, and--get this, dumping a flat of whole, shell eggs in the Hobart, put the paddle in, let 'er rip for a minute or two, then strain through a chnoise to gt "liquid eggs" for the B'fst buffet.

Lollol, that's kinda how the real shelling machines work. I've seen em demoed at restaurant conventions. They look kinda like upright washers. You dump in a whole cube of shell eggs. Let er rip. Liquid eggs come out of the spigot into your bucket. The busted up shells are retained in the drum for you to empty.

Yeah, seriously, it may be lazy but it also sounds smart. What's wrong with this?

Nothing inherently, but I recall an incident of food poisoning some years ago invoving the Egg King and a cook who didn't wash his hands before handling the eggs, and this presumes the shells are clean to begin with.

[Simon_S]

Timely that this has popped up, because I experienced a new low yesterday that I wanted to share.

I fancied a breakfast sandwich at my desk yesterday morning, and I'd spotted that a local cafe/sandwich bar was advertising them for a reasonably competitive €3.50. I ordered, and wasn't surprised to see pre-cooked sausage and bacon put in a microwave for reheating. I was, however, quite surprised to see a pre-fried egg taken from a plastic container and also reheated in the microwave. How lazy is that?

[Cola-Bear]

Timely that this has popped up, because I experienced a new low yesterday that I wanted to share.

I fancied a breakfast sandwich at my desk yesterday morning, and I'd spotted that a local cafe/sandwich bar was advertising them for a reasonably competitive €3.50. I ordered, and wasn't surprised to see pre-cooked sausage and bacon put in a microwave for reheating. I was, however, quite surprised to see a pre-fried egg taken from a plastic container and also reheated in the microwave. How lazy is that?

That is pretty awful, I find if you pre-cook any kind of eggs meant to be served hot and then re-heating them you're just asking for trouble (hardboiled are a different story), I'm sorry you had to witness it.

The worst thing I have seen recently at my work was a cook who has been here for upwards of 20 years, I'm discovering its the kind of place that if you work hard enough to not get fired you won't, 80% of the work done by 20% of the people. We had a pheasant breast/risotto special running and it was approx. 15 mins. til close, so most of our mise we had started cooling/putting away (including the stock we were using to finish the risotto). A late two-top shows up and one of them orders the pheasant special. I'm going back and forth to the walk-in putting my mise away, come back out maybe sooner than he expected. I see he's sliced the pheasant breast thinly and is cremating it under the sally and is ladling the god damn dish-water from the bain-marie/steam table into the risotto pan. I literally had to restrain myself from just pushing him off line.

[JulianZoetmulder]

Cross-contamination via negligence gives me nightmares. I'm lucky enough not be allergic to anything and being a guy don't have to worry about getting pregnant and avoiding seafood. I once saw a chef in an open kitchen (idiot) simply wipe the board he'd sliced raw chicken on with a dirty towel before carving a cooked lamb rack for presentation on the same board. If you can't get your prep done in time, wake up earlier.