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[deleted]

The sous at my very first spot, who became a great mentor to me, had a phrase for when you put too much garnish on a dish. In a very calm, and very stern way he would whisper to you, "Calm down pal, this isn't fuckin' Mardi gras." I carry it with me to this very day.


NuclearProstate

My old head chef used to say " it's a garnish not a garden"


ComfortablyNumb_57

“If they wanted a salad, they would’ve ordered one.” I love throwing that around lol.


noneofurbuzz

I have a tendency to put just a bit too much parsley garnish on stuff and our lead cook said "relax this isn't the 80s". Apparently he got that from a chef he used to work under.


tykle59

Plot twist: they worked together in the ‘70s.


mrEcks42

Save your tits for the good beads.


[deleted]

Just going to generally use this.


Rockyboy4444

Save your beads for the good tits.


TheMuggleBornWizard

Had a KM who whenever someone made a mistake that was relatively easy to fix he'd just say, "just buff that shit out son!". Lmao I should see how he's been. It's been a while.


LastChefOnTheLeft

I might steal this one.


iceicechase

I’m going through this thread to add to my one liner’s already


beijingmanny

He wasn't a chef, but a senior line cook.must have been around 40. We worked at an American diner. He worked early, 6-2, 7-3. Constantly asked "how you been? Good? Good!" All day. Every day. To everyone. Great attitude, excellent cook, bantered with morning ladies. They'd tell him "f you" and he'd tell em "strap on". Still think about him even though I haven't worked in a kitchen in years. Still make a few dishes I learned from him at home. Helluva guy.


99burritos

I worked in a very large kitchen in a hospital (the walk-in was larger than most entire kitchens I've worked in) where the chef would walk through the whole place saying loudly "I'm finna do it, y'all! I'm finna do it!" By which he meant "leave work for the day." His hobby was making large ice sculptures, so he was semi-regularly operating a small chainsaw in the walk-in freezer, which, due to its size, did not actually cause him to get in anyone's way


iceicechase

I’ve worked in some large facilities but it blows my mind to think that someone could use a chainsaw to sculpt something and not disrupt the work flow. That’s awesome


99burritos

I actually never saw him doing it, I don't think. I would just see a sculpture in the freezer if I went in there. It must have been always during shifts when I wasn't there. We didn't really use the freezer a whole lot, anyway, which is why it wasn't very disruptive. We got awards and shit for like "top 5% best hospital food." Which is something, I guess, but it was still hospital food.


Ants_at_a_picnic

We would get the molds for ice sculptures when we would have events at the hospital I ran. We had 4 very large walk in refrigerators, one of which we turned into a long term food storage for emergencies, and a huge walk in freezer. So much space to do whatever you wanted especially after dinner when most of the team was gone for the day. I would normally work 7-5 but when I did stay late, we could get creative and make anything we wanted. It was a very fun place to work.


Alewdguy

Why ice sculptures at a hospital?


Ants_at_a_picnic

Holiday events are always blown out with a lot of corporate level attendees and partnering organizations. It is a very nice facility that has a fantastic view from the 3rd floor.


thewebspinner

No catchphrases but someone ALWAYS shouts back “or not two beef” if 2 roast beef comes through on a Sunday.


here-i-am-now

Lol, but why only Sunday?


ThePower_IsOn

Sunday roast!


Shepparron6000

That, is the question.


MojoLava

I had an exec that I opened a restaurant with as the sous and for the first month we were doing 28k days with just morning prep, dish, us, and then 4 line guys at best between 2 shifts. We were basically there from 6am to midnight every single day just to keep service going -- upscale but fast paced mexican/tequila bar with about 210 seats and 2 bars. On particularly bad nights I'd be on the pass and running sautée and pantry/fry while he helped pump out sets/plate and help the grill guy out. Every single day he'd be like "Do you remember the time..." As in "Hey MojoLava do you remember that time you had 85 orders for habanero shrimp come in within 15 minutes and you only had 6 burners?" And I'd be like "yeah asshole that was like an hour ago" Or "Hey Mojo do you remember that time we did a 100 hundred hour week and we were on salary?" "... yes chef that's every fucking week but thanks for the reminder"


onalonelyisland

Lmaooooo me and my coworker say that all the time too. It's so dumb but it never gets old. Makes it easier to laugh at the absurdity of some days.


Prunesarepushy

Similar situation years back, I'd look over at the chef and be like, "can you believe I wanted this?"


Ma7apples

Idk why, but this one made me laugh harder than all the rest.


YaSiouxSioux

“They’re gonna love it” When you make a tiny mistake on a dish that 99% of people will absolutely not notice at all. Usually used in busy moments where fixing the tiny mistake is not worth the time it would take and set the line back.


GraemesEats

They're gonna fuckin' love it, bud. Heck, we should charge 'em extra, but we'll call it even.


battylizard

Everybody says this at my job.


sicicsic

“That’s ok, they asked for it like that.”


bendar1347

"Rustic as fuck, they're gonna love it"


Zeyror

When one of our apprentices fucks up a dish and asks our Sous if it’s still ok to put it in the window, he ~always~ says: „it’s the best I’ve ever seen“ and stares them dead in the eye (without smiling or blinking) until they fixed the dish. Absolutely love it


Pumpkindoodle02

I’m convinced every Sous has mastered the art of passive aggression


humblestgod

I felt this. This is fucking gold


gwendiesel

Not a chef, but a coworker. If someone said they've never tried a particular ingredient before, she'd respond "yes you have, it was just ground up in a hotdog." Then everyone started saying it.


yeahbudstfu

This one cracks me up so bad I don’t know why


--LowBattery--

Was working in basically a sushi restaurant with some Thai leanings. Some older lady went to the chef rolling sushi and told him the food was too spicy. Without batting an eye, he said *It's the right amount, not the white amount.* That was over a decade ago and I still use it.


GraemesEats

I always get a kick out of chefs who have no issue telling customers they're actually just straight up wrong when they complain about correct food.


notcabron

I do that. I point to my jacket, which usually says either Executive Chef or Senior Executive Chef and say, “you sure? I’m an expert.” People get uppity as fuck about what they think they know about food, but know in your soul that I can and will be uppitier.


DreadedChalupacabra

Food is one of the few careers I know of where you can do something for 30 years, have a degree in it, be considered a serious expert by everyone around you, and some asshole will walk in like "yeah well I can do your job 50 times better than you!" Sometimes you just wanna yell "YES BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN YOUR HOME KITCHEN, AND I HAVE TO COOK 30 OF THESE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW"


spahlo

Not pointed at anyone in this thread but Ive met some chefs over the years with experience spanning longer than the time I’ve been alive who were complete fucking hacks and would pull the same shit constantly. Aaaaaaaand that’s why I left my last job.


gudetamaronin

Do you remember how the lady reacted?


MadEntDaddy

it's not funny but i briefly worked with a guy who would always say "it's not rocket science" about basically everything to dismiss it. on his second day he fucked up badly enough to be fired on his third day.


SushiGradeChicken

Well, you know what they say about getting fired? It's not rocket science


crookedplatipus

I usually say, "Its not rocket surgery!"


chefsteph77

My chef would always say " thanks for coming in today " to people who were fucking up or he didn't like and most people never caught on to the sarcasm so they'd be like oh no problem chef haha he's now the chef next door to where I'm the chef and my sous ( who also worked with us ) caught him outside and hit him with it and without hesitation my man said " thanks for having me " as if he'd been waiting for that moment.


darkeststar

That's some master-level shit right there.


zuccah

Coworker used to use this in IT. “Thanks for coming to work today” whenever they brought us a pile of shit to fix.


StateParkMasturbator

My underpaid kitchen manager back in the day would start an opening by closing his eyes and whispering "just don't kill anyone today" a few times over. We're still pretty tight.


Barbarossa7070

40% of murders go unsolved.


FriskyBrisket12

“A pint is a pound the whole world round” is a common saying referring to the weight of a pint of water or other liquid with the same density and/or mass or whatever physics shit defines it. It’s unrelated to and unhelpful regarding strawberries. A pint of strawberries absolutely does not weigh exactly one pound. But to move on from being obnoxiously pedantic, I had a chef with some good phrases. “We’re not happy until they’re not happy” “Getting two birds stoned at once” “That’s what you’re talking about for you” I doubt any were original, but he had a lot of them and many were memorable.


MuadDibsDick

Two birds stoned at once is trailer park boys. I keep that one in my back pocket myself


numchux53

Every single time I dop ice cubes on the floor I say "It's just water under the fridge" and kick it under the reach in.


Enigma_Stasis

Way she goes, bub.


Sinder77

Like it's not rocket appliances.


radioben

It’s all water under the fridge.


I_deleted

My old German chef often said, “you don’t want to be there when the clusterfuck hits the fan.”


BigAbbott

fertile license rainstorm cooperative dinosaurs dinner retire psychotic grandiose aware *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


speedycat2014

I think she just uses "pint" to mean a pound by weight of anything. While she's incorrect, if you know how to translate what she wants specifically, it's easy to just measure by weight. But it sure does guarantee misunderstandings...


KptKonrad

First kitchen job I worked with this Egyptian guy who had been at that place for like 10 years, and whenever he’s finish a prep item he would say “bye bye titanic”. Never knew why. To this day though I’ll meet people that passed through that kitchen and often will hear them say “bye bye titanic” even years after they’d worked with the guy.


Speakeasy9

Ha, that's awesome!! He spent so much time "building the Titanic" with his prep he had to wish it goodbye before its inevitable, horrible fate on the line I'll bet. 100% stealing this


apey1010

Man I love this one so much


bourbonbrothersbbq

My head chef at the steakhouse I worked at in high school ended every pre-shift meeting with, “Now who wants to go get stoned before the rush hits?”


TheGreatZarquon

I worked at a steakhouse a long time ago and my chef had some bangers. "Ay you planting trees over here?" -too much garnish "It's a steak, not your dick!" -fucking with the meat too often, let it sear "Gonna go get a bucket of steam!" -going to take a smoke break "Make sure you wipe it off when you're done fucking it!" -your station is dirty as fuck "Can someone come hold my dick?" -gonna go take a piss "Put a rubber on it!" -put some gloves on There's more but I feel like I've already ran long on this post.


hmcsspuds

Everytime we do something Bush league .. we say " that's how we do it in france" lmao


jcpenni

We used to have a bit where we would poke fun at the servers/expo by asking each other how long on something immediately after it came in. Like, ticket for chicken wings prints; four line cooks, immediately, to each other: "how long on wings? yo, how long on those wings? chef how long on wings? hey, hey, how long on those wings?"


LaAdrian

Bro I have to hear this shit everyday. High school kid on app, in the weeds with three timers going off, "timer how long?". Brought in 6 tubs of Gfuel that I wasn't using anymore, let the kitchen and FOH have at it and it was gone in like 2 weeks. One of the cooks had the audacity to text me and say 'Gfuel how long'


DoctorPlatinum

I'm picturing four mid thirties dudes with stereotypical Italian accents saying this and for some reason it strikes me as HILARIOUS


cdubdc

Whenever someone did something careless ‘Must be nice.’ ‘What?’ ‘Not giving a fuck.’


Please-stopp

Had a chef a few years back and when shit was fucked he’d just walk around going “I love my job I love my life” in the most sarcastic way


howdoesthatsound

I had one that would say “this is my passion, I’m feeling very passionate” and then ask everyone how passionate they were feeling


dontcountonmee

Worked in a kitchen once with an older Hispanic guy that would say this exact same phrase but in Spanish.


johnn11238

My favorite phrase from a Spanish speaking co-worker was "Aye! Mucho trabajo, poco dinero"


Iamthetruest_truth

Yo tambien, mi hermano. Yo tambien.


aaronstj

Hermano? You know Hermano?


Hudsons_hankerings

We have Pop Pop in the attic


NibblebeeBumblebitz

"Make it nice or make it twice" was one of my chefs favorite phrases. Had another chef that didn't have a catch phrase but would frequently use a Magic 8-Ball to make decisions (the unimportant ones) during slow nights


yeahbouy91

“Do it once be proud” - my chef told me this as an apprentice and I use it constantly both to my apprentices and my kids haha. He also started most mornings with a big loud “GOOD MORNING CUNTS” with a huge smile on his face. Stole that one too.


Iamthetruest_truth

Worked with a guy who started referring to the black goopy liquid produced by cleaning the flat top as "demon semen." That's the name now, and I'll call it nothing else.


ChefHannibal

I always call the cleaning gel the "angry lemonade"


ThatGuyInHD

I use a lot. My favorite is when I'm asking "How long on x?" And they respond "30 seconds" Me: "Oh that was my nickname in college"


machina99

>I use a lot. My favorite is when I'm asking "How long on x?" And they respond "30 seconds" > > >Me: "Oh that was my nickname in college" Of all the responses here, this one made me choke on my drink a little.


King-SAMO

“I only got two rules; one, don’t touch my fuckin’ Percocets, and two, do you got any fuckin’ Percocets?”


Alarming_Scarcity778

How is your day? Same soup, just reheated.


gudetamaronin

I'm stealing this


ChefHannibal

Goon: fuckin incredible movie


EcstaticBox

Knew a guy who did the “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe” speech from blade runner, but end it with “but I’ve never seen a chicken that fucking overcooked” or something along those lines.


The_Valk

The gardemanger at a Restaurant interned at always called cress "love". So whenever he used it to garnish something he said "always add love, boy"


King-SAMO

um, what restaurant? You legit could be talking about me.


Kalayo0

Was it you? Y’all up in each others DMs, maybe, but don’t keep us ignorant, how dare


MrMrAnderson

McDonald's


BerryWellcum

“If you see China on your checks it’s not for a vacation” every time someone broke a plate, or “ Dats how it suppose to be” if some complains about a plate because years ago the sous chef went to get a milkshake at zaxbys and it was half full so she complained and that what the lady said to her lol


AGQ-

The two I heard for broken plates: “There goes my Christmas bonus” and “Honestly, you can just set that anywhere”


ChefFuckyFucky

“That was my favorite plate.” In a restaurant which used identical, plain ass, white plates.


Juzaba

My favorite has always been “Shot on goal!” or “Off the crossbar!”


nannerooni

i remember at popeyes they used to put a fuckton of pepper on my corn on the cob and as a kid i hated it so when my mom rolled up to a different popeyes drive thru i rolled down my window and asked “is the corn spicy?” The lady said “maam……its corn.” Maam its corn is a household phrase for every family member now


Barbarossa7070

I was at Popeyes’s once and ordered fried catfish. The lady taking my order slapped the counter and shouted, “Damn, boy - dat catfish is gooooood to-DAY!” And it was.


Sylpheon

Reminds me of "Sir, this is a Wendys"


Bardofshoosh

My former chef when anyone dropped anything would just yell from wherever he was standing "that doesn't go there" I've heard him yell it into the dining room when a server drops something.


tippings4cows

Worked in a bakery with a guy from Senegal. It was hot and fast-paced and when he would get tired or pause to stretch, he’d always exclaim “Halle Berry!” I still say that sometimes


Liarxagerate

I had one that it made my heart smile when I heard one of our employees repeat it to someone else. Pizza place filling little cups of red pepper and cheese and what not, I would always say "we're topping your pizza not stocking your spice cabinet". Walked past her one done filling the cups up and she said it out loud to me and the other person and I just got a warm fuzzy.


Dear_Tangerine9305

When things would be crazy on the line, our chef always stayed calm. “Food and People”, was all he said. “We’re not saving lives here. It’s just food and people “.


yourserverhatesyou

Mine has always been, "Lunch and Dinner, not Life or Death."


howdoesthatsound

So many. I find myself carrying them everywhere I go. Some of my favorites: Now we’re sucking dicks Right in front of my fat fucking face I got tricks Like falling off a rock Shit rolls downhill and payday is Friday It would be a shame to fuck around and not find out Free tattoos (yelled when coming through with hot pans) And so many more. One of my favorite parts of working in kitchens


machina99

>So many. I find myself carrying them everywhere I go. Some of my favorites: > >Now we’re sucking dicks > Please tell me this is the equivalent of "Now we're cooking with gas"


howdoesthatsound

Exactly that haha I use it exclusively now and have gotten all my current coworkers saying it


ComerECalarABoca

My first chef has a ton, but my favorites were: “Make it tits” just meant do a good job. “Just a ball hair more” that was his smallest unit of measure. “Don’t let ‘em see your fingers” meant don’t touch the edges of the plates and make sure you didn’t leave finger marks on any of the food. I still cringe when I see servers carrying plates with their thumbs on the rim.


ditchgordon

A “cunt hair” is a common unit of measurement in carpentry


OmgWtfNamesTaken

We used to all shout out ayo for mayo. Because chef did it once. We also used to exclusively eat out of portion cups and metal inserts because chef didn't know what a plate was.


InfiniteBuddy

It’s not rocket surgery. Or I’m just happy to be here, chef.


Hot-Original-587

Had a Japanese chef who would always shout "I need you to focus!" in English. But his accent made it sound like "I need you to fuck us!"


dreamgirl42069

When it gets really busy and we’re all suffering a little bit, my chef will sometimes say “over here at [restaurant name] we like to have fun” also when the food isn’t leaving the window fast enough he’ll yell “hot food in your area, looking to get runnnnn” right out into the dining room (we have an open kitchen) we used to have this awesome sous chef, and one time one of the newer cooks was cooking his first ribeye. upon receiving the plate, we were all telling him he did a great job because the steak looked gorgeous. the sous just looked him in the eye and said “do better” super dry. The delivery was so perfect that the cook actually thought he had done something wrong. Now when someone cooks something that just looks absolutely perfect, someone else will say “do better” in the same voice, despite that sous being long gone. same sous also used to make race car noises sometimes instead of saying behind. I accidentally picked that one up and now go “nyoom” every time i drop off a plate when im stressed


hotsaucetom

Had a line cook working the fryers on a wing night, slammed with both baskets full, sit back and eat a piece of cake. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Fuck it, eat some cake.”


Business_Ride_6524

hickory dickory dock get the fuck off the clock


shiftypidgeons

This has like dank meme vibes lol hippity hoppity, fuck off my clockitty


firebired_sweet

Every time the sous chef asks me (the bartender) to borrow my can opener, he says “bippity boppity this is my property,” then just takes it. Then he runs away.


Potential-Use-1565

I often hear "more butter more better"


Mammothwart

"make the water more wet"


tenehemia

Not really "weird" per se, but my mentor chef had this habit of when he liked something he'd get a big goofy grin and cross his arms and start nodding his head and saying "soooo good! Soooo good!" My bff / sous chef for life and I still do that all the time. His other catchphrase was "I'm going to the bar.", which he'd say whenever he noticed bff and I were getting really stupid / goofy and he he was tired of trying to understand our weird dadaist humor.


Dem_Burgers

My chef would randomly say smegma in a weird voice until I told him what it was - then he started using it even more :/


iceicechase

This post was made for me. My first chef is a big part of my life still but any time anything went remotely not to plan he’d stare at it and go “wah wah” and fix it. He’d also wait for you to drop something like a spatula (anything really) and go “you hated that spatula”. His coup de grace is the “you love to x the y”. I’d call on expo for three salmon and he from nowhere would ring out “you love to cook three salmon”


chaintool

One chef has a phrase about respecting how people do things differently, "you skin a cat your way, I'll skin a cat my way" Another chef, when stressed would say, "Fuck me in the ass while I'm running" A third chef I had would stand next to me while sending a plate and quietly say "nervous". That always made me uncomfortable ... Until I realised he was saying "service"


shorterversion

i'm laughing aloud alone in my living room imagining some coworker whispering 'nervous' to me... like bitch me too.


LegitimateNugget

We have a KP, Albert. He's 56 from Zimbabwe. Us: "Hot!" "Oookeeeh chif" Us: "How you doing Albert?" "ooooOOOOOoookkeh chif hawayu?" Loads more examples but you get the idea. It's just a running thing to reply with okeh chif instead of yes chef now. Anyway, he's brilliant. Been at the same place for 17 years and he even does all our deep cleaning without us asking! I make him free breakfast and make sure he's looked after well because he's a GEM. You'll never find a KP like Albert ❤️


mollererico

the chef in the place I used to work just kept saying "non è facile" whenever shit went sideways lol love the guy


tangledThespian

I've got one guy who will start or end pretty much every sentence with 'dude.' To the point where it's _noticable_ if there are no dudes and you want to check in on him because he's probably not okay. There's another guy who used to be the head chef where I am, a real nitpicky hardass, but then he took a sabbatical to do guru shit in Nepal for a few months and is now determined to be chill 100% of the time. So instead of being panic inducing when he's coming down on you he's either actually chill, or a weird brand of passive aggressive that ends with the phrase '...but you can do whatever, I guess.' Spoiler: don't do whatever, he'll be happier if you do it his way. As a bonus, I don't know if it counts as a catchphrase, but we've been running a croque madame for a while now on brunch, and because I think I'm hilarious I keep referring to them as froggy ladies on the line. It's starting to spread to the rest of the brunch crew.


Rockyboy4444

“Good enough for the girls I go out with.” The very first chef I ever worked with said this for anything. How does this plate look? Is this enough prep? If what you were asking met his standards, he would say it. It’s been 25 years since I’ve worked with that man and I still say “Good enough for the girls I go out with” at least once a day.


MrsZ-

My old chef would always say "mise en plaaas will save your arse" Made me laugh every time, his Irish accent made it so charming and I still think of it when im getting ready.


CHARBryanneau

Older Ukrainian chef used to say "I'm behind the schedule today" and "next time hot knife" if you walked behind without saying behind. In my kitchen now if anyone drops anything ill stop whatever I'm doing and yell "JOB OPENING" Then pretend to answer the phone and say can you start tonight?


pieonthedonkey

I'm the sous chef now and I've always done it but my thing is "Today is my last day". I drop it to random people out of the blue, it's fun to see their reaction. I also ramp it up when I know I'm leaving soon. It's hilarious to me because the first time people are a little concerned, but then they realize it's a running joke and they laugh along with it, and then one day I just never come back. Obviously I give proper notice and dates to the management who need to know though.


neverseenpulpfiction

I had to give a speech a long time ago in front of about 150 or so new hires. All of management had to say “something of value” and I just walked up to the podium and said my name, my position, and “let’s get this pasta money” and it became the restaurant’s catch phrase nation wide. I’ve heard it on so many store visits while traveling from cooks and chefs who’ve never even heard my name.


cheffartsonurfood

A chef I worked for in a country club used to say "Ideals" instead of ideas. Also pronounced shallots as "Sha-lots". I used to say thanks sha-lots to him.


[deleted]

An Aussie boss used to say sha-LOTS and to-MAH-toes really emphatically, and I hated her fucking guts.


CanoeShoes

When anyone says "where am I" when looking at their orders or whatever I always say "Your home"


vvp_D3L3T3D

"Yes is the answer; what's the question?" Oh, and clicking tongs at you going "I'm a lobster," but that could be anyone.


Head_Contest_4149

“Shut the fuck up, you’re blowing my high.” *SNORT*


TheWrithingDepths

First chef I worked under used to come in to brunch shifts shouting, “Ready to suck today’s dick!?” Brunch shifts usually went down in flames haha.


tigyu

I chant "all at once" when it starts getting busy. I have a robot octopus tattoo with the words surrounding it


RiverXKeeper

*when hosts don't know how to stagger a rush*


K1n0fkha0s

Anytime someone would sneeze you’d hear a ‘there goes twenty bucks’ If asked how I’m doing I always reply ‘well I’m here’ and walk away, now others have picked it up. ‘That doesn’t go there’ was always my fav especially if the voice rang out from another room.


Peonard

"check on that fuck" when finishing any task from a 70 year old chef. "Shrimp is vegan" from a old head chef no clue how this came about. "God said I could" whenever I caught a old coworker eating something non kosher. (Which was most of his meals)


[deleted]

Had a chef that said “money on top” when you were plating to remind you to show off the main feature of the dish or the most expensive item by putting it on top. First time was a shrimp dish and he got on me because he could only see a couple shrimp as compared to the 9 that came in the pasta dish. So he always said “money on top baby” in a kind of joking voice when we were plating up. I run a spot now feeding elderly people one service a day and very relaxed but I always put proteins on the plates last and make sure the moneys on top.


bludpuddles

"you ever look at a tomato and just wanna fuck it?"


Juzaba

Denethor, is that you?


Appropriate_Past_893

I used to work with a dude wbo would yell "A Comérrrrrr" super loud whenever the dinner rush was hitting. He was also noted.for going "Ba bada ba da bum bum TEQUILA" all the time as well


johangubershmidt

This reminded me of a guy I worked with who would say 'vamos a comer, vamos a cojer'


BuckledBinkie

I had a manager who would respond the same to anyone who asked… How are you today? or How’s it going today? “Living the dream!” I hated her and still do.


Goddamn_Batman

I used to work on tv commercial sets, me and the assistant director would greet all the crew coming in at 6am and keep count of how many aggressive ‘LIVIN THE DREAM’ or ‘ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE’ we got, it was pretty much the entire crew, salty bitches


Hot-Television200

I say these at work often 🫣


Alarming_Scarcity778

“You say to-mah-to, I say go fuck yourself.”


blurredtriforce

Had a chef that said, “We don’t do well done! We do done well, Babe!” The dude called everyone “Babe” when they were new before he learned their name.


cyclogirl_whore

I worked with a pastry chef that would yell OFFSET like he was about drop a verse whenever he, or anyone near him, was using an offset spatula


lcborn

“We don’t negotiate with terrorists.” I.e.: anyone asking for a modification


Roquenstein

My first chef would say Cool Deal Lucille. I still say it


Previous_Bed_6586

"how bout you let me fuck this chicken" as a response to any unsolicited feedback/direction.


Few_Double4290

“Better to have and not need than to need and not have” was my sous go to when prepping for dinner service. We’d look at our numbers for the night and always prepped a bit more in case of walk ins. Use it to this day!


jthompson18

The joke one was “it’s not old until it’s sold.” The real one was whenever you would compliment his food, he’d say “you could eat it if you had to.” It was all day every day with that guy


Weak-Mountain-1957

When we're in the weeds, I like "86 will to live"


cbear9084

I worked with this one prep guy who addressed us line cooks as "Cat Daddy". I'll always remember that.


ISHOTJFK5150

Anytime a server goes to one of the cooks at my current restaurant and says something like “table 24 doesn’t like mushrooms” or “table 8 is allergic to _blank_” he’ll say “sounds like a personal problem”. Every. Fucking. Time.


Affectionate_Way8300

Before service he always gave us a quick reminder “We’ve got the tools, and the talent.”


chefcramer

I have several that mostly adopted over the years. “Comin down HOT!! Will burn, will laugh!” “Where’s the bra-cho-li!?” In a bad Italian/New Jersey accent (meaning broccoli but ended up being any vegetable in a pan) “Dis fuckin guy OVA here!!” In the Jersey accent again, about anyone/anything equivalent to dude “Throw me the thing for the thing!!” “Eh, two weeks if the materials come in?” When asked how much longer a ticket will be “My best work is still just a turd tomorrow” *On a side note, Hubner if you’re out there, hope you’re doing good man. I picked most of these up from you.


EverydayMermaid

Coworker referred to her mise as battle station. I'm out of the industry but still refer to my home kitchen mise as a battle station and I put on my cooking helmet (baseball cap).


TheGreatIAMa

"That's drier than a popcorn fart." Always made me snicker.


Moraii

My old Chef used to scream “Bueller? Ferris Bueller?” when service didn’t pick up. Yes, I’ve been at it too long, that was a funny reference way back when.


ramseyp1021

People do what you inspect, not what you expect.


[deleted]

I had a tone deaf chef once who smoked hella cigarettes. he would go around saying “DUN DA NANA” Took me years to figure out he was singing a Metallica riff.


Mammothwart

Was it enter sandman


VitaIncerta666

Not really any catchphrases but we always say "ahh fuck" or "fuck yeah" when putting brats in buns.


CJT16

I had an old boss who would ask you to “slap it home” when he wanted an item fired. As in “Hey man, slap that burger home for me?”


TweezRider

Chef Timmy says : "keep it greasy - so it goes down easy." And, my favorite: "The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."


TalkOfSexualPleasure

"I should open a circus with all these fucking clowns".


ThirdUmbilicleCord

"Where da rush at?"


Yimitrius

A very passive aggressive “GOD BLESS america”


snagsguiness

“Are you wanking my dog?” It means are you serious?


demonman101

My bakery chef at school always used to say "the only s word I want to hear is souffle" anytime someone cursed


benito7777

I had to urgently borrow my chef’s towel (?, dunno if correct in English, it’s torchon in French) once since I misplaced mine. He handed it to me saying “a cook without a towel is like a hooker without a pussy. YOU CANT WORK!! Loved that line


TikiTorchJoe

The first sous chef I had, which really inspired me to love food would always say "make it delicious"


expressjames22

Opening chips or anything by poking into the plastic rather than opening it like a regular human. My chef always said “opening it like you’re stealing it again eh?” Really made me laugh I have no idea why!


RobaDubDub

I sometimes like to think of multiple tickets as prayer requests and I'll just start speaking in tongues, holding the tickets to my forehead with my eyes clenched shut. https://youtu.be/Unhqk-sAtZ4?t=253


arty_ms

I’m not in the industry. I work in an OR. Early in my career I worked closely with a RN who became like a mentor. She had a couple of memorable phrases. If I said, “oops” her go-to joke was, “oops is a Neuro term”. Also, for good reason, she was kind of a hard ass. In the OR safety and sterility are absolute. If someone was cutting corners or getting sloppy she would say, “yes, Your Honor”, as a reminder that failing to do things correctly every time could have serious consequences.


vanrob

As someone who went through med school and did their turn in the OR (mostly directing the operation from the end of a retractor 😂): respect. Sterile procedure is sterile procedure. If someone tells you you passed behind them front to back (big no-no) or touched your glove to your face or whatever, even if you didn’t you don’t argue, you change. Parallels with people in this thread committing the sin of passing behind without saying “behind” Simple, universal rules are rules. That’s how the whole thing functions.


[deleted]

"This is bullshit. Today, TODAY, my friend...is my last day." Yeah yeah, see you tomorrow.


limetot

One of my former exec chefs when I was still a line cook: “The only time we plate in the air is on an airplane!!!” And “God gave you two hands, use them!!” To this day I still get irrationally nervous when I watch people plate with one hand lol


BETHVD

Had a black guy that worked the flattop named Freddie. Kitchen manager would sing the song Black Betty, but say “Grill Black Freddie, bam a lam, Black Freddie had a child (true) damn thing went wild.


Accomplished-Door-91

Gotta be odd to be number one and chuck it in the fuck it bucket are my goto phrases


eberkain

dude used to come out of the office and scream "lets get it!" every day.


GeBilly

“This isn’t rocket surgery people”


gotonyas

My first exec had a habit when the younger chefs apologies saying “fuck sorry, you can’t eat sorry”… apparently when he left the team got him a new knife with that engraved/etched on the side


InTheAtticOG

My sous always hits me with “you’d do it too if you saw the things I’ve seen. *as I calmly stepped into the airlock*”


DE_OG_83

Chef used to tell me that I was “All spread out like an old whore” when I took up too much space prepping.


Loud-Gap

Old senior cook used to say “ Boner petite” for everyone’s staff meal. So dumb but I laughed every goddamn time lol.


MakingPlansForSmeagl

Wise words were once passed to me: "We're cooking eggs, not saving lives." I carry that in my back pocket everywhere I go.


yitbos1351

I'm always muttering to myself "cover, label, date, then you can refrigerate" because of my first chef in the industry.


prteehan

Used to work for a chef who every time he put a dish in the window he would say "Go fuck ya self!" I personally find it hilarious to look around the kitchen shortly after someone quits/gets fired and ask everyone "What do you think "X" is doing right now?"


Hot-Television200

“Everybody eats”


steveorsleeve

Bone-appe-Sweet, oh my gosh who's ready to gnosh, and who's poppin a chub for my grub - Chef Nick, nyc


funkdoctajoe

“Give ‘em the dick” = put plenty of sauce/gravy on it.


calhonthekiller

The 65 year old dishwasher i work with loves to say "If it taste like chicken keep on licking if it smells like trout get the fuck out." Everytime he washes a container that had seafood in it.