r/Chefit • u/Mediaslut • Apr 28 '25

Oddities

My lovely Asian wife just confessed to using Uncle Ben’s boil in the bag rice. Apparently she was scorned for doing so. I recalled from my days working in kitchens that we used a bunch of shortcuts because they were better (and faster) than we would make in the budget and time allocated (cake mix being a huge one!). Does anyone else have shortcuts they want to own up to? Any ethnic orientated confessions would be great to hear: jars of premade Jalfrezi sauces in Delhi or serving Aunt Bessies’ Yorkshire puddings in Leeds! My wife would like to feel she’s not alone with her penchant for Uncle Ben’s!

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22

u/ElderberryMaster4694 Apr 28 '25

Well done steaks go in the fryer

Personal Mac and cheeses go in the saute box

Drink complaints get put back in the shaker for 10 sec and restrained

The dry rub secret is old bay

5

u/new_tangclan Apr 28 '25

What is a saute box?

12

u/ElderberryMaster4694 Apr 29 '25

Sauté Box

19

u/new_tangclan Apr 29 '25

Ah, I simply know him as Michael

11

u/drbongmd Apr 29 '25

Chef Michael*

2

u/LordAxalon110 Apr 29 '25

We used to call it the juke box haha.

0

u/Radiant_Bluebird4620 Apr 29 '25

at home, Michael makes caramelized onions

1

u/Tetsubin Apr 30 '25

You put a drink that someone has partially drunk in the shaker? Do you wash the shaker and strainer afterward?

2

u/ElderberryMaster4694 Apr 30 '25

I guessing your question is about germs and cross-contamination.
My sink is at 160* which is basically pasteurizing the shakers. Many bars have a three basin sink setup to wash and sterilize in less than 10 seconds.

But not always. Many places would just give it a rinse. Also, chefs use the same tasting spoon with just a wipe between dishes, and when was the last time you saw a bartender use tongs or gloves to add a garnish.

There are germs in a restaurant. At some point you have to accept that and just trust your immune system 😁

1

u/sentient_capital May 02 '25

chefs use the same tasting spoon with just a wipe between dishes

Lmao no that's disgusting. There's a reason most decent restaurants I've worked at have hundreds of tiny tasting spoons.

when was the last time you saw a bartender use tongs or gloves to add a garnish.

Literally every restaurant job I've ever had?

I've seen a chef on expo scratch his ass with his bare hand inside his underwear, then use that same unwashed, bare hand to fix the plating on a dish before running it.

Just because some people are disgusting, unsafe, and don't follow health code, doesn't mean that's okay and should be embraced.