Why does nobody talk about how the walk-in freezer can wreck your mise en place?

I was prepping for Saturday dinner service at The Carlton in Austin, had all my herbs washed and laid out on sheet pans. I went to grab a backup case of basil from the freezer and the door seal was shot, warm air had gotten in and everything on the top shelf was limp and slimy. I had to send a runner to the farmers market across town to buy fresh herbs for a hundred covers at $4.50 a bunch. Has anyone else had their prep ruined by equipment that maintenance swore was fine?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunashah1mo ago

Hold up real quick - you said the warm air got in through a bad door seal and that's what made your herbs go limp and slimy, but honestly that's not how walk-ins work. If the seal is shot, cold air leaks out not warm air gets in, and the actual problem is the compressor runs nonstop trying to keep temp, then the freezer cycles warm during defrost and the whole box gets condensation. That moisture is what wrecked your basil way more than the seal itself. Tbh you probably had a failing evap fan or a crusted-up condenser coil too, maintenance should've checked those instead of just rubber-stamping the door gasket.

miles7981mo ago

Man that's a rough way to start a Saturday service, I've had similar garbage happen right before the rush and it just throws everything off. Nothing worse than thinking you're set only to find your prep went south because some cheap part nobody wanted to replace.