A line cook in Denver told me my plating looked like a sad hotel buffet

I was working a pop up last fall and this kid, maybe 22, pointed at a dish and said 'Chef, why is everything in a straight line? It looks like a sad hotel buffet.' I was ready to fire him on the spot. But later, I looked at the photos and he was totally right. I was just moving food from the pan to the plate without any thought. Now I spend at least 30 seconds on every plate, using height, negative space, and different spoons for sauces. The difference in how guests react is huge. They take pictures now. Anyone else get a brutal comment that actually made them better?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_west567h ago

Wait, you almost fired him?

the_emma6h ago

Yeah, "almost fired" is a pretty good sign you should just do it.

derekhunt5h ago

But what if the boss was almost fired too? I mean, sometimes the whole place is a mess and the person getting pushed out is actually the only one trying to fix things. Seen it happen where the good employee gets blamed for a bad manager's mistakes. Makes you wonder who really needs to go.