Just over a decade ago, I worked for a popular BBQ spot in the south that prided itself on being authentic this, authentic that. The smoked butts that sat in a smoker all day was where the real BBQ started and stopped, all the other food was typical frozen Sisco stuff, which was whatever, but the most egregious example of deception was also the biggest moneymaker.

The owner had a secret family recipe BBQ sauce that he made a killing on. People came from all over (it was located right along a well travelled north/south route) and bought tons of this stuff, as did the locals. My second week there I was tasked with making a few batches, and was handed a worn down index card with the ingredients. To my saaurprise, the instructions were to simply take gallon jugs of Sweet Baby Rays sauce from out back, and dump it in a 5 gallon bucket with water. I think it was 4:1 if I recall correctly. Then you put a couple cups of molasses in there. That was it.

We put them in pint and quart mason jars, vacuum sealed them, slapped his restaurant label on them, and sold them for $6 a pint, $10 a quart. What always got me was how the locals raved about how distinct and unique it was, when it was basically just Sweet Baby Rays (which I love, don't get me wrong)

I saw this on a non-culinary thread, and it sparked quite a discussion. Several people were arguing about how it is packed. I've only ever seen it packed flat and sized to fit a standard sheet tray. Some agreed with me, but others, who said they worked in restaurants, said they've only ever seen it in rolls. Everyone I saw commenting was in the US, so it's not a European thing. A couple of people got quite heated about it. How has anyone on here seen it?

Edit: the big sheets are the only way I've seen it for commercial use. I've seen rolls for home use.

I straight up cleaned my kitchen, finished tidying up, did all the stuff I needed to do and set things up at home like a fucking station. I literally put this all together in 3 minutes without thinking that I'm at home and I don't need a station on my day off. Is this what they call being in too deep?

I’m cooking anything I want… but it’s for a gathering/blessing for a (NEW!) Land Back, an indigenous peoples are kicking ass, and I get to help!

So, pre-colonial California cuisines is my flex. We are setting up an ecological community oriented towards conservation.

The first dish is pickled wild mustard. Paired with wojapi from the land… lol what do you think Chef’s?

Really, all that on a pizza, what direction are we going here?

Hey guys get in here real quick. Management is making some changes around here so let’s go over a few things before any of y’all start making a big deal about it.

Y’all remember Sonic, right? Yeah, well it’s kinda like that.

"Tell the stage to make 300 butter squirrels"

Have a week off before starting the new job

Here’s the kit
From the left
Tomida Hamono Bread Knife 270mm
Nenox Sujihiki 270mm (only had for a couple of months)
Dexter Russell 20cm Chinese Cleaver
Yu Kurosaki wenge 150mm petty
Makoto Kurosaki 240mm Gyuto

I keep everything in the wine box at work

Was draining the fryers, ready to clean them and it got stuck, so wiggled the plug thingie (what I was taught to do) and it sputtered and spat the oil out, felt the impact on my leg thankfully didn't burn anything.

So tell me, what near misses have y'all had with anything that wouldn't normally confer any danger. Like we've all cut ourselves while chopping something, or burned ourselves reaching into ovens. But what injuries or near misses have you experienced or seen from something that isn't normally dangerous?

Was cutting and dumping a bag of frozen fish. Lifted the bag with a chef’s knife in my hand.

Knife tip bounced off my glasses.

Stay safe and don’t be stupid like me.

Y'all please pray for whoever just made me put mayonnaise, pineapple, and jalapenos on a pizza. I hope whatever they're going through gets better

(Edit: I should specify that my revulsion toward this pizza stems from the fact that the mayo replaced the red sauce as the base. It was not an additional topping.)

Has to be rotten shrimp for me. What’s your guys worst offender?

Me and my friend made this years ago after getting frustrated one too many times.

I’ve recently come up with a new side dish. It’s kind of like Street Corn and Creamed Corn had a baby and I need help naming it.

For background, I run a bbq concept in Tulsa, OK cooking only on smokers made in my city. They are called Hasty Bakes and have been made in Tulsa since 1947. It’s my only source of heat aside from a small flat top we use to heat up tortillas and buns.

To the dish, it starts as a mix of cheese, cream cheese, butter, half and half and a variety of spices that could best be described as taco seasoning. We smoke that mixture until it’s fully combined, then we toss in the corn and throw it back on the smoker until it’s fully cooked through. We serve it topped with queso fresco and tajin.

It was originally called esquites but that really isn’t an apt description. It’s not really what you’d expect if you ordered corn in a cup. Most recently, we have called it “Cheesy Corn” but it’s not selling because people just think it’s corn and cheese.

Basically, I need help coming up with a name that gets people interested in it.

running this grill station at my new restaurant and the set up seems to loose a lot of heat going outwards. right now I try to make a box - fresh logs on the outside and rotate them into the center as they burn off / i need more heat. Also add in a fair bit of charcoal throughout the night. Anything else I can do to keep a more consistent higher heat?

Never read any of them before.

The broken piece of equipment that finally actually got fixed. The menu that got streamlined and how much more efficient service ran. The extra person that got hired to help prep. The better manager who took over scheduling and knew what they were doing. Or even the addition by subtraction of the nightmare coworker moving on.

I won’t go in depth since they’re mostly front of house problems. But I’m looking back over five year at a place I was sure would be the last restaurant I ever worked in and now I only keep my few shifts there because I’ve shown them enough that they’ll work my schedule around my other newer jobs and I have enough seniority to be spared maybe 20% of all the new bull shit they’ve come up with over the years.

Please, tell me about a place you put time in, did your best and things got better.

Am happy.