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The rules (unwritten or otherwise) of a restaurant kitchen
Published
5 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Scott Mechura EBS FOOD COLUMNIST
Some institutions, like baseball for example, have unwritten rules. But unlike baseball, kitchen rules typically make sense. And I generally agree with almost all of them. The complete list is long, but here are a few key rules.
Don’t touch my knives. Every tradesman has a set of tools that are an integral part of his profession. For a cook or chef, it’s his or her knives. Protect them, take care of them, treat them with respect, and ask before you use someone else’s.
No dull knives. A doctor or dentist doesn’t have dull instruments, or at least I sure hope not! Your knives are tools of precision and refinement. Treat them as such.
A hangover is no excuse. Bringing the cold or flu into a warm, heavily populated work environment is just foolish. But if your ailment is self-inflicted, sorry, but pros play hurt.
Never take anyone else’s mise en place. Mise en place, French for “put in place”, is all your ingredients, equipment, and items required for service. Take someone else’s and you are telling that person your time is more valuable than theirs.
Put it back. When you use something, put it back. It should only ever be in three places: in use, dirty waiting to be washed or where it belongs on a shelf.
Always help the dishwashers. They are the cornerstone of any kitchen, without exception. When there is no more clean sauté pans or silverware, the whole system comes to a painful halt.
No towel snapping. The days of cooks playing the towel snapping game (and there are actual rules) are long over. It is a game of unprofessionalism, immaturity and time wasting.
Never leave another cook behind. You may not be busy right this moment, but your teammate is. Help them. Don’t stand there thinking how happy you are not being busy, an unaided busy cook is like an inexperienced swimmer trying to help a drowning person, the one drowning will eventually drag you down with them.
Work clean, work fast. A clean workplace is a happy and efficient workplace. When you use something, put it back where it goes, every time, no matter what. A step taken now will save three down the road.
You taste it first. If you ask me to taste a dish or sauce that you have prepared and you haven’t tasted it first, in my mind, you haven’t completed the dish.
Stay hydrated. Only water is water. I was raised in a house that was pretty strict when it came to junk food. Once ensconced in my first kitchen at the age of 15, and having unlimited access to soda, it wasn’t a full day unless I drank about a gallon of Mountain Dew. It was my general manager and first mentor who woke me up to the peril of so much soda. Soda creates thirst, it doesn’t quench it. I now try to drink half my body weight in ounces of water every day I work.
If you turn off the timer, you own it. Few things deflate a cook more than remembering you had something in the oven, only to find it burnt or overcooked and the oven timer turned off. Asking which one of your co-workers turned it off is like asking which kid left the lights on. Good luck. We have a rule: if you turned the timer off, you are responsible for the contents of that oven. No excuses.
Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge and currently the Executive Chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
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My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
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March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
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29mar3:00 pm4:00 pmGood Friday Mass: St. Joseph Catholic Mission3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Event City:Big Sky
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Friday of the Passion of the Lord St. Joseph Catholic Mission
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Friday of the Passion of the Lord
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
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