To be really annoyed about boss making a big deal out of this?

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I work in a kitchen (for context).

We cook a full English breakfast as part of our menu including bacon & sausage. This morning my boss comes in and starts complaining at me because he wants me to dry off each individual piece of meat (bacon/sausage) with blue roll by hand after cooking it in the pan because, in his words, he thinks they look too greasy and 'like a greasy spoon'.

Aibu to think this is ridiculous? I know he wants everything to look perfect but I think people ordering bacon and sausages would expect a certain amount of grease and this is an unreasonable waste of time when we are busy??

[KimmySchmidtsSmile]

He is right but it depends on whether you are a naice cafe or a greasy spoon caff for the likes of me! How much are you charging and where are you located? Truck stop or all night cafe or B+B?

[IsItGinTimeYet]

If it leaves a shine ok, if it leaves grease on the plate then not ok.

[EastMidsMummy]

Unreasonable waste of time to prepare food so it looks nice? No. Not unreasonable.

[VimFuego101]

I always put bacon/ sausages on kitchen roll to soak up the fat. If there is visible fat on the plate then he's probably not being unreasonable tbh.

[Energumene]

I think he's unreasonable to ask you to use blue roll, which will likely leave bits of blue on the food, and on each separate item. That's grim and daft. He would not be unreasonable to ask you to drain the food briefly on a tray lined with a couple of sheets of Plenty (which doesn't shed like blue roll) before serving it, though - it's definitely more attractive when not obviously drowned in grease. There's surely a middle ground here somewhere.

[PlaymobilPirate]

He's the boss - he gets to decide how food is presented.

[DecaffCoffeeAndRollupsPlease]

Can you try to just incorporate it into the workflow so it doesn't feel like too much extra work? While bacon is cooking, set up area where it drains, put it on there straight after cooking, just before putting on plates?

Agree that a middle ground can be found, so maybe not doing each piece individually but making sure excess grease comes off.

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

Yes, he gets to decide pirate, but is he being unreasonable?

The place is a nice-ish one, not a greasy spoon but not a five star hotel either, somewhere in the middle. We're not talking food items absolutely dripping in grease, just a normal amount of grease when bacon/sausages are cooked.

The problem arises when it is busy. I don't have an issue doing it when it is dead quite but when I have 6 breakfasts at once and it takes about 10 seconds to dry off each piece of meat that is 4 extra minutes added on to that order, which means that the food will be cold when it goes out. I should add that the business in question is in a converted house so we only have a normal, domestic kitchen stove/oven to cook on not any professional kitchen equipment and everything is cooked to order not in advance which makes it even harder!

[APomInOz]

Grill instead of frying??

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I tried that but it takes waaaay too long, only a crappy domestic grill that refuses to stay lit!

[fatmomma99]

Don't think he's being U. Sorry. I don't want to eat things swimming in fat, and when ever I cook bacon, I leave it to 'crisp' on kitchen towel. Not quite the same for sausages.

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

Would you prefer your food to be cold instead of hot and take 20 minutes instead of 15 fatmomma? Because that is the difference between what I want to do and what he wants me to do. The food isn't swimming in grease it's just not perfectly dry like how wants it to be iyswim.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

It has never before occurred to me that "drying" fried meat is a thing. It is early in the day to learning new things!

[RealityCheque]

You simply put a Pyrex dish in the oven with some kitchen roll in with the oven on low.

When cooked, chuck it in the dish while you prepare other food. It will stay warm and drain at the same time.

You really are making a fuss about nothing here, IMO. I wouldn't go back somewhere that was unnecessarily greasy

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Just have the piece of paper roll at the ready next to you, laid out, put ALL the sausages and bacon on it, pat it quickly, excess drip will be soaked up and there will still be enough shine on it for it to be palatable and almost no heat will be lost.

Hand-wiping each piece is excessive, IMO.

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I can't do that either reality, boss also complained about me putting a squeezy bottle of oil 'too close' to the stove he would have a fit if I put kitchen roll in the oven. Plus we don't have any Pyrex dishes (only metal trays). Or kitchen roll. Plus it still wouldn't solve the probelm of getting blue and/or blue bits all over the food or it taking too long.

As I have explained multiple times it's not unnecessarily greasy, just a normal amount of fat on the meat. Do people really expect meat to be completely dry and grease free?

[Nocabbageinmyeye]

10 seconds to dry off each piece of meat??? You are the one making a big deal out of this! He is your boss and your being dramatic, plus he is right

[Nocabbageinmyeye]

Blue roll is designed for industrial use/cleaning, I'm sure it can withstand the rub of a sausage

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I'm sorry cabbage, are you a professional chef? Do you or have you ever worked in a kitchen and know how difficult a job it is? It really does take that long to dry off each piece in this instance, the boss demonstrated how he wanted it done this morning to me (when we were closed and had no customers I might add) and that's how long it took.

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I have tried that thumb, unfortunately boss wants each piece to be blotted both sides not just drained on one piece. It's very frustrating. Not least because it is a waste of time and paper but mostly because he doesn't actually ever work in the bloody cafe at all let alone the kitchen so he just swans in and gives his orders while I'm working my ass off to get the food out without any concept of how his orders actually work in the kitchen or how I'm supposed to do the things he wants with very very limited kitchen equipment and space.

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Blue roll can break up when grease is involved, especially if it sticks to the sausages (have used it a lot in the past, although not for food, and it can disintegrate)

But you could still work around this - have a metal tray lined with the paper roll so you can move it away from the oven if necessary, again place the sausages/bacon on it as soon as they're done, quick pat, food on plate, job done.

If your boss is both demanding that you do this but putting obstacles in the way of you doing it efficiently then yes, HIBU. But try and work round it.

[RealityCheque]

Metal tray would be fine - Pyrex was an example.

Roll in an oven on low is not the same as flammable liquid near a potentially very hot hob.

Please stop making excuses. Fried meat should always be dried off where possible. Heart attacks are not good for repeat business!!!

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Easiest way to do it is to have one piece of paper in the tray, and another to pat the top - this is what I do at home but with kitchen roll, not the blue stuff.
If he's not there, how can he tell?

[VioletBam]

I dry meat....it doesn't take long. Lay it on a sheet of paper and then pop another on top...lightly press. Done.

[Egosumgism]

Of course he isn't being unreasonable. The food would be usually be taken to the chef plating (head chef) on a blue roll-lined tray to avoid it being too greasyvin the same way you'd use kitchen roll at home.

The cooked sausages on a blue roll lined platter only need to be rolled around for 2 seconds to remove the excess grease.

It also doesn't really matter if he is being unreasonable. As long as it's legal, you can either do what he tells you or look for a new job.