Post: #26

The best part is fancy restaurants that charge a you 25% "gratuity" without telling you. What if the service stinks? That's why I don't go to fancy restaurants. A lot of pompous clowns with overpriced food? No thanks!

Post: #27

(09-16-2017 10:45 PM)Veloce Wrote:  

(09-16-2017 07:49 PM)Suits Wrote:  

(09-16-2017 06:06 PM)Veloce Wrote:  I could seriously start an entire thread about how much I hate chefs and the things I hate in the food world.

Do it.

I guess I could just summarize it in a post or three.

The restaurant world is a lot like Hollywood in that having the 'wrong' opinion can cost you your job, and there's so many assholes going around telling people how the world should be run. You've got all these virtue signalling chefs talking about sustainability and environmental impact and feeding the hungry...at the end of the day eating at a restaurant, especially the kind I run, is a luxury. Chefs love to believe they're a part of making the world a better place. And in a way, we can, in the fact that people go to restaurants to celebrate special occasions or have a romantic night out. That's great and I'm happy to cook for people like that. But most chefs now see themselves at the forefront of 'the issues plaguing the planet', you know that type of heavy and profound rhetoric. It's not enough to provide good food or operate a profitable business anymore. No, you have to buckle under pressures from insane leftist groups like PETA and allow them to dictate what to put on your menu and you've got to dedicate a page of your menu listing all the local farmers you support.

There's a well-known chef in LA named Roy Choi. His places are decent. He popularized Korean tacos there and spawned a huge food truck industry. Per his Wikipedia entry: "Roy Choi, a former valedictorian at the Culinary Institute of America,[6] is the chief chef and considered “a sort of post-Abstract Expressionist food artist"

What the fuck?

Roy Choi and chefs like him will talk endlessly about how we as chefs "have a responsibility to the environment and sustainability" without acknowledging that doing so is pretty goddamn expensive. They live in a dual fantasy world where everyone should have access to good quality food but that everything should be organic and sustainable as well.

When the reality is, these chefs have been given this platform and can afford to get on their soapbox SOLELY because of capitalism and enjoying the patronage of customers that have expendable income.

Just once I'd like to see a chef come out and say, "Yeah, not everyone can afford to eat at my restaurant, and I like to keep it that way."

Restaurants have gone from a business to something much more than that. You have to engage in some bullshit conversation about "social responsibility" and all that shit. There's a coffee shop that tried to open in Highland Park recently in L.A., a low income ethnic neighborhood. The neighborhood protested this coffee shop, saying that it was a sign of gentrification and they don't want property values going up. We're talking about a goddamned coffee shop. Imagine being a working class business owner, saving up for years working for other people before you're ready to drop $100k into a location and build out the place of your dreams, only to have the neighborhood full of brown people tell you, "We prefer to have a vacant storefront that invites squatters and vandalism, we don't want you here." And then when the story inevitably runs in the LA Weekly or LA Times, there are views that are sympathetic to the neighborhood with graphs and charts spelling out the evils of those asshole white business owners just trying to sell coffee. Incidentally, right before the place opened, they had all the glass smashed out of their front doors and windows. It's insane.

As far as chefs go, I don't mind the raging egomaniacs. I might be one myself. What pisses me off is this current culture of believing that we're somehow making a difference in the world, when in reality it's just. fucking. food.

I feel like I can't properly elaborate on what it is that I hate about chefs...a certain breed. I just can't find the words or pinpoint it. I was up until 5am on a coke/weed/tequila bender so that might be why. But watch this video and you'll see everything I hate about the food world. I mean, the food these guys make looks great. The type of stuff I want to eat. But they're just so goddamn insufferable, between that slack, idiotic LA accent, to the uptalk, to their general mannerisms. Everything about this video makes me cringe and thank god I left LA when I did. I know a few people in the video

nice thread

Post: #28

This article from ROK is from May 29, 2016, it feels like it was written today.

Is Anthony Bourdain Getting Cucked By His MMA Wife?

Anthony Bourdain has emerged as one of the preeminent celebrity critics of Donald Trump. The vitriol he unleashed last year against The Donald over the latter’s illegal immigration stances was particularly vocal. It is possible, however, that a big part of Bourdain’s beef with the Republican Presidential nominee has to do with the television chef’s jealousy over Trump’s continuing assertion of his masculinity. After all, Bourdain’s current wife Ottavia, who is considerably younger, has a special talent for posing very cosily with other younger, more muscular and almost certainly much more virile men.





http://www.returnofkings.com/87646/is-an...s-mma-wife

Post: #29

(09-17-2017 10:38 AM)John Michael Kane Wrote:  The best part is fancy restaurants that charge a you 25% "gratuity" without telling you.

That's one reason I plan never to live in Hong Kong, despite otherwise loving the city in many respects.

Post: #30

(09-16-2017 10:45 PM)Veloce Wrote:  

There could be a lot to say about this. I watched the video, and while these dudes are of course hell for all the obvious reasons, I can't really say that I dislike them.

For one thing, as you know, the food they make is really f'ing superb; it's rare for food to look consistently good on film or in still images -- they tend to deaden it and make it seem inert or precious -- but it does here. Not only is it good, but it's the kind of food you can eat day in day out without thinking twice about it or ever getting tired of it. You just shove it down your throat and barely notice how excellent every last bite is -- which is very nearly the best way for food to be. It doesn't hurt to be in SoCal and have the world's freshest ingredients near to hand all year round, but even so to deal out this kind of day-to-day excellence is not a small thing, and as long as these dudes keep doing it and doing it well, one has to tip one's cap to them; anything less would be rank ingratitude.

What's even more important than this is to see the genuine glamour -- there is no other word for it -- of the LA locales and surround where these characters kick it out. What ultimately saves them from the rot of real weakness and the kind of effeminacy that cannot be forgiven is the shrugging greatest-city-in-the world conviction and even arrogance that is belied by their seeming -- and even actual -- Cali laxity and faux-surfer politesse. There is not one ounce of the provincial in them, in a way that is only possible to the inhabitants of the world's true capitals at the height of their power; something that you could see, sidelongedly, in the mien and in the very gait of an 1890s Parisian or a 1970s New Yorker. They inhabit these vistas and their ways of moving about them with an indubitableness that is entirely unconscious and which commands one's respect, however grudgingly it may be given.

Lastly, one notes, too, that even though almost all females shown in the film are very nearly worthless, there is one very brief shot of an LA Latina -- almost certainly a Mexi -- dancing in the scrum that in a flash overwhelms one's brains and balls with the sexual possibilities of the place, all the sly moist quim that lurks inside those beautiful, sprawling, low-slung structures that go on for miles on end. Again, there is a special juice that adheres to greatest-city pussy, an imprint and a sexual charge that one may love or hate but that cannot be denied. LA is that city right now, the glamour capital of America and therefore the world; and as these somehow already post-hipster doughboys pile into their van and traverse its streets, they know to the bottom of their nascent paunches that they are a part of that strength and center of energy -- and that is the true secret spice that gives the entire fat pita of their aspect a taste which one is ready to sign off on when it's all said and done.

Post: #31

Quote:Lastly, one notes, too, that even though almost all females shown in the film are very nearly worthless, there is one very brief shot of an LA Latina -- almost certainly a Mexi -- dancing in the scrum that in a flash overwhelms one's brains and balls with the sexual possibilities of the place, all the sly moist quim that lurks inside those beautiful, sprawling, low-slung structures that go on for miles on end. Again, there is a special juice that adheres to greatest-city pussy, an imprint and a sexual charge that one may love or hate but that cannot be denied. LA is that city right now, the glamour capital of America and therefore the world; and as these somehow already post-hipster doughboys pile into their van and traverse its streets, they know to the bottom of their nascent paunches that they are a part of that strength and center of energy -- and that is the true secret spice that gives the entire fat pita of their aspect a taste which one is ready to sign off on when it's all said and done.

This is what I hope for anytime I see TLoZ presents bulk paragraphs - the post delivers

Post: #32

If someone started talking to me about deconstructed food, I would assume they were referring to poop.

Post: #33

(09-17-2017 07:54 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

(09-16-2017 10:45 PM)Veloce Wrote:  

The chefs in that video are incredibly feminine. If you told me they were all gay, I wouldn't be surprised. I thoughts chefs were hard asses who don't fit among polite society? When I worked in a hotel bar over 5 years ago, I do remember at least the line cooks being manly.

I had only ever worked in California until I moved to my current spot. My mentors were hard asses that don't fit among polite society, and that's what I aspired to be 17 years ago when I started. Also, none of them were from California.

Pretty much every restaurant I worked at in L.A. has gotten some national acclaim or awards. By and large, they're filled with one of two archetypes: The mercenary Mexican (or central American, whatever) and aspiring chef white dudes.

The white dudes are often delicate snowflakes. I remember at one spot I worked the grill, doing high volume at a Michelin starred restaurant. These were my fuckin mercenary days when I was super competitive, trash talking, hard drinking line cook. I was a skinny fucker that could outcook damn near anyone and ran my mouth constantly. I remember one night the pasta cook was going down and I had to wait for him to put my dishes up otherwise my food would die in the window before his was ready. I said something like, "Hey Brian, you gonna put some fucking food in the window tonight or do I have time to go home and fuck your mom?" The kitchen actually got kind of quiet but I never got anything back. It always disappointed me that nobody threw it back at me.

This happened for years. I definitely worked with better line cooks than me, but it was RARE, and I mean one or two out of hundreds that could trash talk on my level. Occasionally I'd cross the line with a Mexican busser or runner and they'd go straight to threatening to fight me so I'd take off my apron and step off the line. In truth I probably would have gotten my ass beat (rightfully so) but nobody ever called my bluff. At least with those guys I'd buy them a beer after work and bury the hatchet.

In 2017 I'd get fired at any of these jobs in a heartbeat, no questions asked. One of my main mentors got fired from the job where he took me under his wing, for being too aggressive with servers.

Post: #34

(09-17-2017 12:40 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(09-16-2017 10:45 PM)Veloce Wrote:  

There could be a lot to say about this. I watched the video, and while these dudes are of course hell for all the obvious reasons, I can't really say that I dislike them.

For one thing, as you know, the food they make is really f'ing superb; it's rare for food to look consistently good on film or in still images -- they tend to deaden it and make it seem inert or precious -- but it does here. Not only is it good, but it's the kind of food you can eat day in day out without thinking twice about it or ever getting tired of it. You just shove it down your throat and barely notice how excellent every last bite is -- which is very nearly the best way for food to be. It doesn't hurt to be in SoCal and have the world's freshest ingredients near to hand all year round, but even so to deal out this kind of day-to-day excellence is not a small thing, and as long as these dudes keep doing it and doing it well, one has to tip one's cap to them; anything less would be rank ingratitude.

What's even more important than this is to see the genuine glamour -- there is no other word for it -- of the LA locales and surround where these characters kick it out. What ultimately saves them from the rot of real weakness and the kind of effeminacy that cannot be forgiven is the shrugging greatest-city-in-the world conviction and even arrogance that is belied by their seeming -- and even actual -- Cali laxity and faux-surfer politesse. There is not one ounce of the provincial in them, in a way that is only possible to the inhabitants of the world's true capitals at the height of their power; something that you could see, sidelongedly, in the mien and in the very gait of an 1890s Parisian or a 1970s New Yorker. They inhabit these vistas and their ways of moving about them with an indubitableness that is entirely unconscious and which commands one's respect, however grudgingly it may be given.

Lastly, one notes, too, that even though almost all females shown in the film are very nearly worthless, there is one very brief shot of an LA Latina -- almost certainly a Mexi -- dancing in the scrum that in a flash overwhelms one's brains and balls with the sexual possibilities of the place, all the sly moist quim that lurks inside those beautiful, sprawling, low-slung structures that go on for miles on end. Again, there is a special juice that adheres to greatest-city pussy, an imprint and a sexual charge that one may love or hate but that cannot be denied. LA is that city right now, the glamour capital of America and therefore the world; and as these somehow already post-hipster doughboys pile into their van and traverse its streets, they know to the bottom of their nascent paunches that they are a part of that strength and center of energy -- and that is the true secret spice that gives the entire fat pita of their aspect a taste which one is ready to sign off on when it's all said and done.

Great post. There are many restaurants like this place in L.A.; places serving tasty food for reasonable prices. It pains me to admit it but hipsters can fucking cook. Still, to hear this effeminate cocksucker talk about, "We knew we had to have a toast bar, we just put sandwiches on the menu which we're super proud of..."

LOZ I fully get the sentiment of your post...I loved L.A. at one point, which transitioned into a love/hate relationship, to a full-fledged hate relationship. I've done many iconic things there...seen Chili Peppers at a private concert at the Troubadour, partied with The Rapture at the Viper Room, stumbling out puke drunk in the exact spot where River Phoenix OD'ed (I used to live walking distance) living in a tiny studio just off Santa Monica Blvd where I could walk to Formosa Cafe and Jones and hit on actresses but usually going home alone and drinking until 3am reading Bukowski.

Good food may have arrived and flourished in L.A. but it brought something with it, something I can't put my finger on. It's going to turn into another S.F. As good as the food scene is in L.A., it's even better in SF in some ways. Everything the guys are doing in this video, they pretty much ripped off from a spot in SF called Tartine. There are many, many cities in the U.S. with killer restaurants that are thankfully doing great things without the affected mannerisms and faggotry displayed by the characters in this vid.

Post: #35

I know of exactly one high-end chef in my social circle. He is the the dictionary definition of a phagot in literal and figurative meanings. High-end cuisine attracts phags and snowflake soy bois. I don't remember ever meeting a high-end chef who wasn't one or the other.

Post: #36

(09-17-2017 07:54 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

(09-16-2017 10:45 PM)Veloce Wrote:  

The chefs in that video are incredibly feminine. If you told me they were all gay, I wouldn't be surprised. I thoughts chefs were hard asses who don't fit among polite society? When I worked in a hotel bar over 5 years ago, I do remember at least the line cooks being manly.

My experience with chefs is they are mostly fake alphas. They seem manly but in reality are like little girls. They all also think they are some sort of culinary master even if they suck. Most restaurant employees tiptoe around them because they are so bitchy and sensitive about their food.

Post: #37

This picture sums it all up:



Now, this guy is a good cook. But that stance...and facial expression. So gay!

I've done my share of PR photos. In damn near every case I get some asshole photographer telling me, "Yeah, stand to one side, with your arms crossed, c'mon give me your best 'rock star chef' look". In every case I've refused and told them I'm not playing that fucking game. They can get a picture of me with my arms by my side and a smile on my face like a normal person.

On top of all of it, if it came down to the 'rock star' lifestyle or whatever, I'd be willing to bet I've fucked more women and consumed more drugs and alcohol than 99% of my industry peers, by a wide margin. And that's one reason why I'm a good chef instead of a great one.

Post: #38

It's actually a shame Bourdain is such a left wing cuck. He does have one the best food/travel shows on T.V. Unlike the left however, I can look past his political ideas and still enjoy his program. In fact, I can watch shit like this all day [Even if it's left leaning 99% of the time]:

Post: #39

(09-20-2017 02:37 PM)Veloce Wrote:  Now, this guy is a good cook. But that stance...and facial expression. So gay!

hahaha dude this post struck a chord with me. I actually worked on the line at a fine dining place (no Michelin stars but good food nonetheless). Both the chef de cuisine and the sous chef were just like this dude: heavily tatted up and cocky as hell. Great cooks, don't get me wrong, but this attitude like we're saving lives and not just cooking good food for rich people. The funny thing is the executive chef was French and not at all like you'd think. Very modest guy, well-groomed, no tats and very old school and serious. ACtually, if you watch Chef's Table France, the majority of French chefs are like that. They're not into the "badass chef" look, they just care about putting out the best product possible.

Post: #40

Chefs remind me of Djs who play house music. They all think they're really good and special.

I was friends with a dude who played for Cal Cox's birthday party. He was getting up there rubbing elbows with famous Djs. I would sometimes get VIP passes to be backstage with him and one time there were 7 or 8 DJs all on the same stage at the same time.

I leaned over to my friend and said "Seems like a lot of dudes to control one iPod yea?"

He was instantly butt-hurt.

Post: #41

(09-21-2017 07:48 AM)TigerMandingo Wrote:  

(09-20-2017 02:37 PM)Veloce Wrote:  Now, this guy is a good cook. But that stance...and facial expression. So gay!

hahaha dude this post struck a chord with me. I actually worked on the line at a fine dining place (no Michelin stars but good food nonetheless). Both the chef de cuisine and the sous chef were just like this dude: heavily tatted up and cocky as hell. Great cooks, don't get me wrong, but this attitude like we're saving lives and not just cooking good food for rich people. The funny thing is the executive chef was French and not at all like you'd think. Very modest guy, well-groomed, no tats and very old school and serious. ACtually, if you watch Chef's Table France, the majority of French chefs are like that. They're not into the "badass chef" look, they just care about putting out the best product possible.

The vast majority of cooks and chefs in the world are like this. As much as I love to make fun of French guys I work with, they're consistently some of the hardest working guys in the industry. I think cooking is a noble profession, and a good line of work for people that were never able to sit still in school. It's a true blue collar job, involving a heavy dose of mental and physical stress. It's a beautiful thing to watch when it's done well; running a restaurant line staffed with high calibre line cooks, all working in unison like a well-oiled machine. I'm hoping the hype and spotlight around food dies down and it can return to being just another job like carpenter, electrician, or mechanic.

Post: #42

(09-22-2017 11:44 AM)Veloce Wrote:  I'm hoping the hype and spotlight around food dies down and it can return to being just another job like carpenter, electrician, or mechanic.

With people waking up to the importance of not eating garbage, people will have a hard time lumping in a professional chef in the same category as a carpenter, mechanic, etc. Especially younger people are spending more money on experiences, rather than things, so eating good food has become more important.

Post: #43

Hey guys, I've been taking my cooking inspiration up to a new level recently! Here are a few snapshots of some dishes I've been perfecting in my chicken over the past few weeks!

Deconstructed Beef Tar Tar



Deconstructed Egg



Deconstructed Sausage in a Bed of Green Roughage



Deconstructed Garden Salad



Deconstructed Sake



What have you guys been cooking recently?

Post: #44

(09-20-2017 02:37 PM)Veloce Wrote:  Now, this guy is a good cook. But that stance...and facial expression. So gay!

I've done my share of PR photos. In damn near every case I get some asshole photographer telling me, "Yeah, stand to one side, with your arms crossed, c'mon give me your best 'rock star chef' look". In every case I've refused and told them I'm not playing that fucking game. They can get a picture of me with my arms by my side and a smile on my face like a normal person.

How often do they try to get you to incorporate knives into the picture for no reason?

I've been working my way through some of the better local restaurants lately and I don't know if there's just one photographer doing all their profiles or what but about 80% of these guys have multiple pictures of themselves holding chef's knives in cringe-y ways.

Holding one knife over their mouth and one in the air, covering one eye with a knife Illuminati style, holding two knives with arms outstretched like they're about to slice up the fennel that murdered their family, etc. It always reminds me of those memes with the fedora wearing guys holding katanas in silly poses that have cringe-y text overlaid. It's not a good look.

Post: #45

(09-16-2017 10:45 PM)Veloce Wrote:  [...] these chefs [...] can afford to get on their soapbox SOLELY because of capitalism and [...] patronage [...]

This is a direct reference to an important, fatal flaw in Postmodernism.

Philosopher Ken Wilber calls it a performative contradiction.

The postmoderns rail against what Jordan Peterson would call social hierarchies, while simultaneously embodying an hierarchical format in and of themselves and their communities.

Thus, they have encountered a sort of conceptual roadblock impeding their progress. They have no other option but to go back and find a way around it, or else fall behind and go out of style (meme death).


On the other hand, the skill of cooking up a fine meal will never go out of style.