Speak Up

Friday, June 24, 2011

Home Turf

I'm curious how often you eat at your chef's restaurants. I've known some chefs who absolutely loathed the idea of their wife and her friends eating in the restaurant they worked in. They were always paranoid that it would seem as if they are taking advantage of a great situation. I've also known other chefs and managers who couldn't get their wives to eat enough of their food. I think it had a lot to do with pride and being able to show off their beautiful wife to the entire restaurant, but also showing off their food to their wives and friends. Erik has always been somewhere between the two extremes. He's a bit conservative and prefers that I'm not in the dining room every weekend, but when I am in one the restaurants he goes all out. Oh yeah, he loves to be able to "blow it out" and impress me and whoever
else I'm with. I'm certainly not complaining, it's great to be treated like a restaurant rock star once in a blue moon.

Do you eat in your chefs' restaurants often? Do you feel comfortable eating there?

Food is Love,
Hilary

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't really feel comfortable eating at my husband's restaurant (I actually hate all of the attention!), although I LOVE to watch him work in the open kitchen. I am mesmerized. ;-) So, I limit my visits to special occasions or when he begs me to come in! I think he loves when I come in but at the same time, if I was coming in every weekend that would not be okay with that either. I also don't make a big deal when I am there... oh, and when his family goes to his restaurant, they don't understand that the restaurant needs to turn tables and will stay there for HOURS.

Allie said...

once every few months or so.

Julie said...

I love eating in my boyfriend's restaurant, but I wish it had an open kitchen so I could see him in action!

Tiger Lily said...

I get the best of both...one of his places is a casual supper club where the kids and I can stop by and have lunch or cocoa in the winter time and the other place is the second most expensive place in Chicago, so god knows I love the "comp"! Ha! We (kids and I) go to the casual place about 2x month and I go to the fancy one about once every two months...most times bringing friends (5 year old not ready, but 10 year old going for first time next week). I try and forget the attention and enjoy...sometimes forgetting he's back there until I see him visit the room. From his perspective I don't think he cares one way or other...likes it when I come, but doesn't care if I don't.

Culinary School: Three Semesters of Life, Learning, and Loss of Blood said...

Fascinating read, truly fascinating. I'm at the other end of the world - went to culinary school and all (here, if you're interested: "Culinary School: 101 Things Every Culinary Student Should Know Before They Go" - http://t.co/fN8l5lk), so it was great to read this.

Cheers!

Angela said...

I've been to every restaurant for dinner that my husband has ever worked at except for his latest job... He's the executive chef at a country club and my he wants me to come for a dinner with our boys but for some reason i can not find myself to go there. It's almost like i feel like they;re going to look down on me because im married to the "help" and i don't pay dues like their husbands.... even though he sees them more than us sometimes..

Eileen said...

Ive eaten at my fiancés restaurants a bunch of times but I don't really like all the attention. His last place was really fancy so I didnt go in to much but the new place is more casual and has an open kitchen so I get to see him in action which I love :)

Laura said...

I visit my husband's restaurant occasionally. I used to be quite a barfly there, but that was before we were dating. He likes to cook for me, but I like to visit only once in a while. Don't want to seem like a groupie!

Anonymous said...

My husband just bought his own place and has been working like a maniac....80 hours a week looks like a vacation compared to this. We ate in there once, early in, because the kids wanted to- and I haven't been back- the only thing more stressful than being doted on by the staff is looking around and seeing all that needs doing.....we'll wait until he gets it together a little more....:)

Iris said...

I've only eaten informally at my chef boyfriend's restaurant - i.e. at the back and shared staff food with the other guys. His co-workers are super nice, offering me all sorts of extras but they keep passing glances at me too, like I'm some exotic specimen... I can only imagine what it'd be like if I eat there formally!

On the other hand, I hate watching my boyfriend work in the kitchen. I've done functions at his place before and when he gets frustrated (with a wrong order, too many orders at one time, with having to hold canapes, etc) it absolutely pains me. And even though he loves the adrenaline when the kitchen gets slammed, watching all that tension makes me ill.