It takes a very strong willed person with a sense of authority and force to be the best of the best. This means that the category in which we place ourselves is in a category all on its own.
In the kindest words I knew I said “Please get rid of the cell phone”, however he continued to talk on my line. I then yanked the cell phone from his hands and dangled it above the fryer and said “either lose it or I’ll drop it in”, he quit the next day.
At 18 years old, I was fortunate to land a great job as a line cook at a high profile Italian restaurant. The Executive Chef that initially hired me transferred to another location 3 months later and we received an absolutely tyrannical Chef from Atlanta.
It wasn’t one month until the Chef started coming on to me even though he was married with kids. I continued to say it was a mistake and I would never get involved in that way or with a married person. He was so angered by this; I suppose since he had a lot of power in his position and expected people to buckle to him.
When Saturday night came around, he was on expo and I was on grill. He was yelling calling and I was taking them as fast as I could move. At the time, I had over 50 steaks going at one time trying to concentrate on temps and his calls.
He asked me “Hey Chef B#@$ch, did you hear my last call?” I was so mad that I proceeded to throw my tongs at his head. In turn, he came back and pushed me up against the side of a 500 degree oven causing third degree burns all the way down my leg.
Needless to say, the guy was fired a month later.
It just goes to show you that Chefs, when provoked, are surrounded my sharp objects and they won’t hesitate to throw them. It’s like the cartoon chef in Little Mermaid that’s chasing the crab so he can chop and dice it into hundreds of pieces.
This is not to say that all chefs are tyrants, we just love throwing things. I think it’s in our blood. It starts bubbling and the first bag of frozen chicken wings we see gets thrown at a moving target.
If anyone has ever worked in a restaurant they know exactly what I mean. Restaurant work is hard and you have to be able to tolerate many types of people no matter how many times they send back a well done steak that is covered with ketchup and they want it cooked up.
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Excellent article Lauren! I can’t believe it took a month before that chef was fired after you were burned! Thanks for being exactly who you are and standing up for yourself and friends! Happy Holidays to you and yours 
Hey Lauren,
Great article. I never thought about anyone stealing our work. I just assumed Tri protected it…think I will do a search on some of my work!
That a99 had a lot of nerve calling you a “b” but then to put his hands on you. Some people think they can treat others (esp. women co-workers) just anyway, and get away with it.
I often wondered if chefs really act like Ramsey 
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