Hard work and no play make for… well… a dull work environment. Even the most dedicated and serious chefs take advantage of the chance to play practical jokes on the easiest prey: their co-workers.
Nothing will get servers to let their guard down faster than unexpected food. A kitchen mistake often leads to a quick grub fest when the staff is allowed to eat something that was fired at the wrong time or mis-made. As soon as we see a co-worker with a fork anywhere near their mouths, the celebration begins. Forks are grabbed up in a quick stampede to the kitchen to see what treat is in store today. Chefs know the easiest way to make us happy is to allow us to enjoy a mistake, especially desserts. But again, a little boredom leads to much mischief.
Imagine a beautiful brownie sundae. The ice cream hasn’t even melted yet. The chocolate is almost flourless, rich and decadent. It has been carefully cut into a flower shape and begs for you to take a bite. Dang, you have to run out of the kitchen to grab a fork, as others are rushing past you already armed. When you turn quickly back into the kitchen, you see your compatriots spitting mouthfuls of sundae in a garbage can, as the line cooks are doubled over in laughter. The culprit? That decadent brownie is actually cut out of beef bouillon.
Another time, the villain is a cream-filled pastry. The iced topping looks just like normal, and the flaky, buttery shell seems totally benign. The feeding frenzy begins. First nibble: delicious! Then you hit the filling… something’s different…the texture? There’s no sweetness, but it melts in your mouth until you realize the cream is solidified duck fat!
Some of the pranks only work on the rookies. (Don’t tell anyone I broke “The Code of Silence!”) The close proximity of restaurants on the Town Square provide a perfect foil for this gag. Some staff member of a certain severity (usually the Executive Chef) angrily voices his frustration at being unable to find some necessary utensil. Usually this tool has a name like “The Bacon Stretcher” or the “Left-handed Smoke Sifter.” He’ll be reminded by a co-worker that another restaurant borrowed it last week. With the chef’s fury brewing, the lowly new-bee will be sent from, for example, the Wort to another kitchen to ask for the item back. Upon arriving at the kitchen door of the Cowboy Steakhouse, he will be told that The Garage needed it badly and they passed in on. Does he go back, or keep on his search? Usually, it takes at least two kitchens before it occurs to him… Bacon Stretcher? Meanwhile, the kitchen phones light up as each one reports back to his employer on his progress.
Does it ever back-fire? One waitress figured out the joke and had her destination kitchen call back to her employer. He claimed they had witnessed her burst into tears, go into the alley, then drive off. He was afraid the restaurant would have to train another server. Instead, she went down the block, had a glass of wine, which the bartender comped upon hearing her story. She strolled nonchalantly back to work, just as summer crowds started rolling in. I hope the Chef gave her a real dessert for that one.
