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A line cook in Chicago told me to stop weighing everything and I still think about it. | Chefs - Discusd

A line cook in Chicago told me to stop weighing everything and I still think about it.

I was working a busy brunch shift about 5 years ago, plating eggs benedict, and I was measuring the hollandaise to the gram. This older cook, Marco, leaned over and said, 'You're making paint, not food.' He said if I couldn't tell by look and feel after a hundred batches, the scale was a crutch. I argued that consistency was key, especially for cost, but he just shook his head. It stuck with me because now I do both, but I start with my eyes and hands. Has anyone else had a mentor push them to rely less on tools and more on instinct?

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.cole6mo ago

Marco had a point about the feel of a sauce. I once tried to weigh out roux by the gram and ended up with wallpaper paste. My chef just sighed and said my scales were for the bakery, not the stove. Now I go by the sheen off the spoon and the way it coats the back.

harperwright6mo ago

Got a similar talk about pan sauces from an old grill guy. He made me taste the reduction every 30 seconds with a clean spoon to learn how the flavor and thickness change by feel. Now I know it's ready when it just starts to stick to the spoon for a second before it falls.

tyler1765mo ago

You ever have someone just ruin measuring cups for you in the best way? My first sous chef caught me using a scale for portioning out cookie dough and he just took it off the counter and tossed it in the sink. Said cookies shouldn't be perfect, they should be from your heart and your hands. Took me a while to get over it, but now I can grab a handful of dough and land within a few grams every time without even looking. The hollandaise thing hits home too, I still use a scale for batch cost at the start of the week but by Sunday I'm just going by the ribbon stage and the smell. It's like learning to drive stick after only driving automatic.