When we eat out in restaurants, we're at the mercy of the chefs, and it seems a lot of them are more than happy to keep secrets from us. Most of us probably don’t worry too much about what’s going on in the kitchen at our favorite restaurants, but a new survey by the Food Network might make us think we should start.
The poll reveals a variety of things chefs would never actually admit to their customers, and you might find some them shocking. Those secrets include:
- Chefs don’t like picky eaters, with 60% of them saying substitutions are annoying.
- But it seems they are picky too, with only 15% saying they’ll eat absolutely everything, and liver, sea urchin, tofu, eggplant and oysters topping the list of things they don’t eat.
- When eating out on their own, chefs avoid pasta and chicken because they’re usually uninteresting and the most overpriced items on the menu.
- 75% of chefs admit they’ve seen roaches in the kitchen, although, on a scale of one to ten, 85% of chefs ranked their kitchens an eight or higher for cleanliness.
- 13% of chefs have seen a cook do unsavory things to a customer’s food, with one admitting they saw a cook run a steak through a dishwasher after it was sent back, and surprisingly the customer liked it better.
- Uneaten bread, even if it’s been touched, does sometimes go to other tables, with three chefs in the survey admitting they’ve done it.
- 15% of chefs admit their vegetarian dishes aren’t completely vegetarian.
- Chefs leave a 20% tip when they eat out, although 90% say they do penalize waiters with a smaller tip for bad service.
- New Year’s is the holiday chefs hate to work the most, while Valentine’s Day comes in second.
- 25% of chefs say they pick up food dropped on the floor and cook it.
Source: Food Network