Yahoo Lifestyle Chefs Share The 18 Things You Should Absolutely Never Do In A Professional Kitchen — But Not For The Reasons You'd Think
Professional cooks might not be a particularly traditional or reverent bunch, but they’re undeniably some of the most superstitious people I’ve ever encountered — and I was raised Catholic. Restaurant kitchens have their own special set of rules and codes; breaking them is a risk you don’t want to take. In a cook's world, ignoring the 'rules' doesn’t just tempt fate, it practically guarantees you’ll be the one blamed when things go south (think: an unexpected late-night rush or a temperamental dishwasher).
Recently, in the r/KitchenConfidential community on Reddit, chefs and cooks shared the kitchen-related superstitions they do NOT mess with. If you work in the industry, some of these might hit close to home. If not, consider yourself warned: you’re about to open a pandora's box of culinary taboos.
1."If you shut down the kitchen 15 minutes before it is closing time, a customer will always walk in. "
2."When you are low on prep for a dish, it will sell well that night."
"Whatever dish you're running low on, that's gonna be the most popular dish of the night."
"This is not a superstition. This is true."
3."If we have a slow night, and just do our thing, it stays a slow night. BUT! If I start making a batch of pizza dough to get ahead for the next day, it always gets busy right after I add the yeast to the flour mixture."
4."I was told it’s bad luck to sweep someone’s feet. It’s obviously rude and not necessary to sweep that close to someone’s feet, but I’m overly conscious about not doing it."
"In South and Central America, there are several broom superstitions. The superstition is that if a broom sweeps over your feet, you will remain single for the rest of your life and never get married. Also, if a broom sweeps your feet, you'll go to jail soon.
In general, though, it's considered super bad luck. And, if a broom does sweep your feet, you are supposed to spit on it immediately to lift the curse.
I was taught very early on in kitchens to never sweep someone's feet. A supervisor yelled at me at my first kitchen job for it.
Now, I work with some Mexican cooks who are religious and superstitious. I like to mess with them while I'm sweeping, and I will slowly start getting closer and closer to their feet with the broom. They start dancing, trying to get away from that thing!"—MariachiArchery
5."I call it the lucky ticket..."
"If you send the food out but forget the ticket on the docket, and it stays for more than an hour, if you pull it and throw it out, you'll get a rush. Every. Single. Time."
6."If you gift a knife, include a penny with the gift for them to give back to you."
"The superstition is that if you take the penny in exchange, you 'sold' them the knife instead of gifting it. If you gift a friend a knife, it is believed to sever the friendship."
7."I was raised by Italians who always said, 'We don't believe in superstitions, but just in case...' So you bet I throw salt over my shoulder."
8."Having a quiet close is like pitching a no-hitter. No one says anything about it, or people will come in and ruin it."
"Just a few days ago, one of the cooks was dropping off some stuff at the dish pit about half an hour before the kitchen usually closes and mentioned, 'It was so quiet today, we'll start bringing up the kitchen soon.'
She comes back not 5 minutes later: '8 people just walked in.'
NEVER, EVER SAY THE Q-WORD BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN!"
9."If somehow you make an extra dish or one gets sent back, if you don't throw it out, you won't get an order for that dish the rest of the night."
10."As soon as you walk through a doorway, you will instantly forget what you were doing or looking for. That's why we make lists."
11."Tongs don't work unless you click them at least two times. Three is better."
12."New knives need a blood sacrifice. I swear I never do it on purpose, but I've cut myself accidentally with every new knife I've ever bought within the first few hours."
13."I work in an open kitchen. Never look at customers walking past you directly; they always come in. I've even had them keep walking and then double back and come in."
14."It’s good luck if I get a bay leaf in my family meal."
15."I once worked with a chef who said whistling in the kitchen was bad luck."
16."When I worked at a brasserie, I had my personal superstition that whoever takes their apron off first will get hit by a last-minute table."
17."There’s always a crowd of customers following a big delivery."
18."If you prep a vegetarian version of the special, no one will buy it; if you don't, many people will ask for it."
What's the wildest kitchen superstition you've ever heard? Tell us in the comments or anonymously via this form.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
