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In fairness a restaurant's reputation is at stake here (or should it be steak?). They uphold certain standards, and that includes standards of TASTE as well as service.etc. I don't want a person complaining the food is crap because they wanted it that way. They may think it'll taste a certain way, but it might not. I know people have different preferences, but sometimes if a chef refuses to do something a certain way it's better just going to somewhere else. Of course if chefs want to accommodate good on them, but just highlighting why a chef might seem to overreact over something like this.
Of course most steak houses give you the option of having it rare to well-done. Most dedicated steakhouses will also have different cuts...Another thing that should be mentioned is sauces and seasonings. Many who enjoy well done steak smother it in sauce and seasoning to make it more tasty, they may prefer it that way. Even today I still like my steak smothered in black pepper or diane sauce even though i prefer it medium now.
This goes back to the whole, "You work in the hospitality industry" reality, though.
You're far more likely to risk a bad rep and reviews by becoming known as a place where the customer is told they may not order their food as they prefer it "because the chef knows better than you what you should, by rights, like."
This goes back to the whole, "You work in the hospitality industry" reality, though.
You're far more likely to risk a bad rep and reviews by becoming known as a place where the customer is told they may not order their food as they prefer it "because the chef knows better than you what you should, by rights, like."
People think that the arrogant chef looks down his nose at the customers who order a $15/lb (wholesale cost) piece of USDA Prime cooked well done.
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! We LOVE these people. They give us a way to get rid of our slightly less-pretty cuts of beef. Even when we break down the beef primals into various steak cuts, some steaks have better marbling and appearance than the others.
The people who order rare get the best cuts from our day's butchering. The people who order well and medium well get the worst. Keep in mind, "worst" is subjective. We're not going to sell you anything bad. It's just that the well-done crowd will never notice that their piece of beef had almost no marbling. But the rare crowd will. This allows us to use more of the side of beef that we paid for, without any discernible quality loss -- the well-done crowd has no idea what they're missing.
Basically, the rare crowd are the more sophisticated diners. Sorry, blackened, charred, very-well done crowd. But that's how it is.
...That is what gives roasts, barbecues and other "low and slow" meats that lip-smacking unctuous flavor -- gelatin...
Very true. Many folks will skim the fat and "jelly" off their braised meats after they have been in the fridge. It's okay to remove the fat but leave that jelly in there cuz that's texture and flavor .
People think that the arrogant chef looks down his nose at the customers who order a $15/lb (wholesale cost) piece of USDA Prime cooked well done.
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! We LOVE these people. They give us a way to get rid of our slightly less-pretty cuts of beef. Even when we break down the beef primals into various steak cuts, some steaks have better marbling and appearance than the others.
The people who order rare get the best cuts from our day's butchering. The people who order well and medium well get the worst. Keep in mind, "worst" is subjective. We're not going to sell you anything bad. It's just that the well-done crowd will never notice that their piece of beef had almost no marbling. But the rare crowd will. This allows us to use more of the side of beef that we paid for, without any discernible quality loss -- the well-done crowd has no idea what they're missing.
Basically, the rare crowd are the more sophisticated diners. Sorry, blackened, charred, very-well done crowd. But that's how it is.
Exactly, and that makes perfect sense.
The folks who prefer their meat cooked very well and even overdone are not the ones who are are going to be demanding the most tender, most choice cuts, and they're also not the ones who are likely to view particular cuts as "bad." The people who like it well-done really aren't going to care. It's not like you're serving rancid beef.
When you work in the restaurant industry and really don't care about your customer getting their food the way they enjoy it and ask for it (even if you don't agree!), you're in the wrong business.
When I worked in a pizza joint in my "yoot" I had one particular customer who always demanded the crust be burnt to the point of being black. I was the only one who was willing to pull this off so that customer always asked that I make the pizza. The thing would actually smoke when I pulled it out of the oven - it wasn't totally charred but it was definitely past its prime zone.
And I'm assuming he was as repeat customer who enjoyed having his food made to specification. Did the restaurant's business suffer due to abandonment by other customers who were offended by your blackening of someone else's pizza crust?
Sorry, blackened, charred, very-well done crowd. But that's how it is.
Why are people assuming that "well done" is "blackened, charred, very-well done"? I think that's the gist of some of the communication problem here. Well-done does not mean burned, or cooked until it's "shoe-leather" or even "over cooked". "Over cooked" is simply cooked more than the diner would like it. "Medium" is over-cooked for someone who prefers their meat rare. A properly well-done piece of beef is not burned, charred or "shoe leather". And, no, it's not how I prefer my beef but I can see where some posters are feeling a bit insulted.
And I'm assuming he was as repeat customer who enjoyed having his food made to specification. Did the restaurant's business suffer due to abandonment by other customers who were offended by your blackening of someone else's pizza crust?
Oh yes, definitely a repeat customer because other restaurants wouldn't do it - they said the smell of the burned crust was offensive. In fact, other cooks at our restaurant wouldn't do it. Other customers would look in disgust when the blackened pizza was taken to the customer's table. I'm not sure why he liked it that way - but that's how he got it.
We had other customers ask for "no cheese" or "no sauce." We just made it how they asked for it, no questions asked, and they always left with a satisfied smile and came back.
Right, but your reputation as a dining establishment didn't suffer, then, due to the way one customer's food was prepared to specification. Correct? You didn't become known as "the place that burns their pizza," and have to accordingly shutter your doors, right?
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). They uphold certain standards, and that includes standards of TASTE as well as service.etc. I don't want a person complaining the food is crap because they wanted it that way. They may think it'll taste a certain way, but it might not. I know people have different preferences, but sometimes if a chef refuses to do something a certain way it's better just going to somewhere else. Of course if chefs want to accommodate good on them, but just highlighting why a chef might seem to overreact over something like this.
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