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c/chefspatwestpatwest1mo ago

The night I forgot to temp my fry oil and lost a whole batch

I was working a busy Friday dinner service at this little bistro in Portland, and I got distracted by a huge ticket rush. Threw in a basket of fries without checking the oil temp first, and they came out all soggy and greasy. Had to toss the whole batch and refund a table's appetizer order because I was in too deep. Anyone else ever had a moment where skipping one small step cost you big?
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2 Comments
hannaht29
hannaht291mo ago
A timer saved me on this exact problem. I set a reminder on my phone that goes off every time I drop a fresh basket, which forces me to check the oil temp before anything hits the fryer. Also started keeping a small digital thermometer clipped right to the fryer edge so I can glance at it while moving around the kitchen. The biggest change was training myself to just pause for those 5 seconds no matter how crazy the tickets get. Once I made it a physical habit with the timer, I stopped losing batches. Your story hits close to home because ruined fries ruin a whole ticket.
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the_william
Portland chef here, @hannaht29 nailed the timer trick.
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