"Westie" <
[email protected]> wrote in message news:<
[email protected]>...
> "Spider" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
>
news:[email protected]...
> > "Westie" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<
[email protected]>...
> > > "Mr. E. Mann" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > > > "nibbles" <
[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> > > >
> > > > > hi all. this is ot. but i thought it may amuse you.. my missus reckons that its rude to
> > > > > ask for ketchup with my steak in
> a
> > > > > restaurant. i reckon thats bull****
> > > > >
> > > > > if you reckon she`s wrong just reply "w" if you reckon she`s right, reply "r"
> > > > >
> > > > > AFAIC if i pay restaurant prices for a steak, then i should be
> allowed to
> > > > > put shredded rubber on it if i were inclined that way....
> > > > >
> > > > > nibbles
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > I would have asked for a hamburger instead. I don't care for steak.
> > >
> > > I make my living feeding people. If you go to a _really_good_
> restaurant
> > > (and I don't mean Denny's) and pay the big bucks for a feed then it's
> kinda
> > > implied that you are prepared to pay for the flavour and taste as that
> one
> > > particular chef does it. After all, a prime piece of beef is a prime
> piece
> > > of beef. It's only how each restaurant cooks it that separates establishments.
> >
> > And my decision to put something on my steak effects them how? Who is paying who to cook
> > the meal?
>
> Obviously your money would be wasted if you spent it at the kind of restaurant that I am
> talking about.
Why? Am I not able to enjoy a good meal cooked by a professional?
> I'm not saying that you can't do it or shouldn't do it, I'm just trying to explain why it might be
> considered rude.
And I'm explaining that the "customer is always right." Even when the customer is wrong, the
customer is "right." That's where the next paycheck comes from, so keeping an eye toward that
location makes good business sense.
> Chefs in very highly regarded establishments WOULD be offended. I have worked with some top-level
> chefs and not only would most of them be insulted but a couple would actually have you removed
> from the premises if you got them on a bad day. <laugh>
These establishments are a vanishingly small percentage of the total. But if a guy comes in and
drops a grand on dinner, then how he eats it is none of the chef's business.
> > When the chef pays me to eat his "creation," then we'll talk about who gets to decide who puts
> > what where. BTW, I used to work in the food service industry myself. In a nice place, where the
> > customer was always right, and if I wanted a tip, I'd get the damn ketchup if the guy wanted it.
> > If he's laying down $40 for a plate of food, who am *I* to tell him what he can put on it?
>
> Having worked in the industry I'm surprised that you don't know this already. Believe it or not,
> such places do exist.
Of course they exist. Not many, though. And those places can afford to be snotty to customers,
because there's a line out the door. But there comes a point when that won't fly - a restaurant will
not last forever like that.
> Of course being insanely wealthy, as with most things, allows you to get away with a lot. So even
> if the chef finds your ketchup request rude, he'll probably squirt it right on the plate for you
> if it's worth it to him. But that's no surprise, is it?
You now "get it." That's my point.
> > > So,.......... if you add ketchup, you are not only adding a blob of bad tasting
> generic
> > > reddish gunge on your tasty steak, you are destroying the carefully
> crafted
> > > flavours and taste sensation that has been prepared for you by a chef
> that
> > > has spent years perfecting his craft and technique and abilities.
> >
> > LOL! What does he care if I am a cretin? He gets paid the same whether I eat it with or without
> > ketchup.
>
> Maybe not. Allowing cretins to eat at his establishment may taint the reputation and offend other
> more distingushed customers. So he may well NOT get paid the same in the longrun if he has
> ketchup-swilling cretins in his restaurant that effect the goodwill of his business. Image can be
> everything. Especially if Michelin stars are involved.
Maybe if we are talking about a restaurant in France. And a small number in the U.S. But, like I
said, these place have no end of folks who need to be in the place "to be seen," and not necessarily
to eat the chef's pride and joy. And if you are there to be seen, restrictions on condiments make no
difference.
> > That's why it's called the
> > food *service* industry.
>
> You confuse "service" with "servility".
You are an oaf. I do not confuse anything.
> While many people treat it as just a job there are those that take pride in what they do. You
> imply that a chef takes no personal pride or satisfaction in cooking something that receives
> praise and compliments from his customers.
********. Pure invention on your part.
> And if he can feel satisfaction and pride then he can feel insulted too.
Sure, but REALISM is where the rubber meets the road. An idiot may want to mix $100/bottle scotch
with coke, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to serve it to him that way. It's *his* money and my
tip on the line.
> Just as you might feel insulted if someone criticised your handiwork or job performance.
Depends. Is it *****ing just for it's own sake, or is it a real criticism? In the first case, it's
not on me, so no offense is taken. In the second case, I brought it on myself. Just because an idiot
doesn't know something good when he sees it doesn't mean it *wasn't* good!
> And ketchup says a big, fat, hairy "I don't like how this meal tastes".
Or, it means "this is the way I prefer my beef." You are an inventive person, aren't you?
> > > So,..... It's rude, even highly insulting, to ask for ketchup at a classy
> restaurant.
> >
> > And so what?
>
> That's the whole point of this discussion, isn't it?
Yes, and it matters not at all. If the chef is an asshole, pretty soon there is no clientele to give
the boot to - depending on circumstance, of course.
> >If the waiter wants his tip, he'll bring the damn cholate sauce if I want it on there. And he
> >wants his tip, LOL!
> >
> > > It's perfectly excusable and possibly even essential at PizzaHut where a spotty 17 year old
> > > fast-cooked your steak by dropping it into the deep
> fryer
> > > for a minute or two....
> >
> > And acceptable anywhere money changes hands for food. That's the reality. If the chef doesn't
> > like it, he can kiss my butt. Really - where do these prima donnas get off - they are working in
> > a service industry. If they don't like those terms, they can go get a real job somewhere.
>
> Why be so hateful towards somone that cares about their job?
More invention on your part. The chef must keep perspective on his place in the economic food chain.
(pardon the pun.) If he doesn't like that place, maybe it's time to look at other career options.
> I'm not defending the primadonnas that are out there, but they are there in _any_ business.
We are not talking about *any* business, and you are indeed defending the prima donnas. You are
suggesting that the pride in there work should be the ultimate thing in the transaction. No, *money*
is the ultimate thing in the transaction.
> I suppose you must insult the new girl behind the counter at McDonalds that gives a genuine
> cheerful and friendly "Hello" because you're not paying for that?
You are an idiot.
Spider
