Chef wanted

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Teleking

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Question for potential chef of cooking to order... Or temp. Basically a waitress asked the chef should we ask customers desired done-ness or temp they want cooked for steak. Reality is it is a disaster. Other than us crazy people that actually know cooking temps for steak. Does the average joe in napa valley know the cooking temp for rare, med, and well done? Very bad choice for a chef.

Discuss
 
Results vary widely. The best restaurants I have seen do this with a color chart to guide the patrons. Others I have seen are pretty random. Only ever seen one that did it with temperatures, and they still said rare, medium etc...the best steakhouses out here, offer ranges. So, rare states on the menu, that the steak will be red inside, charred on the outside, warm to the touch, medium rare will be dark pink on the inside, and hot to the touch, charred on the outside etc...
 
Teleking said:
Chef asked for temp
Click to expand...
Chef should be able to correlate done-ness and temperatures. Joe Blow ain't gonna know what temp his med well steak should be...
 
Maybe put a descriptive legend in the steak section on the menu. Not that customers are idiots.... but something like this is idiot proof because they make selections on how they like to see their steak.

Rare - Center is red and cool
Medium Rare - Center is pink and warm
Medium - Center is pink and hot, outer edges may be light gray.
Medium Well - Center is gray and hot, edges may be more done leaning toward brown.
Well Done - Meat is uniformly brown.
 
When I order a steak I tell them how I want it cooked if the grill line cook farks it up I send it back, my record is 7 refusals and the grill man got fired.
 
Bludawg said:
When I order a steak I tell them how I want it cooked if the grill line cook farks it up I send it back, my record is 7 refusals and the grill man got fired.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't have wanted to even try the 3rd, let alone the 8th attempt after watching the movie Waiting...

I would have just eaten what I had at the table and gone to get a burger when I left.
 
thirdeye said:
Maybe put a descriptive legend in the steak section on the menu. Not that customers are idiots.... but something like this is idiot proof because they make selections on how they like to see their steak.

Rare - Center is red and cool
Medium Rare - Center is pink and warm
Medium - Center is pink and hot, outer edges may be light gray.
Medium Well - Center is gray and hot, edges may be more done leaning toward brown.
Well Done - Meat is uniformly brown.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you have seen the show on food network but I don't think a menu print is an option. For the record the potential chef dumped a lot of good steak in the trash because everyone expected done to order and not temp that they thought they wanted.

For the recorded I want mine at 125 to 130 and rest.
 
Bludawg said:
When I order a steak I tell them how I want it cooked if the grill line cook farks it up I send it back, my record is 7 refusals and the grill man got fired.
Click to expand...
After the third time, a good restaurant manager should have stepped in, discussed with you the fact that you clearly are expecting something the restaurant cannot deliver and take care of your bill to that point and ask you to leave.

It should never get to 7 refusals
 
landarc said:
After the third time, a good restaurant manager should have stepped in, discussed with you the fact that you clearly are expecting something the restaurant cannot deliver and take care of your bill to that point and ask you to leave.

It should never get to 7 refusals
Click to expand...
Would you accept a porterhoues that the kitchen cut into to see how red it was on the inside, when you gave specific instructions to cook 4 min on one side & 3 min on the other?He did step in after he fired the line cook he cooked my steak took & care of the tab, my waiter got a 50.00 tip.
 
Nothing to see here, move along

I can't think of a single reason to order a steak in a dining establishment. Not one. Therefore I'll be moving along.
 
Last edited:
Teleking said:
Not sure if you have seen the show on food network but I don't think a menu print is an option. For the record the potential chef dumped a lot of good steak in the trash because everyone expected done to order and not temp that they thought they wanted.

For the recorded I want mine at 125 to 130 and rest.
Click to expand...

Sorry I don't really watch Food Network, but maybe the server could do some verbal education like they do with wine or the evening specials?? For example ".... and for you madame, a medium rare... excellent choice,.. you can expect a nice warm pink center."
 
Bludawg said:
When I order a steak I tell them how I want it cooked if the grill line cook farks it up I send it back, my record is 7 refusals and the grill man got fired.
Click to expand...

Wow, that would have been more fun to watch than a dude eating a 60 ounce T-bone.
 
Bludawg said:
Would you accept a porterhoues that the kitchen cut into to see how red it was on the inside, when you gave specific instructions to cook 4 min on one side & 3 min on the other?He did step in after he fired the line cook he cooked my steak took & care of the tab, my waiter got a 50.00 tip.
Click to expand...
No, nor would I as a customer have accepted the steak back three times. I have been in this position before and after the second time, told the manager that I would be giving this one last try, and if they failed, I would get up and leave.

Although, I do not tell the cook how to cook my steak either, since I don't know what he is cooking on. I tell them medium rare. They need to do whatever it takes to get it there.
 
Yeah, Bludawg got the "grounded steak".

I literally saw this at a burger establishment in Houston.

Drive through speaker "I need a x burger medium and step on it".
Burger gets tossed on the floor and stepped on, then proceeds to the grill.
Manager- "hey dude that is my mom, you can't do that".
Cook- "you watched me, might not be able, but it happened".
Manager- "no that is really my mom".
New burger put on the grill.
Manager- "hey mom, here is your burger, watch the remarks, it is like lord of the flies in here"
Me- seeing his daughter in the car "guess it was your mom".

The comment was not that you should not do that or that it was not safe, it was only that it was his mom.

You decide.
 
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Speaking specificaly of the Napa Valley, I watched the town of Napa transform from a sleepy little agricultural town to a flaming yuppyville in the 25 years I lived and worked there. Weekends are overrun with self proclaimed "Foodies" dining in a lot of very over priced but acclaimed restaurants. Both my sons started their culinary training and careers there.
Back to the point, the standard pretty much world wide is to order by doneness. An experienced grill man can determine this by touch. An experienced diner knows that cooking a proper steak is not an exact science.
 
I only ever order steak at a restaurant if it is inexpensive enough for me to be OK with the inevitable mistake in temp/color, and I only ever order rib-eye because it is pretty hard to make rib-eye inedible. I normally explain that I want mine right between medium rare and medium and then give them a temp in case the cook cares.
 
So for my ten cents here we go...

I am going to take alot of flack here because I am the first one to say you have to have a temp probe to know when a hunk of meat is done... i.e. Brisket and picnics, those guys who say they can tell when a 4 inch thick cut of meat is done by touching is crazy....

I have been working in catering venues and restaurants since I was 14 yrs old I have never ever ever ever seen a real chef or cook stick a thermometer in a steak to see what doneness it was. We use the firmness test!!!! you can do it on a 1/2 inch thick piece of meat and do it well but the last thing I want is my rib-eye or porterhouse dry from all the sticks from a thermometer. For a chef to say he wants a temp unless he is super genius boy wonder.... How the hell can he tell a number with his finger?????

Now let the back lash begin....lol
 
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