c/chefs

Tried a weird trick with a sheet pan to stop my hollandaise from breaking

I was doing a brunch shift last Saturday and my hollandaise kept splitting on the line... the heat was just too much. I was about to start a new batch when I remembered something I saw in an old cookbook. I took a full sheet pan, filled it with ice water, and set my metal bowl of sauce right on top of it. I kept whisking while the bowl sat in that cold bath. It cooled the sauce down just enough to stop the eggs from cooking too fast and saved the whole batch. I used that same bowl and pan trick for the rest of the service and it worked every time. It sounds simple, but when you're in the weeds, you don't always think of it. Has anyone else found a good kitchen hack for saving a sauce that's about to break?

Question about the first time you hit a major food cost percentage

I just ran the numbers for my first full quarter running the kitchen at The Oak Room and my food cost came in at 28.7%. My old chef mentor always drilled into me that under 30% was the dream, but I was sure I'd be closer to 33% with our current menu. On one hand, hitting that number feels like a huge win and proves our prep systems are tight. On the other, I'm worried it might mean we're under-portioning or our menu prices are too high compared to other spots in the city. Has anyone else had that mix of pride and panic when you finally hit your target cost? How did you check your work?

Appreciation post: A trick for that stubborn rear quarter panel on a '17 F-150

I had to choose between fighting with a panel for another hour or trying a trick an old body guy told me. I used a heat gun on low for 30 seconds on the adhesive, and it popped right off. Anyone have a different method for stubborn trim?

I thought I could handle a 300-cover wedding solo. I was wrong.

Last Saturday, I took a big wedding job in Asheville, thinking my small team and I could manage the whole thing. The menu had twelve courses, and the client wanted everything plated in under ten minutes. By the third course, we were two plates behind, the sauce for the duck was breaking, and I burned my hand on a pan handle. What saved us was the groom's aunt, who used to run a kitchen in New York. She saw us drowning, rolled up her sleeves, and jumped on the salad station without being asked. Her calm help got us back on track and the rest of the night went smooth. It was a humbling lesson that even a good plan needs room for a helping hand. Has anyone else had a near-disaster turn around because of an unexpected helper?

Serious question, I saw a kitchen in Portland using a steam wand for way more than just milk

I was checking out a spot called The Larder last week, and the chef was using the steam wand from their espresso machine to quickly wilt greens for a salad garnish. It was super fast and kept the color perfect. Has anyone else found a weirdly good use for a piece of equipment that's meant for something else?

Spent $400 on a 'professional' mandoline that's just a finger guillotine

The safety guard is useless and the blade dulled after prepping two cases of potatoes. What's a mandoline you actually trust for high volume?

I used to think a $30 knife was fine until I cut 50 pounds of onions for a wedding job.

My hand was cramping so bad by the end of the first 10 pounds. A cook at the venue saw me struggling and let me try his Japanese gyuto. It went through the onions like nothing. I bought a decent one the next week for about $120. The difference in a long prep day is night and day. Anyone have a favorite brand for heavy prep work that won't break the bank?

Showerthought: I was staging a house in Denver and the realtor said 'people eat with their eyes first' which made me rethink my plating.

Now I spend an extra 30 seconds arranging components on the plate, and the compliments from guests have doubled, so what's a simple visual trick you use to make a dish pop?

I finally understood the point of a dedicated egg pan after talking to a baker.

I was prepping for a brunch shift at the diner and complaining about my eggs sticking. This baker, Sarah, who was picking up an order, just said, 'You're using the wrong metal, it's a heat transfer thing, not a seasoning thing.' She explained that her perfect macarons come from a specific aluminum sheet, not just any tray. I bought a cheap carbon steel pan the next day, and after three uses, my over-easies slide out clean every time. Anyone else have a simple tool change that fixed a constant kitchen headache?

I started putting a wet towel under my cutting board after a slip in the middle of a 300-cover service.

It was a simple fix my old sous chef showed me, just dampen a kitchen cloth and lay it flat. The board hasn't moved an inch since. Anyone have a different method that works just as well?

Just read that most home cooks only use salt and pepper for seasoning

I was looking at a study from a cooking school about pantry staples and it said over 60% of people don't own more than those two basics. I found it in a food industry report my old sous chef sent me. Do you guys see this a lot with friends or family who cook at home?

Just ate at a place in Austin that served a deconstructed chicken pot pie

It was at a spot called The Copper Hen, and the dish came as a bowl of broth with the filling, a separate plate of puff pastry, and the veggies on the side. The flavors were good, but it felt more like soup with bread than a pot pie. Has anyone else run into this kind of plating trend, and do you think it works?

Vent: Bought a 'pro' mandoline slicer that was a total waste

Saw a fancy mandoline slicer online for $85. It looked great in the pictures. The first time I used it, the blade guard snapped right off. Couldn't get a clean slice on anything after that. Ended up tossing it and going back to my old knife. Anyone have a mandoline they actually trust for heavy kitchen use?

Hit 40 covers on a Tuesday night and it felt like a weird win

Honestly, I run a small plate place in a quiet part of town, and we're usually dead on Tuesdays. Maybe 15 covers if we're lucky. Last week, we somehow did 40. It wasn't a holiday or anything, just a random night. My line was me and one other cook, and we got absolutely rocked. The thing is, we didn't run out of a single prep item, and our ticket times stayed under 15 minutes. It mattered because it proved our systems actually work under real pressure, not just on a slow night. Has anyone else had a random weeknight blow up like that and what did you learn from it?

Update: I finally got why my chicken stock was always cloudy

Last month, I was making a big batch for the restaurant and just let it boil hard for hours like I always did. My new sous, who trained in Lyon, walked by and said, 'You know, a gentle simmer is the only friend a clear stock has.' I switched to the lowest bubble and the next pot was crystal clear. How many other simple things are we just doing the loud, fast way because no one ever said to slow down?

TIL a trick for blending a hard part line from a shop in Austin last Tuesday

I used to just scrape and pray, but now I use a 4-inch offset spatula dipped in hot water for a seamless finish, so what's your go-to method for a clean edge on a ganache?

Shoutout to the new cook who showed me I was overcomplicating my bechamel

For years I made my bechamel sauce by slowly adding cold milk to a hot roux, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Last month, a new prep cook at our spot in Charlotte just dumped all the warm milk in at once and stirred with a wooden spoon. I was ready to yell, but his sauce came out perfectly smooth in half the time. It made me realize I was following old school rules that just added extra work. What's one kitchen rule you've found you can actually break?

Why does nobody talk about the 'miracle' garlic press that bent on its first clove?

I saw a fancy one online for $45, said it could handle unpeeled garlic, so I bought it last week. The thing just folded in half like a cheap spoon when I pushed down, and now I'm out the cash and still have to mince by hand. Has anyone found a press that actually works without costing a fortune?

A line cook in Portland once told me 'salt is a feeling, not a measurement'

We were prepping for a huge wedding party, and I was seasoning a vat of soup to the exact gram like I was taught. He just walked over, dipped a spoon in, and said that. He didn't even look at the recipe. It made me stop thinking of the kitchen as a lab and start trusting my own taste. Anyone else have a simple piece of advice that flipped a switch for them?

A weird thing happened with my sourdough starter last month

I mean, I've kept the same one alive for 3 years, but last month it just stopped doubling in size no matter what I fed it. I finally figured out my kitchen was way too cold after I got a new AC unit. Anyone else have their starter get moody from a temperature change?

I thought sous vide was just for steak guys until a pop-up in Portland changed my mind

For a long time, I saw those machines as a gimmick for home cooks, not a real kitchen tool. Then I worked a weekend pop-up where the chef used one for a pork shoulder, holding it at 165 for 18 hours. The texture was perfect every single time, and we served 200 plates without a single piece being dry. What's something you were totally wrong about that turned out to be a game changer?

Question about using a water bath for a whole salmon versus roasting it whole.

Tried the water bath for a 12 pound fish for a party last night. The texture was perfect, but I missed the crispy skin you get from the oven. Anyone have a good method to get both?

Had a whole tray of creme brulee shatter on the floor right before a 200-person wedding in Napa. My sous chef grabbed a blowtorch and we made it work.

I picked a $35 immersion blender over a full food processor for a small batch of romesco sauce.

The blender gave me more control over the texture, and I didn't have to clean a bunch of extra parts, so what's your go-to tool for sauces that need a bit of chunk left in them?

Fixing a broken hollandaise took me an hour yesterday

The emulsion kept breaking no matter how slowly I added the butter. I had to start over twice before realizing my clarified butter was way too hot. Anyone have a good temperature range they stick to?