Pet peeves

Jmadams13 · Sep 28, 2012

After an after shift ***** fest with some coworkers the other night, we started listing our pet peeves for fun. What are some of yours, i'm sure this list will be quite funny.

some of mine, in no particluar order:

Using my brotforms for any other reason then their purpose.
Leaving plastic spoons in the salad dressings at the end of service.
Poking my fermenting dough. I told one guy im gonna ferment him the next time, lol
Stealing my side towel.

and most importantly (grounds for a flogging) moving my coffee.

there are more, and i'm sure we all share some, but just wanted to get things started. So lets here them. What drives you nuts in the kitchen besides the obvious saftey and sanitation stuff

stevenStefano · Sep 28, 2012

Other people using my knives. That will never not piss me off. It does make me laugh though when they cut themselves

sachem allison · Sep 28, 2012

My biggest. " That's not my job!" My reply is "your job is whatever the hell I tell you your job is!" or " your right, that's not your job and neither is this one, get the hell out!"

sachem allison · Sep 28, 2012

Oh yeah, and people touching my knives.

VoodooMajik · Sep 28, 2012

Using My knives
Other people using their knives to cut cardboard
Whistling
Taking one of the boards off my stack or my compost/plastics buckets
Trying to cook for me
When people shove to get past all the time then stand in your way or slow down.

Putting cases of stuff down on my blades
Table Salt
Freezers
Microwaves
Cardboard
"I Forgot _____, sssooorrryyy"

Lucretia · Sep 28, 2012

People who spend more time complaining about having to do something correctly than it would take to just DO IT CORRECTLY!!!!!

lumo · Sep 28, 2012

whistling
waste
not taking the masking tape label off of something and sending it through the dish washer
not consolidating into clean and smaller containers
consolidating new and old product
people eating off of plates cleared from a table, just yelled at a server for that
dull knives, duh
but the biggest one is touching me while I work, I swung around and cracked someone in the ribs for sneaking up behind me and grabbing my shoulders while I was expediting a busy night. It was totally reactionary and I felt awful...just a weird tick I've been working on getting rid of for years.

Jmadams13 · Sep 28, 2012

VoodooMajik said:
Using My knives
Other people using their knives to cut cardboard
Whistling
Taking one of the boards off my stack or my compost/plastics buckets
Trying to cook for me
When people shove to get past all the time then stand in your way or slow down.

Putting cases of stuff down on my blades
Table Salt
Freezers
Microwaves
Cardboard
"I Forgot _____, sssooorrryyy"

The I forgot excuse gets me...

Also a big no no to me is excused, so you messed up, it happens. Own up to it and fix it, don't make an excuse

Cutty Sharp · Sep 28, 2012

My peeves when I was in the kitchen:

almost all the wait staff
late orders for steak tartare after I'd cleaned the meat grinder
the sh!t music people would play
tatoos
end of shift cleaning
people dumping on and treating the dishwashes like sh!t
almost all the wait staff, if I haven't already mentioned that
the wait staff

Mucho Bocho · Sep 28, 2012

This is a good thread.

Not washing hands
When people use the same spoon for tasting and excavating jars of ingredients
When people are afraid to heat the pan to proper tempature.
Not washing hands
Not cleaning up after prep
Putting dishes in the sink
trying to grab a knife for inspection from my very close wall magnet
cutting with a knife that will shave hair like a hand saw
using soap on my cast/iron pans
not properly preheating the cooking vessel

I'm sure I have more

Carl · Sep 28, 2012

Granted my experience is 1% of most of you, but here it is.

- Working dirty, i.e. not cleaning as you go with clean tools, methods and hands.
- Talking without purpose, rambling, or taking the long way around the story you're telling.
- Making someone stop and wait for you to finish what you're doing so they can finish what they're doing.
- Improper use of salt, i.e. not enough, wrong kind, wrong time or any use of "table salt," aka "dirt."
- Advising me how to cure my (instert ailment here), whether it's a headache, acid reflux, or knee pain. I'm a big boy and you're probably not a doctor.
- Not scraping plates.
- Toppers

stevenStefano · Sep 28, 2012

Another thing that really pisses me off in my current job is that there is a huge menu yet orders always come in for stupid stuff that ain't on it because it's too much hassle for the waiting staff to say no to anybody. So you're flat out then you have to stop for like 5 mins to listen to someone explain exactly what the customer wants. That pisses me off a lot.

Treating the dishwashers like dirt is another one as Cutty Sharp mentioned. I started off doing it so I have seen both sides of it

Eamon Burke · Sep 28, 2012

People buddying up with the Manager and screwing off at work
Moving my knives
Throwing away my drink
Expecting to have your place reserved for your highness when you walk off
not putting a *$&%(#* timer on the oven when you put something in
People walking off with something I am in the middle of doing(taking half of the carrots I'm cutting, etc)
Exhaling smoke while walking back into the kitchen/lighting up on your way out the door
Gossip

Lucretia · Sep 28, 2012

Sorry--I just hit "what's new" and didn't see that this was "back of the house." But I bet my peeve still applies...

Eamon Burke · Sep 28, 2012

Yes, indeed it does Lucretia. The amount of misery that people will put themselves through because they've decided they hate some new person at work, compared to how much easier their lives would be if they just shut up and did their job.

ajhuff · Sep 28, 2012

Smokers
Non-cooking people in my area
Servers prepping or cutting deserts in the kitchen and then leaving the mess.
Calling out an order up being asked whose it is
Not washing hands
Using a steak knife in the kitchen
Not restocking your station
Not being able to pronounce the food you make
Not being able to describe the food you make
Smokers

-AJ

Jmadams13 · Sep 28, 2012

Cutty Sharp said:
My peeves when I was in the kitchen:

almost all the wait staff
late orders for steak tartare after I'd cleaned the meat grinder
the sh!t music people would play
tatoos
end of shift cleaning
people dumping on and treating the dishwashes like sh!t
almost all the wait staff, if I haven't already mentioned that
the wait staff

Dumping on the dish guys angers me too. They work to hard to be treated like sh!t

Ucmd · Sep 28, 2012

My biggest pet peeve.....getting blood on my clown suit. And potluck dinners

VoodooMajik · Sep 29, 2012

Tattoo's? that's an interesting one

-Cooks that Don't shower
-Servers
-Servers that wear to much cologne
- Mise Leaches
- Running half plated tables
-Over temped protien
-Canned product

+10 on treating dishwashers poorly
-

eshua · Sep 29, 2012

Servers who call tickets conversationally. I have one or two good ones who know when they need to talk to me about something...and the rest....

Server : "Heyyyyy.....Josh.........So the woman at 34 in the green shirt ...who comes here all the time, well....she's here with her kids tonight but the boy can't have gluten...I don't really know how serious it is..but she said you've made the ribeye for her before and it wasn't a problem, so I figured it wouldn't be....but I just wanted to check with you because they have a movie to catch and I just wanted to make sure because they're really nice and I know one time they did have a problem where we ended up comping them for lunch so is it ok if...."

Me: "Did you put it on the ticket?"

Server: "No, that the reason I wanted to ask you..."

Me: "There's a button for it...go away."

On the other hand servers who learn to be concise, loud, and filter what the customer tells them; instead of regurgitating it to us are worth their weight in gold.

Kriegs · Sep 29, 2012

My following questions/statements are directed towards anyone who noted these things or anyone who might note them in the future. However, they are not meant to be confrontational...

Why no tattoos?

Why no smokers? (I am a smoker but tend to leave it for before or after any work unless it is an unusually slow night) I don't worry about fellow cooks having a habit, as long as the habit doesn't affect their level of service.

I'm a bit of a whistler and I hate myself for it..anyone else whistles on the line and I would likely flip. I know why I hate it, but I would love to hear why any of you don't like it.

moodswings....not sure if anyone mentioned this, but I am not a fan
I have been guilty, in the past, of letting my thoughts and emotions get the best of me...but after enough time, it gets incredibly old!

Cutty Sharp · Sep 29, 2012

Tattoos - not my most serious peeve and meant with some humour, but I'm still not into them. It's just kind of a cliche - the chef/cook with a tattooed arm or two - like there's a rule it's required or something for respect. If a few people have them they might be cool, but if too many than it looks a bit silly and becomes like a uniform.

knyfeknerd · Sep 29, 2012

People complaining about how tired they are or how much their vaginas hurt that day

Not dressed acceptably.-If you can't figure out black pants, shoes and a white tee, you should be removed from the gene pool.

Standing in my way when I'm busy- Seriously GTFO my way.

Being happy and cheerful-Keep that kind of crap to yourself. Your good attitude makes me 10x grumpier and highlights the fact that you are an idiot.

Telling me "This is how we do it in culinary school"

and you guys don't pay any attention to cutty, he doesn't like fancy/custon handles on knives either. Tattoos don't bother me, bad tattoos do.

lumo · Sep 29, 2012

Kriegs said:
Why no smokers? (I am a smoker but tend to leave it for before or after any work unless it is an unusually slow night) I don't worry about fellow cooks having a habit, as long as the habit doesn't affect their level of service.

More than anything, I want to smell food, not smoke or perfume or cologne. Also, some smokers abuse their habit because they can't handle stress and use it as a clutch. At that point it's a weakness and character flaw. Not trying to offend anyone or come off as high and mighty. I've been partaking myself for 26 years...but these days unless I'm fishing, the cowboy killers stay home for the end of the night.

Kriegs said:
I'm a bit of a whistler and I hate myself for it..anyone else whistles on the line and I would likely flip. I know why I hate it, but I would love to hear why any of you don't like it.

Whistling is annoying and contagious...not because the cooks are communicating with each other and a mutiny is about to happen. Yeah I actually heard about that superstition the other night...silly!

ajhuff · Sep 29, 2012

Smokers:
#1 They abuse the break system, never around when you need them, constantly stepping out. I'm either covering for your ass or the foods been up for ten minutes.
#2 They reek and I hate the smell. Spraying down with Axe body spray after each cig doesn't make it better.
#3 Their taste buds are whacked. Everyone I have been around uses way too much salt, too much curry, etc.

-AJ

mr drinky · Sep 29, 2012

knyfeknerd said:
People complaining about how tired they are or how much their vaginas hurt that day

Hey, you can't say vagina with your dad on the forum.

From one home cook to you pro cooks, I love reading this thread.

k.

Jmadams13 · Sep 29, 2012

Some more from me

Using the wrong cambro
Using my mandolin and not cleaning it enough (ie; dirty blades)
Again, moving my coffee
Not using a timer
Cooks who leave their cell phone out during service
Watching the clock late at night (we all want to go to the bar, the beer will still be there)

ajhuff · Sep 29, 2012

One more.

Shouting. I cannot stand excessive unnecessary noise in the kitchen.

-AJ

Cutty Sharp · Sep 29, 2012

knyfeknerd said:
...and you guys don't pay any attention to cutty, he doesn't like fancy/custon handles on knives either.

Dmn right!! And let's add this to the list of peeves too, please. :bashhead::razz:

(For the record, cool wood on westerns can be great, but not on wa's; usually looks way too busy as a Japanese handle to me. I'm also thinking it's the guys with tattoos that are the ones ordering these wild wa burls. Someone has to take a stand.

vg

Smoking - agreed on that one. Of course it's going to destroy your sense of smell and taste, and it stinks if you don't smoke and the guy right next to you does and is getting all sweaty by the grill; that's going to throw you off too. Also, what is it with the idea that breaks for smokers should get priority over breaks for non-smokers? Is it a noble cause we should endorse? :nah:

NO ChoP! · Sep 29, 2012

Superiority complexes.
Condescending tones.
Excuses. I have " no excuses" tatted on my arm.
Non team players.
Talkers.
Non listening know-it-alls.
A$$ kissers.
Game players.
Liars.
Cheaters.
Thieves.
Laziness.
Disrespect.
And people who put garbage into a bag that has clearly slipped into the can.

Pet peeves

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