Defensive Chefs

Pan · March 11, 2005

[deleted because this was already covered]

Edited March 11, 2005 by Pan (log)

Pan · March 11, 2005

[...]
Take Randi's case for example. I am going to imagine a little here. (Randi, i hope you dont mind). Her issue was the 'more filler'. She meant the filler to be the breading. Maybe there was more demand for crab cakes that day. Maybe the supplier failed to deliver the requisite amount of crab meat. Maybe the commis fucked up. Maybe the crab meat went bad.[...]
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Indeed, all of these things and more could have happened, but that's not the customer's problem. The customer is there to enjoy the food, not to say "Well, the food wasn't as good as I expected, but that's OK because I suppose the line chefs got fender benders, the supplies didn't come on time, etc., etc." When your car is in the shop, does it bother you a little when repairs aren't done well or/and in a timely fashion, or is your main feeling one of compassion toward the mechanics, who have all kinds of things happening in their lives? The fact is, all kinds of shit can happen to professionals. As a professional, I know that. But taking those things as excuses is the wrong way to go. And I find it somewhat annoying that you associate consistency only with crap, not with high-level professionals. If you think consistency is monotony, don't have a set menu, and appeal to a clientele that likes having the "dishes of the day," which are based on what did arrive and is in good condition. That's a good solution, but only to those who choose to take that route.

Pan · March 11, 2005

[...]in extreme cases of rude or impossibly picky customers (which I've never encountered) I don't think it's reasonable for a restaurant to say, "we don't want or need your business."[...]
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You undoubtedly mean that you don't think it's unreasonable to say that, and I certainly agree with you. Some customers are such buttheads that they deserve to be or even have to be thrown out of a restaurant.

Of course I want to know if something is wrong. The customer isn't dining in my restaurant as a favor either. There are expectations of quality and consistency commensurate with the price and context which a professional should be able to meet and if those aren't met well than critical feedback comes with the territory...
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To me, what you've just written exemplifies a professional attitude.

Pan · March 11, 2005

When someone orders a menu item, I feel it is the role of the chef to deliver that item in a quality manner, as consistently as possible. Why have a menu if every dish is going to come out differently?
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"consistently as possible", being the key...
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Has anyone been asking for impossible consistency?

chefzadi · March 11, 2005

I don't think I would have offered a criticism just because the owner or anyone else asked me how everything was. That's a pretty standard line at any restaurant, isn't it? I see it as a social gesture rather than an invitation for criticism or detailed feedback.[...]
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Perhaps it's because I'm from New York, but my attitude is, if you don't want my opinion, don't ask for it. If someone asks "Is everything alright?", there's something not entirely satisfactory, and I think it might possibly be worth being honest, I'll tell them. (If I've determined that the place is totally hopeless, I may just give up and say "Fine.") If they then demonstrate that they were insincere in asking the question, whoops -- there goes that good tip I might have given them, if it's a waiter/waitress. If it's someone higher up in management, so long and bad luck to your business.
I should add that I eat out really frequently and seldom complain, and that my most common answer to "How is everything" is "Fine." But probably 99% of the time, it's a sincere answer to what I hope was a sincere question.
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Her point which I understand firsthand is that restaurant service staff ask out of basic protocal, of course no professional is surprised when someone gives a detailed response whether it's positive or critical. The question is habitual so before the question is asked deep intense thought for asking it is unlikely. It's more like if the customer has something to say we want to hear it, but we're not thinking "I really want to know what that particular customer has to say" unless of course it's a special circumstance.

I also know firsthand that for Touragsand as an industry professional "just fine" is not enough. She's the one that designed the feedback cards I mentioned earlier. It gave the customers a direct line to management. It gave customers a chance to point out increments of service, consistency and quality, nuances that they might not mention verbally to a server. It was a written account for the owners/investors to see how things were going. It was also a written account of all the things that would go wrong when I wasn't there. It was something that was useful at staff meetings. It stopped a lot of backstabbing and gossip. It was also a great way to generate a mailing list (email and snail mail) so that we could annouce special events... This was a fine dining place. I wouldn't apply to the same standards to a mid range place. Because I know what those types of places have to work with in terms.

I can also tell you that touaregsand is very New York in certain ways, not only because she is commonly taken for a native New Yorker by New Yorkers, but she has no problem complaining about truly awful service or quality. She has never been confronted by a chef, but she has on three occassions (not extremely bad, but made worse by dishonest and patronizing answers on the part of the server who was speaking for the chef) request that "chef come out and lie directly." She's also New York in spirit enough to know that if she complained about increments in quality, service and consistency at certain levels of restaurants in NYC, the response whether spoken or not would be "whaddya want?" Pretty much what you would get in Paris or Seoul :biggrin:

chefzadi · March 11, 2005

When someone orders a menu item, I feel it is the role of the chef to deliver that item in a quality manner, as consistently as possible. Why have a menu if every dish is going to come out differently?
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"consistently as possible", being the key...
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Has anyone been asking for impossible consistency?
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I think the issue of consistency has to be looked at contextually. At the chain level, extreme consistency is achieved through homegenization and catering to the lowest common denominator. At top tier places, it is achieved by having one staff member for just a few customers. Everything in between is where consistency is much more varied. I think that Faust as a would be industry professional (if I'm not mistaken he is attending culinary school) is perhaps looking too closely at some of the expressed expectations of consistency here on egullet. Even as an experienced chef I sometimes do the same thing and sometimes I find it a bit confusing. Most of my work experience has been in fine dining, upper mid to top tier. At this level consistency is justifiably expected. I have a friend in LA who has a little mom and pop French Cafe. He's not a trained chef nor did he have a lot of kitchen line experience in French restaurants, he worked as server and maitre'd. He has no pretensions of being a master French chef. His customer's know he cuts corners and does the best he can. And that it's just him and one other guy in the kitchen. Over the years he's developed a neighborhood clientele that appreciates his home cooking so they don't get upset when the steak they had last time is a bit different this time.

Viola da gamba · March 11, 2005

If any of you out there can think of situations where your income goes down when you pay more attention to doing your job exactly to the customer's satisfaction, I'd love to hear about them. Please.
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Happens quite a lot as a lawyer - and we're paid by the hour, so it's really noticeable. Those tend to be the clients where you have to "paper" everything from here to next week because you just KNOW that there's going to be a complaint to the relevant law society, despite doing everything according to instructions (and often getting exactly the result predicted or even requested). In some ways, and please don't flame me for this, I think there's a few similarities in being a chef/lawyer - non-industry people always figure they know how to do what they're paying you for better - or their friends do - and they'll tell you so at length - i.e. "my friend said you could sue for defamation, so why didn't you tell me about that option?" followed by a complaint to the law society that you failed to properly represent/pursue their interests. Is it too much of a stretch to suggest that this is comparable (okay - feel free to start with the lawyer jokes now - I know I asked for it :rolleyes: ).

Sorry - end of moaning.

Edited March 11, 2005 by Viola da gamba (log)

Farns · March 11, 2005

Hmm...expecting consistency is reasonable?

Yes, it certainly is

Consistency of quality is reasonable. Consistency in the freshness of ingredients used is reasonable. Expecting edible food is completely reasonable. The kind of rigid consistency from visit to visit is what makes restaurant food boring. This severely limits the range of tastes/flavours/recipes that a chef can create in his kitchen.

No it doesn't. You can always change your menu. But when someone comes to your restaurant and orders a dish that they have had before, it had better be like it was the last time.

I think the dining customers must respect the chef in the kitchen.

:rolleyes: You have got to be kidding me. Get over yourself.

Anyone can cook if they are talented and have the right training. Running a professional kitchen is a wholly different deal. Imagine, if you can, you have NO idea who is going to order what, but you have to keep everything ready. You have to send food out to five..seven..ten people at the same time. The food has to be hot. The food has to be cooked to the right degree. The plates have to be neatly presented. Arent we all into 'pretty'? The customer is not paying for consistency. He/she is paying for quality ingredients, edible food of the highest quality, service and ambience.

Can we please quit the martyrdom? I hate it when anyone laments about how hard their job is as if no one else works as hard as you do. Your job is so much tougher than mine. How do you know? You don't. So quit this "woe is me" stuff.

Demanding the exact seasoning memory recalls is completely and utterly unreasonable.

Randi simply made a comment that the crab cakes were different than they were before. You know what it is like when things taste different. That is a far cry from exact seasoning memory recall. She even went so far as to say she would give them the benefit of the doubt and go there again. I think you are being more defensive than the chef of the restaurant in question and you weren't even involved.

The ultimate dining experience, imo, is to 'let go'. Let the chef guide you. Apathy, frustration etc from certain chefs in the industry stems from attitudes like this. There are limits to what you can expect from a man/woman/brigade that works 12-14 hours a day. Non stop. It is hot.

more martyrdom

Take Randi's case for example. I am going to imagine a little here. (Randi, i hope you dont mind). Her issue was the 'more filler'. She meant the filler to be the breading. Maybe there was more demand for crab cakes that day. Maybe the supplier failed to deliver the requisite amount of crab meat. Maybe the commis fucked up. Maybe the crab meat went bad.
Why would the crab cakes taste different? Maybe the chef DID use more breading and less of the meat. He COULD have added some other kind of meat/fish to bring the crab ratio: breading to its usual numbers. That would have compromised the dish. The crab cakes on any given day may taste different for any number of reasons.

This, coming from a chef, is pure blasphemy. Why would you even consider reducing the quality of your food in order to feed more mouths? Sometimes you run out of things in your business. Customers understand that too. The logical thing to do is either not offer them that day or tell your waitstaff that they have run out so they can inform the customers. If you think the latter option is not good, then I would have to disagree with you. I would bet in good confidence, that some of the people who couldn't have the crab cakes would come back simply because they want to see how good they must be. The same thing applies to places where you almost always have to wait. People avoid that and miss out because if you have to wait, it must be good. Why else would there be so many people there?

Good food is what keeps restaurants running. At least, that is how it should be....There is another word for consistency. Monotony.

You are missing the pint. Randi is not saying that their menu should always have those crabcakes. Her point is simply that when they do offer them, consistency is in order. I agree wholeheartedly

Chris Amirault · March 12, 2005

Yeesh! Lots of feelings are being expressed, as I used to say as a counselor. I have lots of opinions, most of which have been expressed. BUT I have a great story that I want to share on this subject.

Twenty years ago, I ordered salt and pepper squid at a Boston Chinatown restaurant, and it arrived utterly cold. I mean, frigid, friends. I pointed this out to the waiter, who brought the owner/chef. The following exchange transpired:

Me: "Hi, my squid is cold."

Chef: "No, it's not."

Me [Perplexed]: "Hmm, uhm, well, yes, it is."

Chef: "No, that's simply impossible."

Me: [Holding up a ring of chilly squid with chopsticks] "Actually, sir, it's very cold."

Chef [inserting a finger into the center of the squid ring, looking perturbed]: "No, see? It's warm. You're wrong." [Walks away brusquely]

I was left astonished, holding the now-fingered squid ring aloft.

:huh:

chefzadi · March 12, 2005

Yeesh! Lots of feelings are being expressed, as I used to say as a counselor. I have lots of opinions, most of which have been expressed. BUT I have a great story that I want to share on this subject.

You hit the nail on the head.

**andiesenji** · March 12, 2005

My favorite similar experience was when we went to a French restaurant in Buffalo with my parents once. My Mom was eating a dish with a cream sauce on it, and went "eeew" and pulled a small piece of a wisk broom straw out of her mouth that had been in the dish's sauce.
She called the waiter over and showed it to him and he went and got the manager and the chef. The chef took the piece of straw from my Mom, peered at it, and then said in a most condescending tone, "Madam doesn't seem to be aware that this is an herb called rosemary that was not properly crushed in the preperation of your dish, certainly not a piece of straw from a wisk broom".
Mom looked at the chef and replied, "Bullshit. Madam has a Master's Degree in Home Economics and has taught it for 20 years in high school, and knows God-damn well what She just pulled out of her mouth".
The look on his face was priceless, and She got a new entree and dessert on the house.
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I love it! Would love to have seen his face.

Several years ago some friends and I went to dinner at a very well known restaurant in West L.A. We had a lovely dinner and ordered our desserts. When I tasted mine I realized that the whipped cream was soured and motioned our server to the table and very quitely mentioned it and he took it back to the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later the chef came to our table with the same dessert and said rather loudly that I didn't know what I was tasting, it was supposed to taste like that.

I asked had he tasted it and he said, "No, I know how it is supposed to taste."

He then gestured at a nearby table where a celebrity was sitting and said, "Do you know who that is and do you think he would be eating here if the food we served was spoiled."

I said, "Yes, I know who he is, in fact, I have worked for him in the past as his personal chef."

Then I whispered to him, "I really think you should take this spoon (a clean one) and actually taste the cream on this dish."

He did and the expression on HIS face was priceless. He whisked the offending dish off the table, marched back to the kitchen, face very red.

I was brought a new dessert, which was perfect, we were all brought espresso and when we asked for our check we were told it had been taken care of.

I returned to the restaurant several times over the years. That chef is long gone, but I never had a similar experience, the food was always excellent and the service was always exemplary.

RETREVR · March 12, 2005

Ok now that we are disecting this.

"She apologized and said that next time her husband would make them for me and I said, that's ok, I would probably just order something else."

Ok, the owner tried to solve the problem right there. You declined. The owner was probably offended that she had extended a solution and an offer for special treatment.

Your reply was basically "thanks but no thanks".

She then went to kitchen to see what went wrong. That is were it turned for the worse.

You, in diferent words, have said that you think their intentions were honorable but they just came across wrong. If that is the case, get over it.

Sometimes the more you do to try to please someone, the more imposible it becomes to please them.

Can you imagine if they have read this post? How petty would all of this sound? They would be thinking, " We do our best, but maybe the cakes were different. I offer to have my husband cook for her personaly and that is not good enough. I offer her my chef to show her that we take her concerns seriously. None of this is satisfactory? I even comp'ed a peice of cheese cake. Then she has to post not once but twice in order to discuss what a bunch of baffoons we are?"

They tried to extend a courtesy. You can now choose to never go back, or you can return the courtesy and go back for another meal.

Edited March 12, 2005 by RETREVR (log)

Timh · March 12, 2005

I got the impression that Timh made it clear that his examples were extreme....
Really? he sounded quite confrontational to me, hmmmm
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Confrontational with those extreme customers yes. But I didn't get the impression that that's his usual style.
Maybe, I'm used to all the jokes about French chefs.
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Greetings Chefs, et al

I'll work like crazy to make the guest happy, and take constructive, knowledgeable criticisms seriously and thoughtfully. But when there's nothing you can do, what then? Give away the store? I lilke to think I approach these seldom occurances with a sense of humor(to me?).

On the flip side, still in N.O., my girlfriend(now wife) and I were celebrating my taking over the kitchen(someone elses downfall nonethe less) at Bayona and after a great meal and alot of wine, we aparently were having too much fun. So a desert comes from the kitchen, a chocolate something, but written in chocolate across the bottom half of the rim, "GO HOME!"

Tim

The kitchen I inherited was some no name place, we were just celebrating at Bayona.

Edited March 12, 2005 by Timh (log)

RETREVR · March 12, 2005

I got the impression that Timh made it clear that his examples were extreme....
Really? he sounded quite confrontational to me, hmmmm
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Confrontational with those extreme customers yes. But I didn't get the impression that that's his usual style.
Maybe, I'm used to all the jokes about French chefs.
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Greetings Chefs, et al
I'll work like crazy to make the guest happy, and take constructive, knowledgeable criticisms seriously and thoughtfully. But when there's nothing you can do, what then? Give away the store? I lilke to think I approach these seldom occurances with a sense of humor(to me?).
On the flip side, still in N.O., my girlfriend(now wife) and I were celebrating my taking over the kitchen(someone elses downfall nonethe less) at Bayona and after a great meal and alot of wine, we aparently were having too much fun. So a desert comes from the kitchen, a chocolate something, but written in chocolate across the bottom half of the rim, "GO HOME!"
Tim
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"go home"

That was probably a toned-down way of saying "get a room"

I have seen frustrated cooks write nasty things in the creme anglais while painting plates. Just make sure it gets swirled before it leaves the kitchen.

Timh · March 12, 2005

Nah, just a happy , loaded ,beginning restaurant couple.

touaregsand · March 12, 2005

Nah, just a happy , loaded ,beginning restaurant couple.
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:wink: :laugh: been there, done that!

Randi · March 12, 2005

Ok now that we are disecting this.
"She apologized and said that next time her husband would make them for me and I said, that's ok, I would probably just order something else."
Ok, the owner tried to solve the problem right there. You declined. The owner was probably offended that she had extended a solution and an offer for special treatment.
Your reply was basically "thanks but no thanks".
She then went to kitchen to see what went wrong. That is were it turned for the worse.
You, in diferent words, have said that you think their intentions were honorable but they just came across wrong. If that is the case, get over it.
Sometimes the more you do to try to please someone, the more imposible it becomes to please them.
Can you imagine if they have read this post? How petty would all of this sound? They would be thinking, " We do our best, but maybe the cakes were different. I offer to have my husband cook for her personaly and that is not good enough. I offer her my chef to show her that we take her concerns seriously. None of this is satisfactory? I even comp'ed a peice of cheese cake. Then she has to post not once but twice in order to discuss what a bunch of baffoons we are?"
They tried to extend a courtesy. You can now choose to never go back, or you can return the courtesy and go back for another meal.
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Yikes... :blink:

I've already said here that I am going back. I also told HER I am coming back. I never said they were buffoons, I posted to get some opinions from folks on the situation. There have been many supporting them, and many against them. I never really took either position, you might have noticed.

Even when I said I thought their approach was misguided, I did say their intentions seemed pure.

I like the restaurant. I like the food. I was excited that on a previous visit their crab cakes were so amazing but then that night - they were truly ordinary. I expressed it. That's all.

Get over it? Have I been posting angry things? Have I attacked them? I have nothing to get over. I simply posted a tale of a dinner experience which prompted some lively discussion.

Now I'm the bad guy??

:wacko:

SKinCA · March 12, 2005

Ok now that we are disecting this.
"She apologized and said that next time her husband would make them for me and I said, that's ok, I would probably just order something else."
Ok, the owner tried to solve the problem right there. You declined. The owner was probably offended that she had extended a solution and an offer for special treatment.
Your reply was basically "thanks but no thanks".
She then went to kitchen to see what went wrong. That is were it turned for the worse.
You, in diferent words, have said that you think their intentions were honorable but they just came across wrong. If that is the case, get over it.
Sometimes the more you do to try to please someone, the more imposible it becomes to please them.
Can you imagine if they have read this post? How petty would all of this sound? They would be thinking, " We do our best, but maybe the cakes were different. I offer to have my husband cook for her personaly and that is not good enough. I offer her my chef to show her that we take her concerns seriously. None of this is satisfactory? I even comp'ed a peice of cheese cake. Then she has to post not once but twice in order to discuss what a bunch of baffoons we are?"
They tried to extend a courtesy. You can now choose to never go back, or you can return the courtesy and go back for another meal.
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Yikes...
I've already said here that I am going back. I also told HER I am coming back. I never said they were buffoons, I posted to get some opinions from folks on the situation. There have been many supporting them, and many against them. I never really took either position, you might have noticed.
Even when I said I thought their approach was misguided, I did say their intentions seemed pure.
I like the restaurant. I like the food. I was excited that on a previous visit their crab cakes were so amazing but then that night - they were truly ordinary. I expressed it. That's all.
Get over it? Have I been posting angry things? Have I attacked them? I have nothing to get over. I simply posted a tale of a dinner experience which prompted some lively discussion.
Now I'm the bad guy??

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I don't think you are the "bad guy". I think sometimes when a person starts a post, honestly asking for info, the ensuing discussion by others is taken as a reflection of or opinion of the person who made the original post.

In reading your original post, I just get that you wondered what others would do in the same situation. I didn't take a away a feeling of hostility at all.

And "get over it" is pretty lousy feedback. Everyone needs to take a sounding of the opinions of others now and again.

As RETRVER wasn't there whilst the owner and chef were talking to you, he can have no possible clue as to what was going through their minds. You, however, have told us exactly how you felt - sorta cornered and uncomfortable. If I were the owner of the restaurant and I read your post, I might think to myself "hmmm...I made that customer quite uncomfortable. I should probably rethink how to handle that situation in the future."

I mean, after all, did the owner expect you to come back in 2 weeks or a month and order the crab cakes and then tell the waiter, "Oh by the way, these have to be cooked by the owner's husband as she promised me that last time I was here." I would think that in offering to make amends, they should offer something easier for you to get - like, a coupon for a free glass of wine or something.

And at least this post by me should make others irate enough that I draw their fire instead of you! :laugh:

jerkhouse · March 12, 2005

Could some more people post some experiences? I find these stories very interesting.

Pan · March 12, 2005

[...]
I can also tell you that touaregsand is very New York in certain ways, not only because she is commonly taken for a native New Yorker by New Yorkers, but she has no problem complaining about truly awful service or quality. She has never been confronted by a chef, but she has on three occassions (not extremely bad, but made worse by dishonest and patronizing answers on the part of the server who was speaking for the chef) request that "chef come out and lie directly." She's also New York in spirit enough to know that if she complained about increments in quality, service and consistency at certain levels of restaurants in NYC, the response whether spoken or not would be "whaddya want?" Pretty much what you would get in Paris or Seoul
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If that was her point, I definitely see what she means. I don't complain if my chicken stew isn't exactly the same every time at my local Polish diner, Teresa's. On the other hand, I did complain when the water (and everything else served in glasses) tasted of dishwashing detergent perfume (no doubt in part a reflection on what detergent they were using then). I think that's the last thing I complained about there, and that was probably a year and a half ago, and I'm a regular customer. But they are very dependable for their price point.

auntdot · March 12, 2005

Boy, there are so many issues that have been brought up here.

I would like to address one.

It seems to me that most of the posters are chefs, and God Bless you.

We are merely customers who enjoy your efforts very much.

You guys work so hard to put out good food and we appreciate it.

However, we see retaurants come and go all the time.

Now there may be many reasons for that, I suppose, but I can only talk about one.

If we go to a restaurant, and get a meal that we feel is disappointing, we just smile, tell the FOH that everything was fine, and never return.

And so the house never knows what was not enjoyable to us.

Perhaps we should state our true opinion, but the idea of a chef coming to our table to display uncooked crab cakes is unacceptable.

And so we just never go back.

And the owner/chef has no idea why.

I would love to tell a chef or owner or manager, when something is awry, what I thought could be improved.

And we are not looking for a comp, please believe me.

But for us, we are out to have a good time, and the last thing we want is a hassle.

Just a thought.

Edited March 12, 2005 by auntdot (log)

TheFoodTutor · March 12, 2005

This, coming from a chef, is pure blasphemy. Why would you even consider reducing the quality of your food in order to feed more mouths? Sometimes you run out of things in your business. Customers understand that too.

This reminds me of a situation where a customer clearly did not understand this. I work in a restaurant that occasionally offers key lime pie as a special during certain months. The pie is very good, and it's quite popular, but of course we can't always have it, because key limes are seasonal. In winter, we run a cheesecake made with pumpkin and squash, because it's more fitting to have that at that time.

So, anyway, one day I greeted a table where the lady, before even ordering a beverage, asked me immediately if we had key lime pie, because she really wanted some. I told her that we did have it that day, but we were down to our last 3 slices, so I should probably go ahead and put in her order, lest we run out by the time she finished her meal and was ready for dessert. When we ran out of key lime pie, it usually took about 3 hours for the new batch to set up so that we could have it as a special again.

So she got her key lime pie, but she continued to talk to me about it. She asked me, "Why would you ever run out?" Umm, you mean, why don't we always have enough key lime pie that if thousands of people came in and they all wanted a slice, we'd have it ready for them? This restaurant has 5 walk in coolers, but I don't think we have enough room for that much pie.

I pondered her question, perplexed, for some time, and then I asked my best friend what sort of answer he could come up with for the question, "Why would you ever run out?" And he said that he'd have responded, "Because we're idiots, ma'am." and left it at that.

FaustianBargain · March 12, 2005

I've already said here that I am going back. I also told HER I am coming back. I never said they were buffoons, I posted to get some opinions from folks on the situation. There have been many supporting them, and many against them. I never really took either position, you might have noticed.
Even when I said I thought their approach was misguided, I did say their intentions seemed pure.
I like the restaurant. I like the food. I was excited that on a previous visit their crab cakes were so amazing but then that night - they were truly ordinary. I expressed it. That's all.
Get over it? Have I been posting angry things? Have I attacked them? I have nothing to get over. I simply posted a tale of a dinner experience which prompted some lively discussion.
Now I'm the bad guy??

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With all due respect, Randi, you did mention in the NJ thread that you are taking back your crab cake recommendation.

Your words:

Anyhow...it was an adventure, but I would still go back, as I like the place, like the food, and I understand that she was trying hard to make sure I was happy, even though it pretty much had the wrong effect on me.
So, basically, I am writing this to take back my recommendation of the crab cakes. laugh.gif Oh, and I am wondering if anyone else has ever been confronted by the chef when they were disappointed in a dish?? Maybe I should take that question to General Food Topics...

Rebel Rose · March 12, 2005

Randi,

The appropriate response for an owner/host/chef to a mild complaint is to ask the patron a few polite questions and thank the patron for their input.

There's no need to change anything in the kitchen, no need to defend the food or the cooking, and the patron feels gratified that their comments were received with a kind and serious attitude.

If the chef and owner care about their customers, they'll discuss the issue.

If the chef and owner think the customer is a crackpot, they can make an effigy in the kitchen and attack it with pineapple spears.

FaustianBargain · March 12, 2005

RR, I think everyone is missing one crucial bit of information. That being Randi's complaint that there was too much filler.

Filler in the kitchen is inferior meat instead of good crab lumpmeat. Randi was referring to breading as 'filler'.

Any chef who takes pride in his cooking will be appalled if a customer accuses of him of using inferior fish as 'filler' instead of the lump crabmeat. Randi took pains to explain this, yet everyone seems to want to ignore this very significant misunderstanding.

I wonder why.

Randi,
The appropriate response for an owner/host/chef to a mild complaint is to ask the patron a few polite questions and thank the patron for their input.
There's no need to change anything in the kitchen, no need to defend the food or the cooking, and the patron feels gratified that their comments were received with a kind and serious attitude.
If the chef and owner care about their customers, they'll discuss the issue.
If the chef and owner think the customer is a crackpot, they can make an effigy in the kitchen and attack it with pineapple spears.
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