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Dear Helena,
The other day I went to a restaurant with an open kitchen. I was psyched because I got what I consider to be prime seating, at the counter where I could watch the chefs at work. But they ignored me, not even bothering with a smile or nod. At one point, I even noticed one of them sending a text. If chefs aren't going to acknowledge customers or put on a show, they might as well be behind closed doors. What's the etiquette for staff behavior in an open kitchen?
—At Least Put on Clean Whites
Dear At Least Put on Clean Whites,
Contrary to what you seem to think, sitting at the counter of an open kitchen is not equivalent to being an audience member in an episode of Molto Mario. You shouldn't expect the cooks to banter with you or guide you through their mise en place. This is because, unlike TV chefs, they have actual cooking to do, and a lot of it.
So don't lean over and say, "What is the brown stuff in the squeeze bottle?" or "I'd like to add that fried-shrimp thing to my order." This is annoying and distracting. Nonetheless, diners do it all the time, says Richie Nakano, a chef who has worked almost exclusively in open kitchens. "Pretty much every single night a guest would try to talk to you or sometimes order food or drinks from you. ... You learn to smile, nod, and break eye contact and go back to what you were doing."
But you should expect an open kitchen to be cleaner than a restaurant kitchen typically is. Nobody should double-dip a tasting spoon in front of you (even though it's common practice behind closed doors). When Nakano worked at Va de Vi in Walnut Creek, California, there were strict rules about hygiene, he says. "As soon as your coat got dirty, you had to put on a new one or fold it over to the other side." It's also good hygiene for cooks to refrain from using their phones, not to mention good manners. You don't want to feel like the chef is so disengaged he's already making his afterwork booty call.
An open kitchen should also be relatively quiet, without the usual ribald remarks and pan-clanging. At Va de Vi, says Nakano, the chef didn't even allow talking during service. But it's unnatural for chefs to be unceasingly quiet and polite, and sometimes they revert to business as usual. At Va de Vi, the chef would lose his temper when an underling messed up, says Nakano. "He would let loose on the kitchen with a guest sitting right there. ... It was like watching Gordon Ramsay happen for real." Nakano says guests may have enjoyed it, but one woman complained. Personally I think that while everyone enjoys watching a chef eviscerate someone on TV, only a sadist could take pleasure in watching this in real life.
The problem is that many restaurateurs include an open kitchen in their design merely because it is trendy—though much less trendy than it was a few years ago—or because it saves space. (Eliminating the dividing wall between the dining room and the kitchen opens up space for extra seating.) The open kitchen is a default design element that they haven't put much thought into.
Thankfully, nowadays many restaurateurs are starting to realize that expecting chefs to be quiet and polite is like expecting the lions at the zoo to put on dinner jackets. As a result, says Cass Calder Smith, an architect who designs restaurants, clients are requesting open kitchens that are entirely enclosed in glass. That way if the chef has an outburst, it doesn't reverberate around the entire room.
This is too funny, but also sad, because unaware diners can harm an establishment through a wanton, uniformed review based on something about which they have no real context. I work in the kitchen at a fine dining joint and...
1) This is our workplace, so just as others might correspond - personal or otherwise -during their workday, so do we,
2) Working in a kitchen often doesn't even provide...+READ
This is too funny, but also sad, because unaware diners can harm an establishment through a wanton, uniformed review based on something about which they have no real context. I work in the kitchen at a fine dining joint and...
1) This is our workplace, so just as others might correspond - personal or otherwise -during their workday, so do we,
2) Working in a kitchen often doesn't even provide an opportunity to go to the bathroom on a busy night, so, if you do have to reach out to someone, it's going to have to be from where you're standing, when you have a moment to breathe,
3) Even if it's an open kitchen, we are so frigging busy doing 3 things at once while trying to remember the 10 things we have to do next that we don't have time to socialize and chat. Think of being at your office, engaged in delivering multiple extremely tight deadlines, while on a conference call, with your boss standing over your shoulder, and then someone drops by your cubicle and wants to have a water cooler chat. Your focus will be elsewhere.-COLLAPSE
Just because it is an open restaurant doesn't mean the chefs have time to talk to you about what they are doing and how the food is being prepared you not in a TV studio. The chefs are busting their butts trying to push out quality product and don't have time to chat its not always about you. The chef is texting big deal it could be a supplier, or maybe his other restaurant, or an emergency.
This letter-writer sounds mentally challenged.
The writers is expecting the cooks to "put on a show?" Really? I'd prefer that they concentrate on making food.
I think it depends on the restaurant. We enjoy sitting at the small "chef's counter" at one local restaurant, where the chef, an enthusiastic young guy, loves to talk about his creations when he gets a minute (and sometimes lets us be guinea pigs). Some of the line guys, the ones working right in front of us, seem to welcome the occasional question. But we don't interrupt when they're obviously...+READ
I think it depends on the restaurant. We enjoy sitting at the small "chef's counter" at one local restaurant, where the chef, an enthusiastic young guy, loves to talk about his creations when he gets a minute (and sometimes lets us be guinea pigs). Some of the line guys, the ones working right in front of us, seem to welcome the occasional question. But we don't interrupt when they're obviously slammed.-COLLAPSE
They need to kill the open kitchen concept. Every new restaurant in LA has one! And frankly, as a customer, it's gives a very hectic and rushed atmosphere to the restaurant which really takes away from the dining experience.
an open kitchen is not Bennihana! Watching an open kitchen to me is like watching a ballet... ballerinas don't wave to you when you sit down.
It must be nice to think that other people, doing their jobs, are obligated to entertain you. I nor anyone I know are in the restaurant business, and none of us think that an open kitchen means social hour for the chefs. Nor do we think it's going to be the food version of Cocktail.
Watch what they do, pick up tips by observing, and be grateful for such a nice meal. There are many these days...+READ
It must be nice to think that other people, doing their jobs, are obligated to entertain you. I nor anyone I know are in the restaurant business, and none of us think that an open kitchen means social hour for the chefs. Nor do we think it's going to be the food version of Cocktail.
Watch what they do, pick up tips by observing, and be grateful for such a nice meal. There are many these days that can't afford even going out for a meal.-COLLAPSE
Indeed these past three columns have all sounded a common note: Don't want customers to complain about you eating/drinking/texting on the job? Don't do those things in front of the customers!
As for not being acknowledged by cooks when sitting near an open kitchen, butch up! Cooks aren't just working, they're working with boiling oil and sharp knives. Fierce concentration is critical to them...+READ
Indeed these past three columns have all sounded a common note: Don't want customers to complain about you eating/drinking/texting on the job? Don't do those things in front of the customers!
As for not being acknowledged by cooks when sitting near an open kitchen, butch up! Cooks aren't just working, they're working with boiling oil and sharp knives. Fierce concentration is critical to them not losing fingers and pumping out the orders.
All of this said, I in fact DO sit in a prominent part of an open floor plan office. Despite being senior management and as likely to have my head buried in my work as any line cook, I still have to at least pretend to smile and nod to acknowledge the presence of passing colleagues. Everyone has time for a smile.-COLLAPSE
The last three columns have been about what restaurant staff are doing wrong. I thought his column was about diners' manners.
I know for a fact that chefs will at times need to text their suppliers during service. Texting isn't by definition a social/pleasure task.
Cell phones are unsanitary! Even if the chef is doing something for work, like ordering, s/he should wait until a break and wash hands after texting. Ew.
Poor little offended dear. They didn't acknowledge you.
"You don't want to feel like the chef is so disengaged he's already making his afterwork booty call." What the hell is that supposed to mean? Thats a pretty degrading assumption. Face it, technology is in our kitchens now. As a chef I use my phone all the time, to make my prep list, a list of stuff I need from the purveyor, and to manage schedules. Maybe the chef was simply reminding himself to...+READ
"You don't want to feel like the chef is so disengaged he's already making his afterwork booty call." What the hell is that supposed to mean? Thats a pretty degrading assumption. Face it, technology is in our kitchens now. As a chef I use my phone all the time, to make my prep list, a list of stuff I need from the purveyor, and to manage schedules. Maybe the chef was simply reminding himself to buy a bag of flour, rather than scheduling a 'booty call'. Sure it's unprofessional to get caught by a patron using your phone, but the notion that we are 'unsanitary' for using our phones on the line is bourgeois. I bet our hands are far cleaner than yours. We wash them after touching anything volatile, sticky, or raw. And open kitchens aren't that great for us either. We have to deal with customers constantly looking at us, scrutinizing our every move. To bad your readers weren't there to read over your shoulder as you penned this precocious article.-COLLAPSE
Why are all the posts about restaurant worker etiquette lately? People aren't writing in asking what they should do, but rather if somebody in a restaurant has been inadvertently rude in the course of their jobs.
If you don't like something you see at a restaurant, don't go back. The end.
And unless the person writing in has never sent a text while at work, they're hardly in a position to...+READ
Why are all the posts about restaurant worker etiquette lately? People aren't writing in asking what they should do, but rather if somebody in a restaurant has been inadvertently rude in the course of their jobs.
If you don't like something you see at a restaurant, don't go back. The end.
And unless the person writing in has never sent a text while at work, they're hardly in a position to criticize.-COLLAPSE
Nice. Just heard a high majority of people text and talk while using the toilet, and I highly doubt they rub sanitizer on their cell phones.
Definitely not a faux pas... My husband uses his phone to text and email all the time running his kitchen. If he is stuck on line helping, he still needs to be in contact with his reps, employees, employers etc.
Chefs overseeing multiple kitchens text all the time. They will even send photos of crappy plates that went out to their cooks "wtf is this?"
Dude. I work in a monster of a restaurant. I envy ANYONE on the line who has time to check their phone.
Dear At Least Put on Clean Whites,
I'm going to start off by letting you know that your little rant really upset me. I can't speak on behalf of all chefs and line cooks, but I do know a good number of those who would want to kick you in the face if they read your rant. Open kitchen etiquette, to me is being neat, clean, organized, quick on your feet, as silent as possible, and to first and...+READ
Dear At Least Put on Clean Whites,
I'm going to start off by letting you know that your little rant really upset me. I can't speak on behalf of all chefs and line cooks, but I do know a good number of those who would want to kick you in the face if they read your rant. Open kitchen etiquette, to me is being neat, clean, organized, quick on your feet, as silent as possible, and to first and foremost keep your calm (a task proven difficult for most kitchen workers). Imagine having to worry about your mannerisms while also having to perform the duties of a line cook. This is why an open kitchen can be a tricky environment to work in, and demand those of a certain caliber to fare well in such. So what are the basic duties of a line cook? Well, in a lot of cases they are there to prep your food, cook your food, and put your food on a plate. Period. Those who become cooks to 'make it big as entertainers' will get their asses handed to them in any real kitchen. So, if you're going to complain about cooks doing their job then stay home and do it yourself.
In regards to this statement: " At one point, I even noticed one of them sending a text." I would like to remind you that line cooks are PEOPLE just like you and I. I'm not sure what your occupation is, but think about it in these terms: What would happen if they moved your workspace into an "open" environment? (Imagine an office with all glass windows.) Would you be expected to start entertaining people? No. Do you get more compensation if you chose to entertain? Maybe, but not a significant amount. Would your work start to become somewhat compromised if you starting paying more attention to the entertainment aspect of it? Probably. And lastly, do you check your phone at your workplace? If you say no, then good for you! Everyone should follow in your example! But I know as well as everyone else, that anyone with a cellular phone will check it periodically if: a) it's within their reach; b) the boss isn't looking; c) you're expecting a call/text; d) in case of an family emergency.
I know that my statement is based purely on opinion and I don't expect EVERYONE to agree with the words I am writing. However, I hope at least one person will walk away from reading this feeling somewhat empathetic to those in the culinary industry. Generally, a day in the life of a dinner-service line cook will read as follows: Wake up, go to work, set up prep station, gather all ingredients, prep for service, set up station for service, make sure all mise en place is set (including food prep, utensils for plating, pots and pans, plates, etc.), listen to chef yell, memorize all orders coming , cook the food, plate the food, listen to chef yell some more, wait for the last person in the restaurant to put their order in, cook and plate your last order of food, listen to chef yell even more, and then finally when all orders completely finished you get to wrap everything up and CLEAN THE ENTIRE KITCHEN. Fun times, eh?-COLLAPSE
good job helena. now could you just explain one thing. how does the removal of a 4 inch thick partition between the kitchen and the dining area save space? doesn't the loss of the wall area, someplace where appliances and equipment can be stacked actually mean more space is necessary?
I'm sure the person texting was not the chef, probably lining up his late night activities. As a guy who has worked in a very popular NYC open kitchen it did irk me when my fellow cooks would text while on the line, it is very unprofessional looking, as is eating behind the line and wearing your pants too low(you know who I am talking about Mr. Top Chef Winner) As for interacting with the...+READ
I'm sure the person texting was not the chef, probably lining up his late night activities. As a guy who has worked in a very popular NYC open kitchen it did irk me when my fellow cooks would text while on the line, it is very unprofessional looking, as is eating behind the line and wearing your pants too low(you know who I am talking about Mr. Top Chef Winner) As for interacting with the customer that is the greatest thing about working in an openkitchen, was always great to hear immediate feedback from the guests and just meet the people who are enthusiatic about what I am doing for a living.-COLLAPSE
"Personally I think that while everyone enjoys watching a chef eviscerate someone on TV, ...".
Everyone? Really? Nope, I don't think so. Just the voyeuristic sadists amd the sadistic voyeurs.
As aa chef, let me say that when we are working, we are in the kitchen. And like everyone else in the working world, regardless of your vocation, we have to answer emails and phone calls (place orders, get equipment repaired, answer reporters questions, answer ownerships questions and demands, etc). But sometimes we don't have the luxury of running to our cramped little offices to attend to these...+READ
As aa chef, let me say that when we are working, we are in the kitchen. And like everyone else in the working world, regardless of your vocation, we have to answer emails and phone calls (place orders, get equipment repaired, answer reporters questions, answer ownerships questions and demands, etc). But sometimes we don't have the luxury of running to our cramped little offices to attend to these matters. Luckily with today's smartphone, we can be on the line, watching and tasting your food being prepared, and get our business taken care of. We are busy, and we all hate the open kitchen idea that was thought up by some one idiotic. And the customer who needs to be acknowledged by the kitchen in order to feel special has some issues that need to be addressed.-COLLAPSE
It's not the chefs that decide there's an open kitchen, unless they own and design the place. I'm very surprised that folks expect audio with the video. I'm just waiting for someone to complain that one of the cooks inserted him/herself into the customer's conversation with their nearest/dearest.
I have to say I'm shocked that people would expect the kitchen crew to entertain the guests--while they're at work in the kitchen. Think of it like a watch with exposed gears; it's neat to see how it works, but it works the same way whether you're looking at it or not.
Or: If you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen.
I've never worked in the restaurant buiness, but having only watched a kitchen at work close up on one night (I was photographing a special dinner for a now-defunct Le Chaine des Rotisseurs chapter)- and I was absolutely amazed at the energy involved in working in a commercial kitchen. Having seen that, I would NEVER expect any chitchat from the chefs- most of them probably hate even being...+READ
I've never worked in the restaurant buiness, but having only watched a kitchen at work close up on one night (I was photographing a special dinner for a now-defunct Le Chaine des Rotisseurs chapter)- and I was absolutely amazed at the energy involved in working in a commercial kitchen. Having seen that, I would NEVER expect any chitchat from the chefs- most of them probably hate even being watched so closely. If one said hello I'd consider myself lucky.
But then I don't like it when the chef or owner comes out and asks how the food and/or experience is, either- personal preference. Most are just being courteous and working the room, but sometimes you run across a needy one that's looking for validation and boy is that ever awkward.-COLLAPSE
how do you know the guy wasn't posting pix of the food or tweeting the specials (per expectations of your fellow diners)?
This is one of the rare times I'm on the diner's side (and sygyzy's). The implication of a chef's counter (not just any open kitchen, granted, but one with deliberate front-row seating) is that there will be a modicum of interaction, no?
I agree that, if you've ever been on the chef side of the counter, you'd have a different tone. I have a desk job now and the equivalent would be if my boss forced me to sit at a desk in the lobby and all day long I get stopped and questioned and gawked at by passer-bys. You'd go nuts. Someone like sygyzy talks like he guys cooking there designed the place open like that. Givven their way, the...+READ
I agree that, if you've ever been on the chef side of the counter, you'd have a different tone. I have a desk job now and the equivalent would be if my boss forced me to sit at a desk in the lobby and all day long I get stopped and questioned and gawked at by passer-bys. You'd go nuts. Someone like sygyzy talks like he guys cooking there designed the place open like that. Givven their way, the chefs would be behind closed doors. And yes, they are getting paid horribly to be on their feet all day/night with really no break, heat and sharp things flying all around. Not pleasant. We used to get, way more than youd think, patrons just walk straight back into the kitchen to say they enjoyed their meal. That's very nice of them, but we had to swerve around people, stop and be polite, show them whatever they were pointing and gawking at. It didn't fit. I don't crawl under the car when a mechanic is changing my oil and ask whats that cool thing, so don't do it to chefs.-COLLAPSE
I disagree! If you have an open kitchen, or a bar that butts up to one, you should at least greet the diner and be aware that he/she is there. I realize most chefs just want to do their thing but if you don't want me talking to you, why would you put seating right up to it? I try to find that delicate line between being curious and trying not to bother them but if they are using some cool...+READ
I disagree! If you have an open kitchen, or a bar that butts up to one, you should at least greet the diner and be aware that he/she is there. I realize most chefs just want to do their thing but if you don't want me talking to you, why would you put seating right up to it? I try to find that delicate line between being curious and trying not to bother them but if they are using some cool ingredient, you bet I am going to ask about it.-COLLAPSE
just like anyone, they have families to text -
he's working 12 hours at LEAST - 6 days a week. or mine is anyway.
sorry he ruined your illusion that chefs are monks, but I'm home with his 3 kids (we haven't seen him in days), and I'm worried that Al Jr has yet another ear infection and can he please take him to the ear-nose-throat tomorrow am?? and of course he texts me that yes he can. and...+READ
just like anyone, they have families to text -
he's working 12 hours at LEAST - 6 days a week. or mine is anyway.
sorry he ruined your illusion that chefs are monks, but I'm home with his 3 kids (we haven't seen him in days), and I'm worried that Al Jr has yet another ear infection and can he please take him to the ear-nose-throat tomorrow am?? and of course he texts me that yes he can. and then he makes us all some badass breakfast before we head off to give it hell all over again. please don't hassle him for texting on the line.-COLLAPSE
Any customer that wants to take away the after work booty call from a hard working chef, who just cooked you an amazing meal, should be banned from restaurant eating.
They spent 12 hours in a hot kitchen all day getting paid shit money, the one thing they have to look forward to is some after work booty. Let them have it.
My late husband was an executive chef. When he was dealing with 15 tickets hanging, I made sure our hostess never sat children anywhere near the kitchen door because the language would get a little blue, that's for sure. But the glass wall, that's kind of cool - it is exciting to watch a well-orchestrated kitchen pounding out the food.