Appreciation post: The night we ran out of the special and I had to improvise

Last Friday, we sold out of our duck confit special by 7:30 pm, and a four-top ordered it. I told my line cook to grab the last two duck legs we had for staff meal and pan-sear them. We built a new plate with a pear gastrique, crispy polenta cakes, and braised kale in about 12 minutes. The table sent back a note saying it was the best dish they'd had all week. What's your best 'make it work' moment when the menu failed you?

3 comments

3 Comments

dixon.amy2mo ago

My old kitchen, we lost power once. Stellap49, I get it now.

william_taylor1mo ago

Yeah keeping a backup plan is key. @stellap49 you gotta stash some odds and ends for nights like that. Keeps you from scrambling.

stellap492mo ago

Honestly, that sounds like a normal night in a kitchen. You just did your job by making a new plate from what you had. Why is that a big story? People act like fixing a menu problem is some huge act of heroism. It's just cooking. What's so special about using up the staff meal stuff for a customer?