At the suggestion of a chef friend, I recently began viewing the Netflix six-episode docuseries “Rotten.” It’s a very well-executed look at the food supply chain and the crime and corruption which lie within. Episode Two is titled “The Peanut Problem.” It examines the recent sharp rise of peanut allergies in the last decade or so. Continue reading Allergies vs. “Allergies”
Tag Archives: Marsha Lynch – Industry Standard
Sin
Happy New Year, everyone! Time for us all to purge ourselves of our bad eating and exercise habits and be healthful again for a couple of weeks. Join a gym. Buy a blender and start making smoothies with chia seeds and spinach. Swear off ranch dressing and swear off red-velvet waffles. Consume only “lite” beer. Buy the olive oil version of your favorite mayonnaise. Continue reading Sin
Recipe Schme-cipe
My long-suffering fiancée works in an office of seven people, including three vegetarians. The other night I was re-creating a Crockpot vegetarian green bean dish that I had made for last year’s office Thanksgiving. They were a big hit even with the meat-eaters. I had to work really hard to make them rich in flavor and mouthfeel for everyone to enjoy, and I remembered just what I had put in them before. Naturally I hadn’t written anything down. I just used instinct and memory to make them again. Continue reading Recipe Schme-cipe
The Highwire of Ordering
A chef or kitchen manager has to juggle their many other daily tasks and also order fresh products and dry goods and front-of-the-house supplies. Sometimes deliveries don’t go as planned. Then it’s up to that person who’s in charge of ordering to call their purveyors and ask for corrections that will (hopefully) arrive in time to make service happen successfully. Continue reading The Highwire of Ordering
The Hands of a Cook
Do you have a relative or close friend who works in a restaurant? Have you ever looked closely at their hands and forearms? Continue reading The Hands of a Cook
No-Call No-Show, Shit Show
Ah, the old “no-call, no-show”. Basically it means someone who’s scheduled to work doesn’t show up for their shift, doesn’t call to offer an excuse, and doesn’t answer increasingly desperate calls from their place of employment. Continue reading No-Call No-Show, Shit Show
Imagine No Vacation; I Wonder If You Can
This week a friend and fellow food journalist posted a thread on Facebook about hard work paying off in the hospitality industry. Many testimonials followed, with a lot of local chefs back-patting each other and lots of war stories about how many hours they all used to work at two or three jobs, some while still going to college. Continue reading Imagine No Vacation; I Wonder If You Can
Line Cooks – What do they do all day?
I attended culinary school in a night and weekend program that lasted most of three years, while still working full time at a bank job where I had employer-assisted health insurance, paid sick days and vacation. Sometimes I look back and laugh at the fact I was putting myself in years of debt to be trained to work a job that nearly always pays less than a full-time office position, and rarely has any benefits like insurance or paid time off, but that’s a subject for another column. Continue reading Line Cooks – What do they do all day?
A Tribe Called Us
Recently, I got a call about a memorial wake for a fellow industry worker who had died unexpectedly while working at a city he’d moved to out west. The man who died wasn’t elderly, but he had been feeling poorly in the weeks leading up to his death. He didn’t seek medical help because he didn’t have health insurance. Continue reading A Tribe Called Us
Consistency is Key
I recently saw a Facebook post directed to the chef of a newish popular restaurant. A patron was enthusing about a meal he’d had at the restaurant the night before. I’m paraphrasing, but the exchange went something like this:
“Hey, Chef, we ate at your place last night, it was wonderful, I didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of you, unfortunately. I wanted to say hello. But I’m sure you were busy; the dining room certainly was!” Continue reading Consistency is Key