Had a talk with my prep cook that changed how I plate pasta

My prep cook Maria looked at my spaghetti plating and said it looked like a nest. She showed me how she twirls the pasta around tongs before dropping it, getting a tight spiral that stands up. Tried it on Friday night and three customers actually complimented the presentation. Has anyone else gotten game-changing tips from their junior staff?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordanl822mo ago

wait hold on THREE customers actually said something about it? that's wild man. i've been cooking for years and the number of times someone has complimented a plate of pasta is basically zero. maria sounds like she's got skills. my line cook james showed me how to season meat from higher up so it distributes better and i thought he was messing with me until i tried it. now i do it every time.

terrywilson2mo ago

Snagged that high-seasoning trick from a buddy too and yeah, felt like a dummy for not figuring it out sooner. Maria's probably got a little seasoning ritual that nobody's catching on to yet. Three pasta compliments in one shift is basically unheard of around here, like a unicorn sighting or something.

verap529d ago

Wait, you guys are actually getting pasta compliments? Is that a real thing that happens in kitchens now? I've been seasoning from a step stool for years and still get the same "it's fine" shrugs. Maybe I need to start doing a little happy dance over the pot or something... Maria's probably got a whole secret playlist playing in her head while she works.