That waitress who called me out mid-service changed how I plate

Last Friday night in Philly, I had this woman at table 7 send back her pork belly because she said it looked 'rushed.' I was steaming at first, but she was right - I had six tickets up and I slapped it on the plate without wiping the jus smear. She said 'if you can't take two seconds to make it pretty, why should I pay $32?' Stuck with me hard. Anyone else ever get called out by a guest and actually learned something?

3 comments

3 Comments

seth_shah1mo ago

Used to be one of those cooks who thought plating was just for the Instagram crowd (you know, the ones who take pictures of everything). But a few years back, a guy sent back a risotto I did because the garnish was sloppy. He said it looked like I didn't care about the meal. Totally stung, but he was right. Now I take that extra ten seconds to clean the plate edge and make sure the sauce is centered. It's a small thing, but it makes a difference in how the whole dish feels to the guest.

patricia_gonzalez1mo ago

Yeah, I was the same way till a bad plating got called out. Changed my whole mindset.

parkerbrown1mo ago

Oh man, that's such a good point though. I used to be the same way, just slapping food on a plate and thinking "taste is what matters." Then I had a diner ask me once if I was mad at them because my sauce was literally pooled in a weird lumpy blob on one side of the dish. Talk about embarrassing. Now I'll spend a whole ten seconds just breathing and wiping the rim, and it honestly changes how I feel about the plate too, not just the guest. Kind of feel like a dork for how much pleasure I get from a clean circle of sauce now, but here we are.