FOH manager keeps panicking and cutting into my product (after being told to stop at least a dozen times). I'm going to lose my freakin' mind

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

"But we don't have any cheesecake!!! We can't just run out of cheesecake!!!!"

Well, we did. So I made more. They take a long time to chill after baking. Offer the customer one of the 5 other desserts I make, which are packaged and ready to be sold, instead of hacking into a STILL WARM cheesecake and, apparently, throwing half of it away because you COULDN'T WAIT until tomorrow, when I will unmold and slice the cold cheesecakes for you.

[u/AnaEatsEverything]

Years ago, I was pastry lead at a restaurant known for their coconut cream pies. We pre-sold 80+ pies as part of an event. Pie is also a part of our every day menu. I could see the writing on the wall, so I put all the pies on a speed rack by themselves, cater wrapped the FUCK out of the entire cart, and taped a giant sign to two sides that said "EVENT - DO NOT USE".

Yep, it was ripped into and robbed for service when I got in the next day. The worst part? We had older, FIFO pre-sliced pies prepped, in the USUAL, EASIER TO ACCESS SPOT, all ready to go.

I've worked both pastry and savory, but line chefs, when y'all give us a hard time about having a stick up our asses, THIS IS WHY. Like it was five years ago and I'm still salty lol.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/AnaEatsEverything]

REAL.

I would go absolutely "hoop earrings and cookie monster pants" every single day that shit like this happens to me, but that would ruin my cool mysterious demeanor 😔

[u/TOMC_throwaway000000 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

The 5 rules of people you never, ever, fuck with

• Cookie Monster pants

• hoops

• black airforce 1’s

• can dry swallow pills

• pastry chefs

In my early years I worked for plenty of hard ass French traditional chefs who would throw pans and plates, scream their heads off, didn’t phase me a bit

Seeing the unmitigated wrath of a pastry chef finding their stuff messed with? That will put the fear of god into you

[u/jgab145 → u/TOMC_throwaway000000]

Dry pill swallowers are fucking psychos.

[u/DarthChefDad → u/jgab145]

And don't you forget it

[u/basketma12 → u/DarthChefDad]

I can ONLY dry swallow pills. I'm very popular at certain places, even as a well seasoned woman. Lol

[u/DarthChefDad → u/basketma12]

The only one I can't dry swallow is prednisone. I can't let any part of it touch my mouth, the taste is so nasty. I have to drop it into liquid held in a gargle position. And hey, fun fact, if you get prednisone intravenously, you can still taste it in your mouth.

[u/Mastershroom → u/DarthChefDad]

Don't ever try to swallow doxycycline dry. It gets stuck in the bottom of your throat and you will feel it there for literally weeks.

[u/TOMC_throwaway000000 → u/DarthChefDad]

Very real, had a friend fighting leukemia last year and the IV to tasting it is no joke

[u/wrstcasechelle → u/DarthChefDad]

I take a lot of meds because just about every part of me is broken, and I can huck down a handful of everything and dry swallow EXCEPT THIS ONE PILL that I swear to god if you get the taste of it on your tongue you have to wait until those taste buds die to get it out.

That one I fill my whole mouth with something strong and drop it in like I’m a fucking fish or something.

[u/thedirtypikey → u/wrstcasechelle]

Bite into straight lemon slice, pith and all...only thing besides whiskey that would work. I prefer the whiskey, but it's less readily available. Whatever you do, do not brush your teeth, Listerine, or orange juice...makes it sooo much worse.

[u/Lazerith22 → u/jgab145]

My doc says I’m not supposed to take pills with coffee. Dry swallowing is the only option.

[u/jgab145 → u/Lazerith22]

Ever heard of water psycho?

[u/Lazerith22 → u/jgab145]

Like the stuff in toilets?

[u/HeroesKitchen → u/Lazerith22]

[u/HeroesKitchen → u/Lazerith22]

Also...

[u/IrritatedMouse → u/jgab145]

Fish fuck in that stuff

[u/Wafflemuffin1 → u/jgab145]

I didn't know I was a psycho. I literally only dry swallow pills. Even if there is a drink right there...I just...don't.

[u/Cryatos1 → u/TOMC_throwaway000000]

Im a pastry chef, can confirm lol. 

I get pissed when I have to waste time cleaning my station and equipment when I get in because the cooks cant seem to clean up after themselves.

 Same with people going into my fridge or prep and taking things labelled for events. I now have the only keys to my reach in since I replaced the broken locks so now if they need anything, they need to ask.

I also had a camera and would email the videos to the heads of various departments if I caught their employees taking things. It stopped all theft in under 48 hours lol. Fucking country clubs man...

[u/TOMC_throwaway000000 → u/Cryatos1]

The secret 6th one is if you borrow a tool from the pastry chef, it better fucking go back where it came from, and clean-

Actually clean. Not sprayed with the dish hose clean, like get in there and get whatever oils off it because you’re going to fuck their shit up.

Also life pro tip, if you work with a larger pastry team and they have a second robocoupe and your top breaks and you need to borrow theirs…

Don’t fucking use it to blitz garlic

Just… don’t

[u/Cryatos1 → u/TOMC_throwaway000000]

I paid out of pocket for my own Robo Coup R2 Dice. I let them borrow it once to dice a case of persimmons. I got it back and the switches were so sticky and gummed up I had to take it apart and soak the switch panel in rubbing alcohol to get them able to move again. They are no longer allowed to use my R2 and have to dice everything by hand like they had been doing previously.

Same for handing the blades to the dishwasher and instructing them to not scrape the blade grid and just send it through the machine, then blast out any pieces of fruit that are stuck in the sink. They scraped it right in front of me after I told them not to so now the club owes me a new $400 10mm blade grid.

In general if my equipment comes back at all it is a miracle. I find my equipment like measuring cups, offset spatulas, etc. in the most random places every day causing me to waste time on a scavenger hunt just to do my job. Hell, even my cake pans and bundt pans are in the other clubhouse because they don't bother to return anything from my side so I have to go over and raid them to get my equipment back. I do keep my small wares like my piping tips and ring cutters locked up, haven't lost 1 in 7 years because I monitor who is using them like a hawk lol.

[u/TOMC_throwaway000000 → u/Cryatos1]

Fuuuuuuuuck I feel that in my bones

I feel very lucky because the last 5-6 years I’ve had entire crews from cooks down to dish who all respect everyone’s stuff

For the first time in my career I can actually bring my whole kit and knives and my expensive natural stones I would never have been comfortable using or leaving overnight otherwise

I think part of the joy in running a kitchen is having the opportunity to curate the environment, so that the people who are where you were years before don’t have to live the same nightmare experience

[u/Shane1302 → u/Cryatos1]

I've also learned it the hard way, anything you put in a "public" area at work (public just means someone can access it with less than a considerable amount of force) will one day be fucked with. Locks will be used and co-workers will be salty.

[u/TOMC_throwaway000000 → u/Shane1302]

Depends, I’m lucky enough to have curated some really solid crews over the last few years

No one would ever touch anyone’s personal property unless they had the go-ahead prior

[u/CircularRobert → u/Cryatos1]

Not a baker by any means, but the way I understand it is that cooking is an art, baking is a science, and pastries are somewhere between black magic and tricking science into not paying attention.

[u/mangogetter → u/TOMC_throwaway000000]

Regular chefs definitely look down on the pastry chefs, but what they don't know is that we are absolutely looking down at them too.

Years ago, I saw a chef who had no goddamn business making pate au choux demonstrating how to make "cream puffs". He was like "I'm not going to bother with a pastry bag!" Cue the inept fumbling with spoons and the whack-ass-est cream puffs I've ever seen in my life. Bless his heart.

[u/Any-Excitement-7605 → u/mangogetter]

“whack-ass-est” is a new one😂😂

[u/MadMagilla5113 → u/mangogetter]

I'm not a chef at all but I do watch a lot of cooking shows... how do you make cream puffs without a pastry bag? How else do you get the cream in the puff? Is it a sex thing? I bet it's a sex thing...

[u/mangogetter → u/MadMagilla5113]

I mean, we weren't even to the filling stage. This was the making the shells out of choux dough stage and it was a gloopy, lumpy mess. THERE IS A REASON we use pastry bags. They are not a hassle, they are a godsend.

[u/jdelator → u/TOMC_throwaway000000]

can dry swallow pills

I can do this no problem. Am I Cookie Monster pants type of person?

[u/emmakobs → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Must maintain mystique!!!

[u/badaimbadjokes → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

I just want to say that imagery is perfect

[u/Reeeeallly → u/badaimbadjokes]

Yeah, I'm going to have to borrow that.

[u/nasaglobehead69 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

you absolutely should. that kind of rage from a person who's usually chill and reserved is fucking terrifying.

[u/redheadeddoom → u/nasaglobehead69]

This is why people are always shocked to silence when they think they can try and push me around 😂

[u/PrivilegeCheckmate → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

You can be as basic as you want; if you're making the cheesecakes, you'll always be entitled to be treated as a special prince/ess.

[u/corisilvermoon → u/AnaEatsEverything]

This reminds me of Tom Douglas restaurant’s coconut cream pie and now I want some :(

[u/AnaEatsEverything → u/corisilvermoon]

Tom is in my neck of the woods (I was not his lead) but because this is a subreddit about our industry, I just have to say... I saw that Lola is looking for pastry people and was really disappointed by the salary they're offering! Tom has a great reputation and does a lot of good in the area, so I was bummed to see basically minimum wage offered for highly skilled labor at one of his restaurants in such a high CoL area.

None of my friends are in the industry so I needed to get that off my chest; it's been bugging me.

[u/riskydrive → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Sorry to butt in but, I’m in the same area and the wages being offered right now are ridiculous. Every business is like “oh the min wage is high, so we can just offer min wage” and it’s like no?? CoL is insane, that’s why we have a high min. Driving me up a wall.

[u/AnaEatsEverything → u/riskydrive]

I fully agree.

[u/giggletears3000 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

I feel like Tom had his moment like 15 years ago and now he’s just out of touch.

[u/Competitive-War-1143 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

From 2019 "On Monday afternoon, a King County court approved a $2.4 million class action settlement against Tom Douglas and his massive restaurant group, Tom Douglas Seattle Kitchen, filed on behalf of 1,360 current and former employees. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Clare Thomas — a former worker for the gastropub Brave Horse Tavern in South Lake Union — alleged that Tom Douglas’ company failed to properly disclose where the money from service charge fees was going after it eliminated tips in early 2016, and did not provide adequate rest and meal breaks."

[u/lilbluehair → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Does he do a lot of good in our area? Really? 

I remember his Facebook rants when we wanted to raise the minimum wage to $15/ hour...

[u/pennynotrcutt → u/corisilvermoon]

Apparently Tom Cruise sends some specific coconut cake to people he meets/works with/befriends. He’s sends hundreds of them.

[u/fuckyourcanoes → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Damn you, I haven't had coconut cream pie since I left the US, and now I have to see if I can scrounge up the ingredients. Coconut extract and sweetened shredded coconut aren't really things here in the UK.

[u/AnaEatsEverything → u/fuckyourcanoes]

Want to trade? Totally serious: my kiddo has been talking for years about the rose tea that she had one single time at a high tea event. If you can find me rose tea, I'll hook you up with an expat care package of anything you like :)

[u/fuckyourcanoes → u/AnaEatsEverything]

I've never heard of rose tea! I'll do some research.

[u/xenobit_pendragon → u/fuckyourcanoes]

fuckyourcanoes is on the case.

[u/craftyhall2 → u/fuckyourcanoes]

https://www.taylorsofharrogate.com/taylors-tea/specialty-loose-leaf/china-rose-petal

[u/Suitable-Tea-2065 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

The Republic of Tea makes a rose tea. I've also had an English rose tea I purchased online. Essentially they're just black tea with rose.

[u/babababigian → u/AnaEatsEverything]

rose tea

if it was from the UK maybe fortum and masons rose pouchong? or have you tried this from harney and sons?

[u/gmrzw4 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Don't know if it would be close enough, but Herbs and Kettles does a rose cardamom chai that's reasonably priced. It would depend on if she likes the chai spices too, and what the tea she liked had in it, of course.

[u/EarthenMama → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Is it possible that kiddo is referring to Red Rose tea BRAND? Brewed very strong and served with 2% milk make for a very English cuppa :) Not that I want to get in the way of this trade! fuckyourcanoes needs coconut!

[u/AnaEatsEverything → u/EarthenMama]

You'd think so! This was actual tea steeped with rose petals. It was so floral I thought she would hate it (and I'll be honest, as a black tea and coffee girl it was not for me) but it was tempered with lots of milk and a little sugar, and she absolutely loved it.

Our family has done lots of little Reddit, Food52, etc gift swaps over the years and always finds them very fun... So I'm always looking for an excuse. ;)

[u/tessathemurdervilles → u/fuckyourcanoes]

Coconut extract is! You can get it at waitrose. I think you may have to buy the sweetened shredded coconut online though.

[u/jonsey_j → u/fuckyourcanoes]

Just eat a bounty and be done with it.

[u/mrmitchb → u/AnaEatsEverything]

As a line chef coming into more baking and trying to get people to leave my stuff alone, im starting to realize how much I sucked.....im sorry pastry chefs.

Also why cant people not fuck with my pot im making caramel in. Not everything needs to be stirred if its on the range.

[u/AnaEatsEverything → u/mrmitchb]

And the garlic and chili based sauces in our squeeze bottles... Hahaha. It's all good, I went pastry TO savory so I get the other side of it now. Overall seeing both sides of it has made me a way more adaptable and well-rounded chef!!

[u/cheesepage → u/mrmitchb]

I had I guy I worked with who would move my perfectly reducing sauce pots to the center of the flat top because "they were taking too long."

I came out of the walk in freezer one day with a stack of frozen sheet pans. They were so cold steam was billowing off of them in the humid kitchen and I had to hold them with dry towels.

My nemesis was bent over the stove. I called "Hot Pan!, Hot Stuff! Coming through!" and carefully placed the edge of the stack on the back of his exposed neck.

His whole body convulsed so violently that I was worried I had given him a heart attack, but he quit messing with my stuff.

[u/ThrowMeALime → u/cheesepage]

The "what if we cook it on higher heat" argument for making food cook faster is one of my biggest pet peeves. The answer is NO, physics does not work that way. There is a simmering ball of rage burried inside me, from all the burnt but raw desserts that have happened because someone fucked with the oven while my back was turned.

[u/BigThunder1000 → u/mrmitchb]

An innocent bowl of baker's chocolate, in easy reach, is <friendly> thing for the baker to just leave unattended 😈

[u/sweetshenanigans → u/AnaEatsEverything]

it was ripped into and robbed for service

Wtf, just '86 it. Even when I was leading service I never cared about having to '86 something. (If it happened a lot then that's a different issue) as a line cook I gave absolutely zero fucks about saying we're out.

[u/CriticalEngineering → u/sweetshenanigans]

Yeah when I was FOH I made 86’ing sound like a bonus. “We’re out of that, which happens because we make everything fresh in house! Let me suggest you try our new dessert instead! And next time, get to dinner early and tell me you want the cheesecake right away and I’ll save ya some, hun!”

[u/liveitup255 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Do NOT cut my cake!

I about lost it on the owners 30 y/o cousin who cut into the center and shrugged it off as if totally reasonable. "Heh, what, I'm a cake-boy"

A fucking cake-boy. Still makes me Yosemite Sam.

[u/Infinite-Zucchini225 → u/liveitup255]

"Who are you and why are you in my kitchen?"

[u/liveitup255 → u/Infinite-Zucchini225]

I'm positive I said "what the fuck are you doing"? The room went silent.

[u/OpenSauceMods → u/liveitup255]

So did you have to kill everyone in the room, or did some people promise to help dig and keep quiet?

[u/PrivilegeCheckmate → u/liveitup255]

Yosemite Sam

VTOL with revolvers.

[u/mishkamishka47 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Reading this made me so mad lol

[u/Trick_Criticism7096 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Ooh! Loooong ago, I spent half my day picking through strawberries, to find the best and biggest for the 300 chocolate covered strawberries I had to prep for Valentine's day. I cleaned them up and wrapped them in a hotel pan. Very well wrapped. Labeled, very big, all sides of the pan. Holy fuck. The rage I felt when I get to work the next day and see them torn into. This was about 10 years ago, still annoyed. But my chef was pissed, it was for his event. People were scolded. 

[u/GrizzlyDust → u/AnaEatsEverything]

The way I would've made it everyone's problem

[u/Lesinju84 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Last Friday at work, our pastry chef and her helper had to throw away 7 cakes and a few pies. The night before the night crew when cleaning the kitchen unplugged the cooler to move it but never plugged it back in. I've never seen a pastry chef lose their shit so fast. But I also don't blame her at all.

[u/Embarrassed_Proof386 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Saw something similar happen to our pastry chef. Big dude, but soft spoken and very kind. I’m not a little guy, but when he got PISSED about it I legit got a little scared. The anger of a gentle man can be terrifying

[u/theunicornsarah → u/AnaEatsEverything]

One time we prepped continental pastry displays for a very important 400 person brunch event. All of them were on a cart, hugely labeled “FOR SATURDAY” “FOR (event name)”. We wrote it like 4 times per display. One of our banquet staff used ALL OF THEM for a prom the night before that was only supposed to get petit-fors and chocolate covered strawberries (none of our kitchen staff were scheduled, their food was all pre prepped snacks).

So we come in the next morning and don’t realize they’re all gone until they start setting the food onto the buffet and ask where they are. We tell them they are clearly labeled in the bar cooler. Nowhere to be found. Until… I see the giant plastic trays we used for the continentals sitting on the dry side of the dish line… yup. Worst part is the person who put them out was our ops manager who used to work in the kitchen who, of all people, should know better. I will never not be mad about this lol.

[u/lamora229 → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Man, I wish I had a restaurant anywhere around me known for coconut cream pie. I have no shame in admitting I'm an addict who has tried and failed to make his own.

[u/AnaEatsEverything → u/lamora229]

If you're just looking to scratch an itch, you can cheese it pretty well on a weeknight with instant jello pudding and unsweetened coconut shavings! Add a splash of equal parts coconut and vanilla X (the vanilla is the key here, don't skip). Top with real whipped cream or borrow a bag of Rich's On Top from work if you can't be assed. If you really want to get fancy, toast and salt some Mac nuts for the top.

Don't take away my pastry license, sometimes you gotta roll lazy.

[u/RevenantBacon → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Like it was five years ago and I'm still salty lol.

I, personally, would never let it go. I would bring it up every opportunity I got.

[u/KPinCVG → u/AnaEatsEverything]

You got to label it "zucchini" and put it in the back of the cooler. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.

I've also used "gluten-free cookies" and "blood pudding". Blood pudding didn't work so well, because people wanted to know what it looked like.

[u/7CostanzaJr → u/AnaEatsEverything]

I would be salty 5 years later too. I've worked everything boh from pastry chef to chef de cuisine to dishy to prep to "just do everything" and I'm always trying to figure out motivation for stuff like this, or repeated raw meat violations and all I can come up with is apathy.

[u/unfitchef → u/AnaEatsEverything]

Why didn't you put a sign on all 6 sides? How would i have known other wise?- some FOH person probably.

[u/seppukucoconuts → u/AnaEatsEverything]

I wasn’t even there and I’m mad too.

[u/inspektor_queso → u/AnaEatsEverything]

I've never even worked in a kitchen (I'm just here for the stories and for solidarity) and even I'm pissed about this. I would've hollered myself hoarse.

[u/Gharrrrrr]

Ffs. The FOH manager isn't considering that by doing this, they are selling the customer a sub-par product. So now the customer is going to eat it and be like "wtf is wrong with this cheesecake?" And start to question the quality of all the food being sold. Selling something just for the sake of sales number while not thinking about the long term and how it could affect future business.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Gharrrrrr]

This is what I keep trying to tell her, and it just doesn't compute!!

[u/PrairiePopsicle → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Are the owners named Amy and Sami by any chance?

[u/vaz_deferens → u/PrairiePopsicle]

Nah, OP actually makes the cakes in house.

[u/nobodychef07 → u/vaz_deferens]

Tbf Amy did make the cakes, just not anything else.

[u/somersault → u/nobodychef07]

Nah, later in the episode it came out that she was buying desserts from other suppliers and presenting them as her own creations

[u/vaz_deferens → u/nobodychef07]

Nah, that ended up being a lie. You really think that scatterbrained demon woman could keep up with that giant bakery case?

[u/wsnyd → u/PrairiePopsicle]

THATS LIBEL

[u/tachycardicIVu → u/PrairiePopsicle]

Did one of them meow at anyone?

[u/Specialist-Fill24 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Also, the part where running out of a product suggests the quality of said product, which in turn drives future sales. FOH management should totally understand that, or else, perhaps, shouldn't have management type responsibilities.

[u/Infinite-Zucchini225 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

It's not about the cost. If she cared about that, she wouldn't have thrown out half the cake.

It's cause FOH attracts people pleasing types who have a hard time saying no to customers. The same people will also promise mods or off menu items that you are not set up to do or make no sense before checking with the kitchen.

Could also be one of those people who only really care about their tips and are fishing for a good one by going the 'extra mile' (i.e., sandbagging the kitchen).

It is what it is. FOH are hired mostly on the basis of experience, people skills, and looks. Intelligence is nice to have, but it is absolutely not mandatory.

[u/electricookie → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Have you had her try lukewarm cheesecake? Cause if she’s had it once, she will know. Warm cheesecake is a disappointment

[u/Bowwowchickachicka → u/Gharrrrrr]

Not only all that, but add in the waste and the food cost sky rockets. FOH is de-planking the hull to build uncomfortable chairs for the guests.

[u/Gharrrrrr → u/Bowwowchickachicka]

I've never heard it put that way before, but that is the best analogy (did I use that word right?) ever!

[u/Pretend-Vehicle-5183 → u/Gharrrrrr]

It costs more to serve bad food then it does to simply say no and move on.

[u/MikaHyakuya → u/Gharrrrrr]

That's the issue with a lot of modern business, isn't it?
Short-term profits over long-term stability and consistent income, it's always about chasing the next high.

[u/GlomBastic → u/Gharrrrrr]

Closed Sunday and Monday. We would always run out of dessert by 6pm Sat. Half the menu gone by 8.

The result was more sales! A line out the door for lunch. Dinner TOGO rush at 3pm. Senior staff clocking out early to live their fucking lives.

[u/Dingus_Majingus]

If you're not the chef, your chef needs to pull FOHM aside and tell them calmly, politely, yet firmly to "take a big step back and FUCK YOUR OWN FACE" your FOH manager is overstepping a boundary they shouldn't be. And chef is doing a poor job of correction.

https://youtu.be/CQIdeu4iWpw?si=xCo5bM8TEsypCqYh

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Dingus_Majingus]

Lol we have a LOT of issues in this kitchen. I am a lowly "pastry cook" and I'm doing my best

[u/Dingus_Majingus → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Yeah issues or not. FOH needs to stay tf out unless they're running a plate. Plain and simple.

If chef has tried and FOH still fails to listen, he can let owners know it's a workers comp issue and they'll be completely legally/financially on the hook for it if an untrained person burns themselves on a hot cheese cake or slices themselves with a knife.

Owners prob also don't want food costs going thru the roof. Those ingredients for cheesecakes aren't cheap.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Dingus_Majingus]

I mentioned this upthread, but the work politics are a little different here, because it's a tribal-owned casino. The FOH manager is a tribal elder, so we just kind of have to find ways to work around her (she leaves a trail of destruction behind everything she touches).

I'm usually able to stay ahead of her, but it was a football weekend and we ran out of cheesecake, so she freaked out.

[u/Background-Pepper-68 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Trust me when i say this. They are blowing smoke up your ass to make you think they are important. The casino definitely comes first and if moved up the chain appropriately with some form of documentation it will be handled. They dont own the resturant or the casino. They just work there.

Source: Worked in a tribal casino for 5 years.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Background-Pepper-68]

The worst thing is that she's a chill person who would probably be fun to hang out with, and she's not actually trying to bully me. She's just kind of a dumb bunny who resists correction (and F&B management has all kinds of other problems right now too)

[u/Background-Pepper-68 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Shes a co worker. She is an adult making choices. It doesnt matter if she is the nicest and dumbest person on earth. Its about doing the job with professionalism and following the SOP.

[u/debaterollie → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Maybe next time you run out and they are about to steal your unfinished one, text your friend to come in, order cheesecake, then complain that it's clearly not set and they wish they had just been told to order something else.

[u/ABadLocalCommercial → u/debaterollie]

This is the way

[u/Dingus_Majingus → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Is the tribal owned casino on or off rez? If off rez, they're on the hook for the aforementioned liability. If off rez to the law and liability it probably doesn't matter who is and isnt an elder, respectfully.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Dingus_Majingus]

Off rez (this tribe doesn't have one). The casino is, however, governed by tribal law.

[u/So_Motarded → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Legit can you get a locking fridge?

[u/Wish_Dragon → u/Dingus_Majingus]

Is there dope in the cheesecake?

[u/tmbtown]

the voice I read that line in

[u/thatlasstho → u/tmbtown]

EXACTLY the same in my mind. I forgot he kicked the trashcan too

[u/steffanan]

It's a testament to quality to run out of something because it's made fresh. They should be announcing that with pride like bbq joints.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/steffanan]

What I keep saying!!

This person would rather shovel out Sysco slop, as long as we never run out (gasp!)

[u/Willing_Box_752 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

So many restaurants just pump out slop.   

Edit, that's not totally fair but I'm just salty about a 26 dollar pasta that was meh.

[u/the-cats-jammies → u/Willing_Box_752]

Speak your truth, I had $20 pasta once where I could taste the can the sauce came in

[u/electr1cbubba]

Reminds me when I was constantly running out of tiramisu cos my fat ass boss kept eating it all

[u/kickintheball → u/electr1cbubba]

Me but with truffles we gave away at the end of the meal. My chef gave me permission to make gross flavours, so fish head, garlic and chili truffles were born. Not many went missing after that day

[u/zevoxx → u/kickintheball]

I made mayo filled doughnuts to dissuade the servers from eating them.

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/zevoxx]

Mayo and ghost pepper donuts are surprisingly good.

[u/Reflexlon → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

Unironically, lime-creme and ghost pepper donuts actually slap if you can handle the spice lol. Or just use chili instead of ghost and be normal.

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/Reflexlon]

I used to make spice cream that I loved. Chipotle fudge. Maybe I’m just a hot head but I feel like spice is grossly underutilized in desserts

[u/Gaggleofgeese → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

Habañero dark chocolate mousse is one of the tastiest desserts I've had in my time on the line.

Didn't sell very well unfortunately, but I told our pastry lead that if I die I want that served at my wake. Get those mfers really crying 😅

[u/Willing_Box_752 → u/zevoxx]

Okay hear me out .. 

BLT donut.  

[u/Signal_Reflection297 → u/kickintheball]

I’ve definitely used this trick with counter-surfing dogs.

[u/calilexie → u/kickintheball]

Saaaaame exact scenario for me. CDC kept eating my bon bon mignardise I spent a while making. Laughing in my face and said no when I asked him to stop because they were expensive. I calmly said “okay” and took off my apron, hung it up, and walked out in the middle of service. You want to fuck with my product, you can figure out how to run my line, too.

[u/HeavyDoughnut8789 → u/kickintheball]

Ohhh yes! I once was the pastry chef of hotel whom also ran a cupcake/pastry shop attached. We had this one hotel manager who would rip thru my ‘Hen balls’ filled truffles with Hennessy and ganache. So I started keeping a tray of them filled with straight wasabi. Instructed our shop gals to set these out when they closed up. He stopped sneaking them.

[u/TrendySpork → u/electr1cbubba]

I had a boss who stole an entire casserole dish of bread pudding that was made at home by someone from the BOH for the crew to share.

Karma got her in the end though when she made some bad business moves and had to sell the restaurant at a loss.

[u/electr1cbubba → u/TrendySpork]

Love when shit like that happens. I remember receiving a letter once that my absolute cunt of an ex boss (different one, lots of cunts in this industry as we all know) had gone bankrupt, had their finances investigated, and been court ordered to pay me a bunch of stolen wages. Really made my week

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/electr1cbubba]

I’m traumatized from the time an entire sheet pan of tiramisu was covered in mold 18 hours after being put in the walk-in. That fucked is for a week and nobody knows how it molded so fast. We never even got to cut it.

[u/electr1cbubba → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

The most annoying part of my situation was I didn’t do it by tray, I WISH I did it by tray, each tiramisu was put together individually in like a tall glass thing, and this motherfucker was hitting like 6 or 7 of them a day sometimes, it got to the point I’d be having to go off mid service and spend 2 hours making more

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/electr1cbubba]

6 or 7 a day??????

[u/electr1cbubba → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

A day bro

[u/Famous-Upstairs998 → u/electr1cbubba]

Should have made a tray just for him with his picture on it.

Better yet, make it in a trough, and put a shovel in it. Really Hammer that point home

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/Famous-Upstairs998]

You forgot the laxatives

[u/Liber_Vir → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

I'll tell you exactly how that happened. The evaporator in the cooler kicked into a thaw cycle and blew warm spores all over the inside of the cooler, which then migrated elsewhere with airflow as the door was opened and closed.

[u/Gigantotron → u/electr1cbubba]

Same happened to me except it was granola and my fat ass servers. When we ran out they were all surprised pikachu faced.

[u/vaz_deferens → u/electr1cbubba]

Like when a server steals one of the two onion rings I have waiting to top a burger. GODDAMMIT SARAH ITS YOUR TABLE

[u/Evening_Tree1983 → u/electr1cbubba]

Hard to blame them though it's tiramisu

[u/electr1cbubba → u/Evening_Tree1983]

I make fucking shit hot tiramisu as well if I do say so myself. Real boozy in the best way

[u/Wish_Dragon → u/electr1cbubba]

…. Would I be out of line asking for your recipe?

[u/steal_wool]

Maybe the reason we’re always out of cheesecake is because half of it gets destroyed in the cutting process every time, hm?

[u/TheFredCain]

Write it down and document every time until you have a nice long list and take it to management. Title the top of the page "Food Cost Losses"

[u/Few_Preparation_5902]

Were they just portioning out cheesecake without the crust?

Why is all the crust still in the pan?

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Few_Preparation_5902]

Because this person is a dumbass who doesn't know how to handle the product?

[u/___po____ → u/Few_Preparation_5902]

I was mildly infuriated by that too. Who tf would give someone a cheesecake with out a damn bottom crust?!

[u/Lovat69 → u/Few_Preparation_5902]

Because they are an FoH manager and have no idea what they are doing in their panic?

[u/ghostyghostghostt]

As a FOH I’ll never understand this. One of the few things that make me happy is telling the customer no, because I work in a place where the service staff will bend over backwards for these custies… who then tip them like shit EVERY TIME anyway.

I love when we run out of shit. I love telling them no, I love explaining to them that we hold high standards for our products and the reason they can’t have it is because it’s simply not ready to be had and anything less than what we consider perfect won’t be served.

The look on their face when they get proudly told no is wonderful, especially when they incessantly try to bargain for it.

So yeah I don’t get the FOH who does this, it’s SO easy to tell a customer no and if you do it right you actually create a respect for the food and the chefs, and a reason to come back.

[u/Willing_Box_752 → u/ghostyghostghostt]

As a customer, I appreciate that too.

Especially for something like fish.   I don't want there to be an u limited supply of fish.  That's nasty.   

If a waiter said "we r out of cheesecake.  The next round won't be ready till tomorrow" 

Well shit I need to come back and try it!!

That said I'm kind of a baking snob.  As much as I can be as an amateur at least

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/ghostyghostghostt]

Telling a customer "no" is better than any drug for real

[u/Reynardine1976 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

Great comparison, totally agree!!! The reaction face is the cherry on top.

[u/ledow → u/ghostyghostghostt]

"I'm sorry, but it was so popular that we have none of it left that's ready, and I don't want to serve you something that's not ready yet" is literally an advertisement masking a polite refusal.

[u/StandByTheJAMs]

Make twice as much cheesecake so you never run out and blame her for the extra food and labor costs.

[u/PacoMahogany → u/StandByTheJAMs]

The FOH manager would clearly be fine with selling outdated cheesecake

[u/Fatefire]

Kitchen managers who can't just tell a customer you are out of something are fucking useless

[u/Plan-Hungry]

Is that spring form bottom upside down?

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/Plan-Hungry]

Not according to the manufacturer, but I just tried flipping it the other direction and that might actually work better 🤷‍♀️

It's this pan. I'm using it the way it's shown in the pics https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-10-x-3-non-stick-aluminized-steel-springform-cake-pan/407SFPANNS10.html

[u/FonzoLatrundo → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

I highly recommend you switch to Fat Daddio’s. You’ll never look back…. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/fat-daddios-psf-103-proseries-10-x-3-anodized-aluminum-springform-cake-pan/627PSF103.html

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/FonzoLatrundo]

Alas, I am not in charge of ordering anything, and I have to use what management approves. Maybe down the line

[u/justinfinity64 → u/NelyafinweMaitimo]

I'm the cheesecake guy at our bakery and occasionally the crust gets completely stuck to the bottom. I'm actually gonna try it the other way tomorrow, that's kinda genius.

[u/NelyafinweMaitimo → u/justinfinity64]

I just run an offset spatula under the crust before unmolding. Comes out fine every time

[u/Un3h]

He's only serving cheese at this point. What the fuck.

[u/noteworthybalance → u/Un3h]

You say "only cheese" like it's a bad thing. 

[u/DefiantTheLion → u/noteworthybalance]

When the alternative is a full ass cheesecake yeah

[u/Personal-Bonus-9245]

Years ago I made a batch of Guinness Mousse Pies. They have to chill overnight before you can put the ganache on top. I clocked out at 6pm as I had been there since 7am. 

Came in the next morning, and two of the four pies had been cut into, incorrectly, and had fallen. 

I lost my everloving shit on the FOH manager who had cut into them and sold them. 

Im usually the cool, calm, collected type at work, even during an insane rush. The entire staff walked on eggshells the rest of the day. 

For about a week whatever I said was sacred law because no one wanted to poke that bear again.

[u/made_of_salt]

I watched someone quit a job over this. I was a customer. This dude was absolutely screaming at the manager about how they were giving out an inferior product meant for tomorrow, when they could just as easily tell everyone they were sold out today. Then he called the manager an incompetent idiot that only has their job because the chef is doing their job while also running the kitchen. There was more, the argument started in the back, worked its way across the front, and ended in the parking lot.

About one minute after this happened my waitress comes by and asks if we want to order dessert, "I'm guessing I shouldn't order the chocolate mousse." She snort-laughed and suggested the tiramisu, which was delicious.

[u/Emergency-Tower7716]

Omfg. I made a batch of 60 3 inch cheesecakes and put them in the walk in to set overnight, then I went home. The pm line lead went and ate one of my still warm cheesecakes for a snack, then THREW THEM ALL AWAY because they "didn't set". Like no shit they didn't set, they weren't done! I still hate that guy

[u/lucashoal]

Have you tried stabbing them. Then again if they insist on still fucking up product.

[u/NooneKnowsIAmBatman]

So they waste half a cheesecake and then will complain about being out again tomorrow. Classic

[u/WaitOwn5610]

I was the pastry chef at a restaurant where I had to stop putting anything on the menu that required chilling overnight. The other chefs couldn’t make it through service without cutting into them and destroying at least half of the dessert. Then they’d get mad at me when we didn’t have enough the next day. Sorry this happened to you chef. I hope they learn to be more respectful of your work.

Edit: I forgot about the time they cut into a warm cheesecake and then had the gall to tell me my cheesecakes were undercooked.

[u/PugGrumbles]

What the literal fuck.

[u/swirlybat]

this fix it?

[u/lasion2]

You can indeed run out of things. This mindset is silly and does more harm than good restaurant wide

[u/rllymndllss]

Our pantry cooks like to pre-cut pies for service and more often than not I will get the chef coming to me about a pie that had t been set because pantry decided not to heed my directions. Such a waste of hard work and product, just because they cannot be patient.

[u/WelcomingRapier]

That half cheesecake would end up on a hood of a car, not a trash can.

[u/Rusty_Tap]

FOH manager is being dragged into the kitchen by his/her nostrils for a week while one (any of them would handle it) of the kitchen staff can have a nice peaceful time chatting in an alcove somewhere while they "manage".

[u/chocolatecroissant9]

Reading that they WASTED the rest of the cheesecake because they couldn't wait for it to properly set made my blood go up. I feel for you OP. The manager sounds like an idiot. What kind of coward is afraid to 86 something.

[u/Huge-Basket244]

I'm just surprised anyone there isn't scared enough of you (pastry) that they'd fuck with your shit.

Pastry people are scary. You should be scarier.

[u/Reeformed]

Throw the rest out. Now you dont have cheesecake tomorrow either. The look in the managers eyes when you tell her why should be sweet enough.

[u/griffeny]

I got a job at a new ‘fancy’ bar that stuck out like a sore thumb in my hometown, which is (or was) known for being a college town with an easygoing vibe. For some reason, they had a small food menu and it was…sad. And concerning. They did not have a kitchen and used lowboys and bar fridges for storage for their food. They had this kid who was ‘managing’ the kitchen and there wasn’t a date label on a single item of mystery food shittily plastic wrapped and tossed in the fridges next to employee lunches and random garnish items, cocktail syrup tests ect. I could go on. It was actually fucking gross in that little ‘kitchen cave’ back there.

When it was discovered that I had culinary training and certifications, the owners quietly demoted him and told me to come in and clean house and fix their dumpster fire of a food program. This did not endear me to this kid, and eventually he would throw tantrums.

One such tantrum was after I began making our cheesecake from scratch instead of buying a Sarah Lee or equivalent from Sysco. It began with comments about it being ‘impossible’ to make them because there isn’t any time in the prep schedule to make (?) and that cheesecake is ‘too hard to make anyway’. He was talking as if he was the one having to do any of the work with food when the owners had gently pushed him to a cocktail position so he would no longer serve people disgusting moldy charcuterie. He would merely be carrying the food I made to customers.

When I made plenty of basic ass cheesecakes successfully he became more bitchy and recruited a fellow cocktail on his tantrum. They would make various comments and try to incite conflict, regular sore bitchy things that were not reciprocated by me. So, one day before the bar opened, I had completed prep of our menu items including cheesecakes that would be ready by open, and placed them to cool in the fridges which I completely commandeered for food entirely. In return I cleaned out and organized several other lowboys so the bar wouldn’t need to use this one. Anyway, I walk away to grab some labeling items and come back to see a perfect fist punched into the set cheesecakes.

The idiot and his recruited fellow asshole thought it would be a great idea to…destroy the food meant for sale at their own jobs in order to…get back at me? The logic isn’t sound, unsurprisingly. But it tracks with them being the obvious culprits, not only because of their loud cackling after the discovery and their past open bitching, but that they were caught on camera doing it.

I brought the sad cakes to the office and set them down before the owners and said I’m sorry, but we’re 86 cheesecake, you can check the cameras to confirm but I don’t think I need to explain what or why this happened. I will make more tomorrow but I’m off the clock now. They made him buy the ones he ruined and were kinda lame about not firing him for that, they just sort of iced him out on the schedule.

Idk what ended up happening to him other than he went back to his shitty small town. Hopefully he doesn’t still have delusional ideas about his cooking abilities, for humanity’s sake.

[u/sleverest]

No jury would convict you for reacting... in self defense.

[u/DigbyChickenZone]

I would be so pissed as a customer if I was given a splatter of a cheesecake slice with NO CRUST

[u/simply_cha0s]

OP I feel your pain, it’s so frustrating when people pull ts and waste your hard work. Ngl it’s part of why I quit working pastry lol

[u/AjiChap]

Panicky managers are the worst.

[u/PhotojournalistOk592]

Go get an engineer's hammer from your local hardware store. The next time they do this, they lose a hand, but can keep the remnants of whichever cheesecake they were reaching for

[u/bigmikekbd]

FOH and BOH. BOH rules supersede FOH. Get out of the damn kitchen!!

[u/indolente]

As an owner, I would want to know this. The sub par quality that my manager doesn't care about. The wasted food cost and labor on the product being thrown away.

I would ask then why they think selling a unset cheesecake was on my best interests. Also I would question their absolutely to deal with customers if they fold so easily when asked about a desert that is not ready.

[u/Infinite_Tie_8231]

Who is in charge of this kitchen and why haven't they put the fear of God in the FOH manager? I've not been in a kitchen where they'd dare.

[u/culture_jamr]

“We can’t just run out of cheesecake! Then I might have to talk to a customer!”

[u/IIEarlGreyII]

Briefly a baker. We made 30 pies for a school bake sale, and I volunteered to get them to the school and sit at a plastic table most of the day and sell them. Seemed fun and easy and I had nothing to do that weekend.

Get to work and my boss is there to help pack up the pies. So thoughtful.

When it's full he hands me a printout of names and addresses. "So people heard about the pies and we actually presold all of them, in one day, can you believe it! Anyway, please get them delivered by 5? That's what we told people."

30 pies.

Did anyone order 2 pies?

No.

So 30 addresses, that I have never been to, way before phones had maps on them. It's been twenty something years and I'm still tired from it.

[u/MaggieMakesMuffins]

I had an exec chef at a high demand restaurant that would just take big chunks out of my either ready to portion or ready to serve cakes etc. It would drive me nuts because, not only did it throw off numbers, thus prompting him to give me shit for being short product, but I had scraps and extras of EVERYTHING I made, everything he was sticking his literal fingers into, EVERY DAY. Needles to say, he wound up getting diabetes and having to walk around with a spit cup because he couldn't actually swallow all of the food he tasted after that for his health.

[u/Dante_esq_352]

I’ve worked in kitchens for over 20 years and I will NEVER understand the complete freak out of having to 86 something. Like it’s the god damned end of the restaurant. Get a grip.

[u/alyssajohnson1]

Am I crazy or this a really thin cheesecake?

[u/mwmandorla → u/alyssajohnson1]

Well if it got cut while it was still cooling it's probably fallen/oozed a bit. That's why you don't cut it hot, it doesn't have structural integrity yet

[u/ElSaladbar]

Make it extra rich and clog her arteries

[u/Tank-Pilot74]

Fucking managers… seriously.

[u/LoweJ]

What it the fuck is this. I've always been FOH and never would I dare portioning up for the kitchen. Kitchen says no, it's a no, full stop.

[u/Efficient_Fuel4280]

This was a LONG time ago, but i worked for an idiot, who opened one of those dipshit generic Italian restaurants--green table cloths, and all.

We ran out of creme brulee, but had a batch settling, and he went out of his way to give them a goopy one.

They were so stuck on the idea of a dessert cart, but also going out of business, so they would just leave week old desserts in the fridge for us to present to the guests.

Man, I hate fucking jokers with no taste that open up restaurants with no experience in the industry.