Restaurant Stories Episode 1
The story begins on what was a busy evening at the restaurant where I was working as a young cook. The restaurant was full of guests and lively chatter, we were working hard in the kitchen and everything was as it usually is on a busy night.
The kitchen at the restaurant is an open concept looking into the guest area and just before the kitchen sits a chef table where a couple or at the maximum 4 people could sit as special guests. The guests at this table get served by the cooks and are paying extra to get a very upscale experience. You would expect to see posh people at these seats or at the very least a happy couple celebrating something (this wasn’t always the case). With expensive wine flowing and smiling faces enjoying their delicious meal, one would always expect those sitting at this table to leave happy.
So, on this particular day, a married couple was seated at the Chef’s table. They looked to be a very rich middle aged couple showing off their jewellery and expensive designer clothing like they wanted you to know it. As they were seated they were visibly tense and we sent over complimentary champagne hoping it would turn those frowns upside down. The sommelier (trained wine, whisky and cigar specialist) that was serving on this night came into the kitchen announcing a Code Red at the Chef’s table. The kitchen Code Red is basically that there are some tense people at the table. At some point the chef looked over and the woman was glaring into the kitchen looking quite unhappy. The chef went over to the table to see how they were and if there was anything he could do for them. The chef returns to the kitchen saying ‘well, this will be a fun one’.
Four cooks were picked to run the dishes to the table. As they bring a dish to the table, they explain the dish and it’s background. This experience for the cooks is very awkward when talking to two people that are about ready to cut each other at the table. Every time we run a dish over we would ask the cook what the reaction was and then check on the customers as well. Each time a cook came back they would confirm that we remained in a Code Red. The husband usually did the answering when asked how they were doing and would just say they were doing ok. At one point though, the wife of the couple asked if they could add nuts to her husbands meal, and, we had already been made aware that he had a severe deadly nut allergy! This was code red times one hundred.
Between dishes, the sommelier goes to the table to bring them their expensive bottles of wine (we are talking $1500 - $1800 bottles of wine here) that were purchased at the beginning of the night. When placing the bottles at the table the husband declared he had changed his mind and to ‘Please bring the least expensive bottles instead, this evening does not deserve these bottles of wine’. This already Code Red night was getting worse fast!
It’s my turn to serve, I am serving the foie gras, I am required to explain each condiment and slice the brioche for the foie gras to serve to them continuously returning to ensure they had sliced bread. As I am doing these things continuously returning they are not hiding their disdain for one another. At one point, in front of me, the conversation goes like this…
Wife: ‘I love foie gras’
Husband: ‘Finally you like something’
Wife: ‘yeah, just not you’
I am standing right there! I was trying to be a professional, trying to explain condiments and slice bread. I was just trying to make sure no-one grabbed the knife out of my hand and the night ends in a breaking news event. At this point, they are passive aggressively attacking each other as a full conversation. As I am standing there, and not even finished explaining their condiments, she states that she doesn’t like him and would like a divorce and his response…’with pleasure’. I slowly backed away.
When the chef asked how it went, I explained what just happened and that I couldn't finish explaining the condiments. The chef returned to the table to check on them and after a conversation he returned. They wanted to continue the dinner they paid for, however awkward for those of us who had to continue to serve them. The wife may have been forced to endure the cheapest of our wines but she ensured she got her Louis 13 at the end to digest and it appeared the husband gave into this as a parting gift. She made sure it was a double to enjoy with her chocolates and trust me that divorce will likely cost way more than that extravagant expensive alcohol.
The chef took care of the final servings of the night, we went out drinking after and this remained the talk of the night. It became a long running joke and to this day I will never forget the day that couple walked into the restaurant to dine in style and end their marriage. Moral of the story is…marry someone who will buy you Louis 13 to end the marriage and maybe let the cook finish describing the condiments before you completely go at each other.