hand of the chef?

[timos]

I had a really excellent meal recently...there is a pretty good place in Worcester called Peppercorns. Good beers and a always changing , interesting menu.

Anyway, I like to try lots of different things so this place had an selection on the menu called "hand of the chef" thats it no explanation or $$ value or anything.

So I tried it, it was really fun having no idea what I was going to get and then figuring out all the ingredients. Jamaican jerk chicken/ rice and peas (actually rice and beans) fried plantains , cucumber and mango salad with a bit of maybe pickled red onion, slice of jalapeno and cilantro.

It wasnt the fanciest ingredients or anything but had to be one of the most satisfying meals ive ever had.

Just wondering how do Chefs feel about this kinda thing where they have the complete freedom of what they are going to prepare? I think its great and would choose this all the time if it were an option at more places.

[Ourorboros]

If you like this, see if there are any high end sushi places in your area - that's where this started.
Chef's like David Chang (Momfuku) have also used this.

Those set-ups have you sitting at a counter, with the chef & prep area behind a short height of glass.

[Robstreperous]

About 20 odd years ago The North Fork of Long Island hadn't been "discovered". Wineries were just starting up and the farms were still farms. Yet it still drew pretty good cooking talent and a clientele from The Hamptons who wanted / needed in many cases to get away from the scene. My wife (girlfriend back then) and I used to love to go out there --- and still do.

Anyway, there was this small restaurant in Greenport named Aldo's (It's a higher end, self roasting coffee / biscotti shop now. Highly recommended.) run by the chef / proprietor of the same name. Neat guy. Maybe he was French, maybe Belgian, maybe Italian... who knew?

Aldo could cook like nobody's business, the place was BYOB which kept the price of the meals down -- the local wines hadn't been discovered yet. Local farm / fish ingredients. You could walk back to your B&B no worries about driving. It was heaven. We went back and back and back....

The funny thing was, back to the point of Tim's post, sometimes Aldo would do his own waiting and my wife and I would always ask him, "What's good tonight?" Aldo would always answer exactly this way, "You will have........" Neither one of us ever dared to contradict him or even bother looking at the menu ... nor were we ever disappointed.

When I'm traveling I go sit at the Sushi Bar a lot when I'm by myself. If the chef is talkative I like to ask what they like to make and frequently ask them to make something they like. Somehow though, every time I do it, I end up flashing back to that tiny restaurant and Aldo telling me "You will have...."

[Cutuu]

I think every chef loves to be able to cook what he wants. I believe its the beginning and purest passion that drives us to become chefs. Then, politics interferes, and social norms can interfere making us adapt, even sometimes making us better.

[work3fish4]

Some of my best meals out have come from "surprise me"

[Chefcallari]

Lol everybody knows the best dishes/specials you make behind the line come when you pull it out of your ass on the fly... You have no time to think... You just do... From your gut, your heart... Your soul comes out. You get reminded why you do it.....and....BAM! ZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZ ticker starts vomiting tickets and you snap back to reality lol

[timos]

I wish more places around here had this option... glad to hear you chefs enjoy it

[horriblebreast]

@chefcallari i couldnt agree more!


at the spot i work at we definitely do whatever it is the customer wants whether it makes sense or not! just tonight i had to make a roasted grape sauce that we had no real plan for, we just made it happen haha

often there will be dietary restrictions or preferences that require you to think outside the menu. i always found that to be a fun challenge. you take a look around and decide on something quick! plus it never hurts to make a customer feel special, you may just see them again.

this thread also reminded me of a taco truck around here that has a dish called "trust us, bro"