Caught my line cook using a dull knife on tomatoes for 3 months straight

I finally snapped and made him sharpen it mid-shift last Friday, and he said he thought the tomatoes were just tough. Has anyone else had a cook that just refuses to maintain their tools.

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerlane1mo ago

Our lead line cook was the same way with his chef knife... I finally just bought him his own stone and made him sit there with me after prep one night. Showed him how to feel for a burr and told him if the knife can't slice a ripe tomato clean it's not his blade it's his laziness. Took about two weeks of checking his station every shift before he got the habit down. Now he's the one yelling at the new guys about their edges.

riverowens1mo ago

The whole "checking his station every shift" thing is key. I had a cook once who swore he was a knife wizard but his daily sharpening left his blade with a weird micro serration that looked pretty but tore up herbs. Drove me nuts because he'd get defensive about it. Finally just started grabbing his knife mid shift to borrow it for something quick and then handing it back with a quick pass on my steel. Didn't say a word. After three days he asked me what I was doing different and I showed him the angle issue. He still laughs about it but now he keeps a little pocket steel in his apron just for touch ups between tickets. Funny how people will watch you for a while before they actually ask.