Should you criticize the chef?

[Bobilee]

I had brunch with a friend at a popular cafe, and I thought my meal was terrible. There were a lot of sour, uneatable fried onions left on my plate, and while waiting for the server to take my plate I used my fork to spell out "A W F U L" in onions. The waiter noticed what I had done and chuckled, but there was no response other than that.

[Mooseketeer]

I am pretty shy but I will always tell the chef or the waiter or the manager if the food did not live up to my expectations.

I figure nobody who cannot cook should ever be a professional chef and it you have no idea about food, another profession might be a good idea.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people have the gall to charge you money for what amounts to not even bad home cooking.

I also always leave reviews on various sites and will tell friends and family not to go there as well.

As far as I'm concerned a restaurant is a place where professional chefs and staff work so I feel no need to stay quiet and taking bad food or bad service.

You can be polite but still frank and honest about your experience and feelings.
There is no excuse for a bad meal in a restaurant.

I don't know enough about the law to open a law firm, why should someone feel arrogant enough to think they can cook in a professional kitchen when they have no aptitude for gastronomy ?

It seems quite reasonable to expect a minimum of standards when you go out to dinner !

[gentlearts]

I think it depends what kind of place it is. If it is pretentious and expensive, then my food damn well better be perfect or I will say something.
If it's just another cheap dive, I'll probably just not go back. I will always say something if the food is cold or if there is something gross in it, but if it's just not good, I'll just figure they're incompetent and not go back. Like, telling them won't make them know how to cook better anyway..
If I were a dedicated chef with my own restaurant, I would truly want to hear the honest opinions of my customers.

[brokencrayola]

Let me put it this way. I would complain if I had a really bad meal but only AFTER I was done eating!

[emtfingers]

I am married to a chef, now retired. We made it a practice to always eat at the competition...
As far as good and bad food... Even though he was the executive chef, he did not always see every dish that went out but certainly corrected any that were bad. His attitude has always been there is nothing worse for a restaurant to have 1 bad customer... that customer always has a mouth - and rightly so. He always compensated the customer when a problem was brought to his attention. Now he is hesitant to complain.. but not me. He has taught me how. Send the food back, don't lie about it and if you have to send the dish back 2, 3 or 4 times, the kitchen gets the message and the whole staff knows. Someone who really cares will ask how the food is. 100 complements can be nothing against 1 complaint.