Can we talk about the time my entire mise en place slid off the pass?

It happened during a busy Saturday service at a place in Tacoma. I had just finished prepping 12 quarts of clarified butter, and the whole container tipped over the edge onto the floor. Everyone says to just keep moving, but I stopped the line for a full minute to have a porter mop it properly. Slipping in that stuff is no joke. What's the biggest slip hazard you've had to shut down for?

3 comments

3 Comments

calebscott4mo ago

Honestly, that's a nightmare. I read a story once about a whole bucket of fryer oil going over in a kitchen. They shut down for like twenty minutes because it spread under the equipment and was just a total fire hazard. Your call on the butter was smart, that stuff is like ice when it hits the floor. I'd have done the same thing, safety has to come first even when it's busy.

shane_knight4mo ago

Nah, that's just wasting good butter.

the_rose2mo ago

I get what you're saying with the whole "safety first" thing, but this sounds a little overblown to me. A bucket of fryer oil going over is a mess for sure, but shutting down for twenty minutes? I've seen places mop up worse in five and keep moving. Butter on the floor is slippery, yeah, but it's not like it's liquid nitrogen or something. People act like a little spill means the whole place is about to go up in flames. Maybe I'm just used to messier kitchens, but some of these stories feel way too dramatic.