c/chefs

8

charles_kim•17h ago

Tried dry-brining a chicken for 24 hours instead of my usual 8

The skin came out crispy like glass, but the meat was borderline too salty. Has anyone else messed with longer brines and found a sweet spot?

4

lisa_brown•2d ago

Shoutout to that little pie shop in Portland that got me rethinking fine dining

I visited Portland last spring and stopped at this tiny spot called Sweedeedee for a slice of their banana cream pie. Everyone in the chef community raves about fancy plating and molecular gastronomy, but that simple pie made me realize how much we overlook basic pastry work. The crust was perfect, the filling wasn't too sweet, and it cost $6.50. Has anyone else found a random hole-in-the-wall that totally changed how you think about technique?

23

abbyl49•3d ago

Hot take: pre-chopping garlic the day before kills the flavor

I saw a study in Cook's Illustrated that said garlic loses 60% of its allicin within 12 hours of cutting. Everyone in my kitchen swears by prepping mise the night before, but I think they are ruining every sauce we put out. Anyone else notice a difference when you use fresh vs. prepped?

23

leo107•3d ago

Just realized I wasted $200 on a fancy knife set I barely touch

I bought this high-end knife set five years ago when I first started cooking professionally. Thought I needed all those specialty blades for prep work. Turns out I only use the chef's knife and a paring knife every single shift. The other six knives just sit in the block collecting dust. I could have saved $150 and just grabbed a solid 8-inch Wusthof and a cheap paring knife. Anyone else ever overbuy on gear early in their career?

7

hall.quinn•5d ago

Sharpening stone trick that finally clicked for me

I've been fighting with my knife edges for months, always getting a decent but not great sharp edge. Watched all the youtube vids, tried different angles, nothing stuck. Then a line cook at this diner in Pittsburgh told me to soak my stones way longer than I thought, like 20 minutes minimum. I always did like 5 minutes and called it good. Tried the full soak last week before service and holy crap the difference was night and day. The slurry came out way better and I got a razor edge on my chef knife in like half the passes. Anybody else have a basic thing they overlooked for way too long?

19

robert_jones•7d ago

Chopping herbs with a dull knife for 6 years...

I've been cooking since I was 18, always thought I was just slow at fine chopping basil and parsley. Last month a new line cook handed me his own knife and said "try this one." I sliced through a whole bunch of chives in like 10 seconds without smashing any of them. Turns out I was just fighting against a dull edge the whole time and bruising everything. My knife sharpener showed up the next day. Has anyone else had that moment where a better tool made them realize they weren't the problem?

12

barbara_sanchez88•7d ago

Just realized I wasted $300 on a fancy chef's knife set

Bought a 8-piece set last year thinking it would up my game, but I only use one knife now - a $40 Victorinox. Anyone else ditch their expensive knife set after getting a single workhorse?

16

the_jennifer•11d ago

Shelled out $200 for a good chef's knife and it was worth every penny

I always used whatever cheap knives were at the restaurant supply store, figuring a sharp edge is a sharp edge... then I got a chance to try a coworker's Shun and finally understood what I was missing. After I saved up and bought my own, my prep time dropped by almost half and my cuts are way more consistent. Has anyone else had that moment where a single tool totally changed how you work in the kitchen?

18

sethp26•13d ago

I finally had a perfect Saturday service after 6 months of chaos

Last weekend everything just clicked... tickets came in smooth, the new guy didn't burn a single steak, and we cleared the board by 9pm. Has anyone else had one of those nights where the whole line just syncs up like that?

6

amymiller•14d ago

Finally got my brisket bark right after a guy in Houston told me to stop opening the smoker every hour

I was always checking on it and losing heat, but after I trusted his advice and left it closed for 6 hours straight, the crust came out perfect and now I feel dumb for all those dry briskets I ruined.

15

umaadams•14d ago

That time a sous chef swore by wet aging everything for 3 weeks straight

I had this older sous chef at a place in Austin who told me wet aging any cut of beef for exactly 21 days made it way more tender. I thought he was crazy because we were going through a lot of steaks. After 6 months of following his rule, I did a side-by-side with a 10 day wet age and a 21 day one. The difference was huge - the longer one had way less chew and more flavor. Has anyone else had a mentor give advice that seemed off but ended up being spot on?

2

ray648•16d ago

Went to a pop-up kitchen in Portland and saw a chef using a blowtorch on lettuce

I was at this tiny pop-up spot in Portland last Saturday and the chef torched romaine hearts right before plating. It gave the salad a smoky char but I'm wondering if it actually did anything for flavor or just looked cool. Anyone tried this on a busy line and think it's worth the extra step?

15

the_evan•20d ago

Just realized I was over-salting my pasta water for years

Had a line cook last week tell me my pasta was 'aggressive'. Took me a minute to get what he meant. He said the salt level was way too high for the sauce I was pairing. I always did the whole 'sea water' thing but that's not right for every dish. For a light lemon butter sauce it just made everything taste harsh. No one ever called me out on it before. Anyone else adjust their salt levels based on the sauce?

-1

christopher67•23d ago

That time I burned 40 pounds of onions at a catering gig in Portland

I was working a private event in Portland last fall and got distracted helping the prep cook with a broken robot coupe... left a full tilt skillet of onions on medium heat for way too long. Caramelized them into a black sticky mess that smelled like regret for three days. Has anyone else had a kitchen disaster that completely changed how you handle your mise en place timing?

9

holly63•24d ago

Vent about the sous chef who told me to 'just taste it' after I burned my hand

So last Friday during dinner rush, I grabbed a hot pan handle without a towel and got a decent burn on my palm. I yelped and dropped the pan on the counter, and my sous chef, this guy Mark who's been in the industry forever, just looks at me and says 'well, just taste it to see if it's still good.' He was dead serious. I mean, I know we waste a lot of food in kitchens and he's all about efficiency, but my hand was literally blistering and he wanted me to plate it. It stuck with me because it felt like he cared more about the protein than my fingers. Has anyone else ran into a chef who makes you feel like safety is optional when the ticket machine's going crazy?

18

the_jake•25d ago

Hit 500 covers solo on a Saturday night last month

Honestly never thought I'd pull that off without a second saute cook. We did it with a prepped mise and one induction burner as backup. Anyone else hit a crazy number like that and just felt the rush?

18

the_jake•26d ago

Fixed my knife sharpening after 4 years of doing it wrong

I was at a pop-up kitchen event in Austin last Saturday and this old line cook pointed out I was holding my angle wrong on the stone. Turns out I was going at like 20 degrees instead of 15 for my Japanese blade. I had been wondering why my edge never felt razor sharp even after hours of work. He showed me a simple trick using a coin to check the angle. I redid my chef knife that night and it finally cuts through a tomato without any pressure. Anyone else learn a basic skill wrong and only found out from some random stranger?

17

dakota787•27d ago

That time my pastry cream split and I lost 3 hours of prep

I was making a big batch of vanilla pastry cream for a catering order last Saturday and my heat was too high for about 30 seconds and the whole thing curdled on me. After scrambling to fix it with an immersion blender and straining it twice, I still had to start over from scratch which pushed my finish time back by almost 3 hours. Has anyone found a reliable way to rescue a split cream without just trashing the batch?

12

barbara_sanchez88•27d ago

The night my station stove caught fire changed how I prep

I was at Station 7 last Tuesday making a big batch of chili for the night shift when I walked away for just a minute to grab onions. Came back to an oil flare up on the flattop that nearly hit the hood filters, and my first instinct was to grab the extinguisher. Instead my captain yelled at me to hit it with baking soda from the pantry, and it killed the fire in seconds without ruining the whole cooktop. Now I keep a box of baking soda right by the stove at home and the station, because extinguishers are fine for big fires but soda handles those hot oil moments way cleaner. Anyone else had a kitchen mishap that changed their everyday routine?

6

hall.quinn•28d ago

That $300 knife set I bought still haunts me

I got talked into this big knife set from a vendor at a food show last year. Paid like $300 for it thinking I was getting a deal. Turns out the blades went dull after like two months of regular prep work. I spent more time sharpening them than actually cutting anything. My old $50 chef's knife from culinary school outlasted all of them put together. Now I just keep that one and a cheap pairing knife on my station. Has anyone else fallen for a flashy set that ended up being junk?

26

jordan464•29d ago

Hot take: I spent $600 on a Japanese chef's knife and regret it

Everyone raves about those high-end Japanese knives, but I bought a Shun for $600 two years ago and honestly, it's been more trouble than it's worth. The blade chipped on a butternut squash my third week using it, and I had to pay $40 to get it sharpened because I didn't trust myself. My old $60 Victorinox is easier to maintain and I don't panic every time someone else grabs it off the rack. For home cooking or a busy line, I think the expensive stuff is overrated for most of us. Has anyone else gone back to a cheaper knife after splurging?

17

robert_jones•29d ago

I chose a used Rational oven over a brand new Viking and it saved my pop-up

Had to pick between a 10 year old Rational SCC combo oven for $1,200 or a shiny new Viking convection for $2,800 last month. Went with the Rational because I knew it could handle the high volume for my Friday night pop-ups at The Rusty Tap in Portland. That old thing pumped out 80 orders of chicken wings without breaking a sweat while the Viking would have choked. Anyone else go used commercial over new consumer gear and come out ahead?

22

ivanb41•1mo ago

I finally gave up on my garlic press after it clogged on a busy Friday night at the downtown bistro

I was mid-service and had to use a knife anyway to dig out the skins, so I tossed the press and just started mincing by hand, and now I get way better flavor and less cleanup, anyone else ditch a gadget that just slows you down?

1

derekgibson•1mo ago

Overheard a server tell a customer our 'daily catch' was frozen cod from Sysco

Guy at the table next to me asked the server what the daily catch was and she straight up said 'our fresh Atlantic cod'. But I saw the boxes on delivery day. It was frozen. I know margins are tight, but it bugs me. We are supposed to be a scratch kitchen. Do your places actually spin fresh fish or just lie about it?

29

haydenburns•1mo ago

My old Hobart mixer finally gave out mid-service last Friday

I've been using this Hobart from like 2003 since I opened my place in 2011. Thing was a tank, never really gave me trouble. But last Friday during dinner rush, it just stopped dead. Like someone flipped a switch off. Had a whole batch of bread dough stuck inside. I had to call my buddy at the equipment supply place and he got me a refurbished one for $1200. But getting it delivered and set up took two days. I ended up having to hand mix dough for those two nights and my arms are still sore. Has anyone else had an old mixer just die on them out of nowhere? What did you do in the meantime?