For those of you who have worked in fine dining kitchens, is the T.V. show Hell's Kitchen anywhere close to the reality of it?

I don’t know how fine dining it was, but they did have table cloths on the tables. There was no room for screaming. Do it right, get it done as quickly as possible, and it’s all good. If there’s a problem, deal with it appropriately, and if you’re the cause of the problem, take your lumps.

Drama costs time, and time is money. I can’t see how that sort of thing pays. Of course the kitchen manager had a stressful job, but I never saw him acting like the hell’s kitchen guy.

Not exactly. Where I used to work, it was stressful and there as a bit of yelling, but we don’t time things down to the millisecond. We all had to communicate and finish our jobs in good time and with good quality. But the drama, oh the drama…it’s always in the kitchen. But if you can’t take the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen.

I don’t watch that show but I do have an idea of what it’s like and what you mean in terms of drama.

I have worked both front and back of the house; places where people regularly spend $100–150 a person. And yes, much of what happens in the better places is about amazing timing between all aspects and departments, front and back. When it’s good, it’s good. And it works because all stations are communicating well with each other and a team mentality is in effect. A good kitchen manager or Chef can make that possible.

What I think creates the drama on shows like that is putting people together who don’t know each other and don’t know how to work and communicate well on the job. That would be expected because they haven’t worked together and are in competition with each other.
But in an actual restaurant, time sifts the staff down to a team that can do the job well. That, or people get fired and we try to shape the staff in a way that works.. In my current job, much of what I do involves putting staffs in place that work well together.

Yelling? Yes, some Chefs are like that. And for some it works. But I’ve also had the privilege of working with some very soft spoken Chefs who inspire their staff through motivation and positive comments. If I had to choose…

When you are dining out (in finer places) take a moment to look and think about the wonder of communication and cooperative effort that goes into your dining experience. It can heighten the experience for you.

Happy dining!

@breedmitch Thanks.

@snowberry and @KateTheGreat thanks too! I didn’t mean to slight you!