c/chefs

Update: I watched a line cook in Seattle rinse mushrooms for a salad and it made me cringe.

They get soggy and won't brown right, just wipe them with a damp cloth. How do you guys handle a busy prep cook who keeps doing this?

I'm done with the 'always use a microplane for garlic' rule after a night in a Tokyo izakaya

I was working a stage at a small place in Shinjuku, and the head chef made me crush garlic with a heavy knife and the heel of my hand for a whole service. He said the microplane makes it too watery and bitter, and the paste from crushing has a deeper, sweeter flavor. I fought him on it for a week, but after tasting the difference in our tare sauce, I had to admit he was right. Does anyone else have a 'fancy' tool they've ditched for an older, simpler method?

Just got back from the new market on 5th and saw something that made me stop

They're selling 'sushi grade' tuna that's clearly been thawed and refrozen, you can see the ice crystals and the color is way off. I asked the guy behind the counter and he just shrugged. Has anyone else run into this kind of thing lately?

I finally tried that new spot in Austin that only does open fire cooking

Went to Ember & Oak last week and the whole menu is cooked over wood. The thing that got me was they had a $32 pork chop that was brined in coffee for two days before hitting the grill. It was the juiciest piece of meat I've had in a long time, but I'm curious about the logistics of running a whole kitchen like that. Has anyone else worked a line where everything, even the veggies, is fire-based?

I thought sous vide was just a gimmick for home cooks

A buddy in Seattle lent me his setup for a week, so I tried it on a cheap chuck roast. I cooked it for 36 hours at 135 degrees, then seared it in a cast iron pan. The texture was like a perfect medium-rare ribeye, which completely blew my mind. What's the best cut you've found for a long sous vide cook?

Heads up on those new 'non-stick forever' pans from CulinaryPro

I dropped about $180 on a set of three last month, thinking they'd be a game changer for our egg station. The coating started flaking into food after maybe two dozen uses, even with plastic tools and low heat. Has anyone found a brand that actually holds up to real kitchen use, or are we all just going back to well-seasoned carbon steel?

I was cleaning out my old prep station and found a note from my first chef

It was tucked behind a shelf and just said 'taste everything twice, once for you and once for the guest'. That simple line from 8 years ago in Chicago still guides my plating every day. What's the best piece of advice you ever got written down?

I was at a pasta class in Rome and the chef showed us a trick with salt...

We were making cacio e pepe and he told us to salt the pasta water like the sea, but then he added a big handful of salt to the dry pan before we added the pasta water to make the sauce. He said it seasons the pan itself and helps the cheese melt right. I tried it back home in my kitchen and it fixed my sauce breaking problem in about two minutes flat. The cheese just slid into a smooth cream instead of clumping up. Has anyone else picked up a small trick like that from a class or another cook that just clicked?

PSA: Saw a $28 burger on a menu in Portland and it made me think about plating costs.

Back in the day, a burger was just a plate, now it's a tiny cutting board with a side of house-pickled onions and aioli in a squeeze bottle, which adds like $3 to the food cost before you even start cooking.

I used to think my old boss's 'no waste' rule was just about saving money

Back when I worked at The Blue Heron in Seattle, Chef Marco would make us save every single vegetable scrap, and I thought it was just being cheap. Then one day, after a huge catering job, he had us turn all the carrot tops and onion skins into this amazing, deep green broth for a risotto special. It completely changed how I see prep now, and I haven't thrown out a peel in five years. What's the most surprising 'scrap' you've turned into something great?

Just learned the real reason we rest meat, and it's not just about temperature

I was reading an old food science book from the library and it broke down the muscle fibers. It said that when meat cooks, the juices get pushed to the center. If you cut it right away, about 40% of those juices can run out onto the plate. But if you let it sit for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, the fibers relax and reabsorb most of that liquid. I always thought it was just to stop it from cooking more. Has anyone else seen a big difference in juiciness when you nail the rest time?

Tried two ways to fix a broken hollandaise last week

Had a split sauce during a busy brunch. First I tried the classic whisk in a bit of hot water, which just made it worse. Then I grabbed a fresh yolk, whisked it in a clean bowl, and slowly added the broken sauce back to it. That saved it in about 90 seconds. What's your go-to rescue for a broken emulsion?

Had to pick between a new $800 immersion circulator or a second-hand commercial convection oven for my pop-up.

Went with the oven for volume, but I'm still figuring out how to nail sous-vide style proteins without the precise gadget. Anyone have a reliable stovetop method for a consistent 135 degrees?

Rant: I just read that a single head of garlic can have up to 20 cloves

Found it in a seed catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and now I'm questioning every 'clove' I've ever prepped. Has anyone actually grown a variety that produces that many?

Tried a new way to sear scallops and the difference was crazy

I always used to sear them in a non-stick pan, but my friend in Portland said to use a carbon steel pan and get it smoking hot. The crust I got last night was perfect, way better than the soggy ones I used to make. What's your go-to pan for a perfect sear?

Decided to bring back my grandma's old pickle recipe for the house burger. The brine had a weird ingredient I'd never seen before.

Old guy at the fish market told me to always smell the gills, not the skin

I was buying salmon for a big party last Friday, and this older guy next to me at the Fulton Fish Market saw me sniffing the fillet. He leaned over and said, 'Kid, the skin lies. You gotta check the gills, if they got 'em. If they're bright red, you're golden. If they're brown, walk away.' I thought it was just some old-timer talk, but I tried it. The skin on this one piece smelled fine, but the gills were a dull, muddy color. I passed on it and got a different fish. The party went off without a hitch, and everyone raved about the salmon. I've been doing it ever since. Has anyone else gotten a piece of advice from a market vendor that actually saved your bacon?

Warning: My 20-year-old Hobart mixer finally gave out during a 200-roll holiday order

Everyone says to just buy a new one, but I'm getting the motor rebuilt in Cincinnati (it's cheaper than you'd think). Has anyone else kept an old workhorse running past its supposed expiration date?

I thought sous vide was just a gimmick for home cooks

My head chef at The Oak Room in Boston made us start using it for our lamb chops about six months ago. I rolled my eyes at the extra step, but after cooking 40 chops to a perfect medium rare every single time, I had to admit it worked. The texture is just better, no gray band at all. Anyone else have a kitchen tool they were wrong about?

Bought a $200 'smart' scale that promised perfect dough every time

It was supposed to link to an app and adjust for humidity and flour type. The first time I used it, the app crashed mid mix, leaving me with a brick of flour and water. I had to throw out a whole batch of brioche starter. Now it just sits on a shelf, a very expensive paperweight. Has anyone found a simple kitchen scale that actually works and doesn't need a software update?

Rant: I used to think you needed a ton of butter to get a good sear on scallops

Switched to a light coat of ghee after a chef in Portland told me it burns cleaner, and now I get that perfect crust without the smoke alarm going off. Anyone else have a simple swap that fixed a messy kitchen problem?

Serious question, has anyone else seen a shift away from the 'everything on the plate' style?

I was at a tasting menu in Portland last month, and the chef at Le Pigeon served a lamb dish with just three components. The focus was on the quality of the meat and a perfect jus, not a dozen garnishes. It made me rethink how I build my own plates. Are more people moving toward this simpler plating style now?

A prep cook in Seattle showed me a better way to peel ginger

I was working a pop-up event there about six months ago. I was using a spoon to scrape the skin off, which felt slow. The prep cook next to me, without a word, grabbed a small piece and rubbed it against the tines of a fork. The skin came off in seconds, and he just said, 'Less waste, more speed.' I've done it that way ever since. Anyone else have a simple kitchen tool hack like that?

TIL my new sous chef had never broken down a whole salmon before.

We were prepping for a 60-cover wedding in Seattle and I asked him to portion six fish. He looked at the first one like it was a puzzle, then just started hacking at the spine with a chef's knife. What's the best way you've found to teach basic butchery without slowing service down?

I keep seeing line cooks in my city toss pasta in a cold pan after draining it.

At my last two jobs in Austin, I watched new hires dump hot pasta into a cold saute pan with sauce, which just makes everything clump together. I always pull the pan off the heat, add a splash of starchy water, and toss it fast to get that perfect cling. Am I being too picky, or is this a basic skill everyone should have down?