c/chefs

The food processor that laughed at my prep list in Portland

Last Saturday I had 40 pounds of onions to dice for a catering gig and my old Cuisinart just died mid-pulse, smoking motor and all. I ended up hand-chopping for 3 hours straight in a hot-ass kitchen, missing my whole window for the braise. Anyone else have a standby tool fail at the worst possible moment, or am I the only one who trusts gear past its prime?

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elizabeth900•9d ago

Found a 60-second fix for burnt pans that actually works

After ruining yet another pot trying to sear scallops at 2am, I tested the vinegar and baking soda soak with a 10 minute simmer. The crust came off clean in one pass, no scrubbing blisters. Has anyone else tried this over those fancy chainmail scrubbers?

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mila_perry13•10d ago

Took 6 months to figure out why my roux kept breaking

Every single time I made gumbo, the roux would split when I added stock. Tried lower heat, warmer stock, whisking harder. Nothing worked. Finally realized my pan was too thin, heat spots were scorching it in patches. Swapped to a cast iron pot last Tuesday. First batch held together perfectly. Anyone else fight a basic technique for way too long before the real culprit hit you?

1 comments

tarag28•10d ago

That $300 chef knife I bought? Regret it every single day

I dropped $300 on a high-end Japanese knife six months ago because everyone online swore it would change my prep game. Thing is, it chips if you look at it wrong and I'm scared to use it on anything harder than a tomato. My $40 Victorinox from the restaurant supply store handles 90% of my daily work and I don't have to baby it. Anyone else spent big money on a tool that just sits in the drawer because it's too fragile for real kitchen abuse?

1 comments

price.tara•11d ago

My glove box lid caught fire during a brunch rush

I was on saute in Portland last Saturday, a pan flared up and I grabbed what I thought was a dry towel, but it was a cloth with oil on it, went straight up. I killed it with the lid, turned down the heat, and finished the order, but now I keep a metal sheet tray within reach for any flare. Anyone else keep a specific fire tool near their station besides the extinguisher?

1 comments

hart.cora•11d ago

I finally tried toasting my own spices and burnt half of them

Last night I decided to toast cumin and coriander seeds for a curry, like every recipe video shows. Put them in a dry pan on medium, walked away to chop onions for maybe 2 minutes. Came back and half were black, smelled like a campfire. The other half tasted amazing though, so much deeper than the jar stuff. Learned I need to shake the pan constantly and pull it off the heat way earlier, like 45 seconds max. Does anyone actually do this every time or is it a special occasion thing? I feel like it adds 10 minutes to prep but the flavor was real. How do you keep from burning them without hovering like a hawk?

1 comments

king.stella•17d ago

Weighed my mise en place for a week and the numbers shocked me

So I got a cheap gram scale last Tuesday and started weighing every prep batch I do, garlic, shallots, herbs, everything. Turns out I was using roughly 30% more shallots than the recipe called for because I eyeballed it, and that adds up fast when you're doing 40 covers a night. Same with salt, I was way over on some dishes and under on others depending on my mood. I'm not saying I'll weigh everything forever, but I caught some real sloppy habits in just 5 days. Anyone else ever tracked their prep this way or am I just being extra?

c/chefs

The food processor that laughed at my prep list in Portland

Found a 60-second fix for burnt pans that actually works

Took 6 months to figure out why my roux kept breaking

That $300 chef knife I bought? Regret it every single day

My glove box lid caught fire during a brunch rush

I finally tried toasting my own spices and burnt half of them

Weighed my mise en place for a week and the numbers shocked me

That one regular who finally said my name after 3 months

Hit 100k covers last Saturday and nobody clapped

My new induction burner quit mid-service last Saturday, brutal timing

The day I stopped salting my pasta water for the wrong reasons

Line cooks vs prep cooks, who carries the pass during service?

Heard a food critic say something that stuck with me in Philly

A line from my old instructor changed how I run my prep list

The Saturday brunch rush that nearly broke me, then fixed my prep system

That one Saturday service that nearly broke me

Finally fixed my knife sharpening routine after 2 years of guessing

Had to pick between a $400 induction burner and a $900 gas range for my pop-up kitchen

Rant: People who throw away half their prep because they don't label anything

A server corrected my plating the other day... and she was right

Took me about 3 years to realize I was over-working my pie dough

Picked a mandoline over a chef's knife for prep yesterday. Regret it.

Had a customer ask me to refire their steak 4 times tonight

My mandoline slicer failed mid-shift last Saturday and I nearly lost a fingertip

Just realized why that old chef gave me the look when I grabbed the salt