[Sca-cooks] dealing with mundane cooks

[Chris Stanifer]

> Sooner or later, I'm going to butt heads with this guy, because I'm also
> an opinionated bigmouth. Aside from giving free reign to the desire to
> beat him bloody with a cast-iron fry pan and/or a copy of the Viander,
> any suggestions?
> 
> --
> -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net


You might mention to him that there are time constraints involved, or equipment constraints, or
whatever reason drove you to order the item from the butcher to begin with.  If he's as
accomplished a cook as you seem to think he is, he should understand this.  If there aren't any
logical reasons for ordering the thing from the butcher (or whatever happens to be getting your
goat at the moment), and it's just a question of skill, then you might want to ask him if he'd be
willing to do that portion of the feast/meal.  Kind of a 'put up or shut up' kind of thing.

If he's really cocky, though, and you want to humble him just a little bit, ask him to prepare a
very obscure period recipe (make sure it's one you know and are comfortable with).... when he
gives you that 'what are you talking about' look, just say "ahhh...never mind.  I'll do it myself.
 Can you go chop those onions for me?"

My business partner is one of those 'new professional cooks' (I won't call him a chef, and it
pisses him off) who believe that they are god's gift to the kitchen.  At one point, he called me
when I was working in Sacramento, and asked me if I would be willing to come back and work with
him at a local Cajun restaurant, where he was basically in charge of the kitchen.  I did, and we
had a great time.  But, every now and then, when he is in one of those moods (or has been drinking
heavily), he brings up the fact that he was my boss at one time (insinuating that he is a better
cook than I am, because he was my supervisor).  And, every time he does this, I ask him : "Do you
remember *why* you asked me to come back home to work with you???  Because you couldn't do it on
your own, and you know that I can."  It shuts him up for awhile.

Sometimes a little bit of humble pie will set a person straight.

William de Grandfort

=====
Through teeth of sharks, the Autumn barks.....and Winter squarely bites me.


		
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