PSA: That time I forgot to restock my station on a Saturday night service in Chicago

Honestly it was the worst. I was working the sauté station at this busy spot in River North last month, and I completely ran out of the prepped mushrooms halfway through a rush. I had to shout across the line to the pantry guy to hand me some while I was juggling three pans. The chef looked over and gave me the death stare because I was holding up a ticket. I ended up using a mix of shiitakes and creminis that I sweated down extra fast with some butter and thyme. It actually came out okay, but the whole kitchen felt the chaos. Has anyone else dealt with a prep shortage during a busy shift and had to make it work on the fly?

3 comments

3 Comments

claire_ramirez20d ago

Totally agree with @margaret_williams5 on that... sometimes the panic fix turns out way better than planned.

amy_foster799d ago

Oh actually I gotta jump in here real quick... it wasn't just salt and pepper. I read that same story on the line cook subreddit, the guy specifically said he used a garlic salt blend he found in the back, not regular salt and pepper. That makes a huge difference with a quick sear like that cause you don't have time for the flavors to develop naturally. And he also said he patted the ribeye dry with paper towels first, which is probably why the crust turned out so good. Without that step, the meat would've just steamed and been grey and sad looking. So yeah, the panic fix worked but it was more than just a last minute seasoning job.

margaret_williams520d ago

Ngl, my buddy went through something similar last month at a place in Philly. He was on the grill and they ran out of the prepped steaks for a private event. The manager had to run to the walk-in and slice a whole ribeye while he was trying to keep the line moving. He ended up just seasoning it super quickly with salt and pepper and searing it hot to get a good crust. The guests actually said it was better than the regular steaks, but he said the whole night was just chaos.