Episode 8: "Common Threads" Options

[WhataJoke]

Actor, the thing is.........

If they had such access to a good Top Chef Pantry... that makes many of the meals even more disappointing. Frankly, even more confounding.

With access to the Pantry, then Mark's own dish warrants even greater criticism. A so-called "Red Curry" without the ingredients that make a "Red Curry."

Stephie's dish, whether it was or wasn't intended to be a Mafe, missing the seasonings that would make it reasonable. Lisa's under-seasoned, under-composed beans.

Makes sense to give them access to some kind of pantry, every family making $10 dinners does draw from their pantry every day. But if that pantry was available, why such drek on the plate?

Here is the quote from Mark's blog:
"Tom stated that I didn’t spend my money wisely at Wholefoods. Well the truth is that the only ingredients not included in my $10 was salt and a cup of rice.I felt the other competitors relied heavily on the ingredients that were supplied in the kitchen and their dishes did not reflect a meal for $10."

Marks Blog

So not only is the challange a sham but Tom is using the paramiters of it to leverage out maybe the only contestant who actually tried to follow the rules. And Tom has no excuse for being iggnorant to what was going on as he was in the kitchen the whole time.

[actor59]

Actor, the thing is.........

If they had such access to a good Top Chef Pantry... that makes many of the meals even more disappointing. Frankly, even more confounding.

With access to the Pantry, then Mark's own dish warrants even greater criticism. A so-called "Red Curry" without the ingredients that make a "Red Curry."

Stephie's dish, whether it was or wasn't intended to be a Mafe, missing the seasonings that would make it reasonable. Lisa's under-seasoned, under-composed beans.

Makes sense to give them access to some kind of pantry, every family making $10 dinners does draw from their pantry every day. But if that pantry was available, why such drek on the plate?

Simon Think the confuseing thing for most at home cooks is what we have in our Panty's at home...lol You look in mine you'll fined assorted dry herbs and spices... gravy mixes, pasta canned goods, sugar, flour etc.

Lee Anne restocks the TC Pantry on every challenge so what is in our pantry at home dose not reall compare to their expensive Pantry ingredients.. things like Truffle oil, the best Virgin Olive Oil, fresh herbs maybe a rare spice you get my drift.

On Marks blog he stuck pretty much to the $10 budget except for a cup of rice and some salt. In his Defence of his curry he said the challenge was for a family of 4 and it turned out to be 4 kids instead .. he said if he had know that in advance he would have made a more kid friendly curry instead.

[WhataJoke]

It seems so clear now not one contestant was able to make their food for 4 dish under the percribed $10 budget... Mark was the closest he only used Salt and a cup of Rice from the pantry every thing else he got at Whole Foods.

I guess one could argue that well you could do it by buying the main ingredients at Whole Foods and then use what ever you have in your home pantry and it still would not count against you $10 budget. I say it is bending the rules to serve your purpose.

I know they thought Marks Food tasted the worst ergo he goes home.... but in all fairness I would love too see just how much each dish would have cost if the free stuff in the pantry would have been added up seperately?

If graded on a curve at judges table with that extra Free cost in mind then the contestant with the least amount of freebies would add a little more veto power to that contestant. In other words Mark followed the contest pretty much to the letter and had what lets say $2 over budget so his meal for 4 would cost $12 and the closest one to the contest. Nikki on the other hand used the free fresh herbs in the pantry and a few other ingrediants so lets say $15 in Freebies so her dish cost $25 in reality.

Oh well Marks Food was the worst tasteing so he goes and that is that.

Just curious on each contestant the Freebies in the pantry would have added on to their $10 budget... things that make you go hmmmm.

Marks food being labeled the "worst tasting" gets more and more dubious
all the time. LeeAnne said his wasn't bad but wasn't great either. That's a far cry from Padma's assertion that Stephanie's food was disgusting.

[SimonBao]

Marks food being labeled the "worst tasting" gets more and more dubious
all the time. LeeAnne said his wasn't bad but wasn't great either. That's a far cry from Padma's assertion that Stephanie's food was disgusting.

Whata....

The chefs could have been tasked with preparing meals for the children at St. Margaret's Home for Adorable Orphans with Life-Threatening Allergies.

Mark could have fed those children shrimp in cream sauce with high-gluten noodles garnished with peanuts, there could be dead bodies all over the children's rec room, anaphylactic shock everywhere....

You'd still find some way to assert that Mark being sent home proves Your One Grand Point and that it's all conspiracy and fraud.

I suppose it is possible that the good sisters at St. Margaret's are involved in some scheme.

Season Five of Top Chef. Watch What Happens. The Knights Templar conspire with The Chaines de Rotisseurs, which is the Dining Arm of the Priory of Sion, in some plot that includes Colicchio and Andy Cohen and Top Chef's first Albino Cheftestant, to ensure that the popular favorite Cheftestant who is also Heir and Last Scion doesn't discover that the Holy Grail is in fact the Mixmaster Bowl in the TC kitchen...

Hence, the peanuts....

[actor59]

Marks food being labeled the "worst tasting" gets more and more dubious
all the time. LeeAnne said his wasn't bad but wasn't great either. That's a far cry from Padma's assertion that Stephanie's food was disgusting.

Oh don't get me wrong WAJ I'm with you on this one I really believed Steph was going to be the one PYKAG.... if you notice I have not really posted about this last epi much untill today it took me a week to really try and see what disturbed me about this whole challenge. I enjoyed the epi but $10 on a family of 4 from Whole Foods just threw me for a loop.

I personally think after reading Marks blog that he was thrown two curve balls one The contest was a Family of 4 not 4 kids... as you know had he known that in advance instead of takeing Padmas word for it about the contest... he would of made a kid friendly curry dish.

Yes Tom hated Stephs dish I was thinking she was makeing a Satay or something but she was trying for an African twist hint the Tomato... Tom hated it but the guest judge liked it hense she got a pass according to the Bravo Editors blog...

So instead of jumping into the fray of the worst dish not going home I wanted to ponder it over and investigate all points. Thank you for pointing me the right direction with Marks Blog .... it answered alot of my questions.

Oh and by the way I loved his blog he is not vindictive or bitter about the whole thing.. was just shocked he got sent home...

[WhataJoke]

Whata....

The chefs could have been tasked with preparing meals for the children at St. Margaret's Home for Adorable Orphans with Life-Threatening Allergies.

Mark could have fed those children shrimp in cream sauce with high-gluten noodles garnished with peanuts, there could be dead bodies all over the children's rec room, anaphylactic shock everywhere....

You'd still find some way to assert that Mark being sent home proves Your One Grand Point and that it's all conspiracy and fraud.

I suppose it is possible that the good sisters at St. Margaret's are involved in some scheme.

Season Five of Top Chef. Watch What Happens. The Knights Templar conspire with The Chaines de Rotisseurs, which is the Dining Arm of the Priory of Sion, in some plot that includes Colicchio and Andy Cohen and Top Chef's first Albino Cheftestant, to ensure that the popular favorite Cheftestant who is also Heir and Last Scion doesn't discover that the Holy Grail is in fact the Mixmaster Bowl in the TC kitchen...

Hence, the peanuts....

Uh well if they did serve the food at St. Margaret's Home for Adorable Orphans with Life-Threatening Allergies Stephanie's food would have been the most deadly!

Simon you may think that I'm as crazy as you say but the fact is that time after time I can come up with tid bits here and there that support my argument. Where there is smoke there is fire and this show has been billowing smoke since the end of season 1.

Hysterically funny post btw. Steve Jackson games should hire you to write for the next edition of Illuminati.

[SimonBao]

Season Five of Top Chef. Watch What Happens. The Knights Templar conspire with The Chaines de Rotisseurs, which is the Dining Arm of the Priory of Sion, in some plot that includes Colicchio and Andy Cohen and Top Chef's first Albino Cheftestant, to ensure that the popular favorite Cheftestant who is also Heir and Last Scion doesn't discover that the Holy Grail is in fact the Mixmaster Bowl in the TC kitchen...

It goes without saying that in any such conspiracy, Andy Cohen would of course be an unwitting participant.

That man's head could be on fire, he'd be the last person in the room to realize it.

But speaking of Cohen, anyone know why there haven't been any Watch What Happens interviews and call-ins? Those half-hour programs he was doing last season with ex-cheftestants or with judges?

[Radyms13]

Kinda butting in here because I found this very interesting!



Chris Borrelli had a good article in the Chicago Tribune last week about tips and how they get disbursed. I think the article made some great points, especially about what I consider an exploitative behavior of some restaurants which charge a percentage of the waiter’s tip to cover credit card processing fees, as if it’s the waiter’s fault the restaurant accepts plastic.

Assuming the restaurant doesn’t pay a flat processing fee to the credit card company, I might buy into the idea of sharing a percentage of the cost of a tip on an exceedingly large gratuity, since the restaurant would have to pay a greater processing fee without receiving any portion of the tip. Of course, I’d more likely accept that premise if restaurants started treating their waiters as real business partners and paid them full minimum wage.

One aspect that wasn’t covered in the article which I think bears some attention is the long simmering tension between the front of the house (i.e. the service staff) and the back of the house (the cooks and dishwashers etc), particularly in high end restaurants, which is often exacerbated by the tip system.



In elite restaurants, many chefs work a minimum of 14 hour days, and that’s a conservative estimate. I know of many local restaurants where’s it’s not uncommon to pull the occasional or regular 80-90 hour work week as a line cook.

In those same establishments, waiters tend to come in a few hours later and are often the first to leave at the end of the service. Now, I’m not arguing that servers don’t work hard. They stand on their feet and carry heavy plates and cases of wine for hours on end. Likewise, good service requires a unique and valuable skill set, like the ability to cultivate a relationship with a customer and be exacting without being too overbearing, something chefs can’t always do. At the end of the day, from what I’ve seen, the front of house work is usually cleaner, more air-conditioned, and many of these folks work a few less hours.

That being said, even if servers and line cooks worked the same hours or had exactly similar responsibilities, the disparity in their wages, especially at these high end establishments is extraordinary. At the really high end spots, it’s not uncommon for servers to pull in $60-80,000 while a typical line cook makes $24-28,000 dollars.

Part of the reason for the disparity is that restaurants generally subsidize the full labor cost of a kitchen worker, whereas, the server’s salary is subsidized by customer tips. Servers would argue that because tips are variable and they assume some risk in working for them, they deserve the spoils. That’s very true at the low end, though also not as consequential, because the disparity between servers and kitchen staff is much smaller on the low end of dining.

At high end restaurants, with educated wealthy clientele, average tip percentages are rarely below 18%, and in some cases, I know many average slightly above 20% because the experiences are so extraordinary. Servers at those places might argue that the reason tips are so high is strictly because of the service, but when’s the last time you said, hey I need to go to that restaurant because I hear they have kick ass servers? It’s a good bet you’re going because you read about a sweet dish from awesome chef X, which is likely prepared by a brigade of overworked and underpaid line cooks. Subconsciously, there’s no question most diners at this level are tipping well because they ate well.

I think this makes for an argument for some kind of shared pooling system to honor the contribution of the cooks and support staff. Doing so, might even free restaurants so they don’t have to spend as much of their working capital on kitchen salaries, and they might be able to lower food prices or provide better overall dining experiences.

Though the reason cooks tend to work such ridiculous hours now is because one way restaurants compensate for the low margins earned on food is by hiring less staff than they really need. I’d bet even if they had to pay less in labor costs through such a system, prices on menus probably wouldn’t drop much.

The problem of creating such shared system is that federal department of labor rules state: Tipped employees may not be required to share their tips with employees who have not customarily and regularly participated in tip pooling arrangements, such as dishwashers, cooks, chefs, and janitors.

There is a way to legally create a pooled system, though, and that’s to charge a flat service fee. A service fee is not considered a tip, and allows the restaurant to share the fee however they choose within the infrastructure of the restaurant. That’s the model that Per Se in New York follows.

The main complaint about such a system is that it robs the diner of the ability to award great service or punish bad service. Generally speaking, there may be a gaffe or two, but in my experience there’s no such thing as bad service at places like Per Se, Alinea, or Charlie Trotters.

Another problem is that technically the restaurant can do whatever it wants with such a fee, and there’s no guarantee anyone will see the return in salaries. Though I would guess high end places would disburse honorably.

The other problem with a service fee is that now in the diner’s mind a fixed meal price that used to be $200 just became $240+ with a 20% service fee. The psychological barrier of being compelled to pay a higher price, even though you were probably going to do so voluntarily is tough to get past, and could hurt a restaurant or cause customers to flock elsewhere.

Likewise, servers would rebel, because such a system would likely depress wages and reduce the amount they used to earn. Though, as I mentioned, I believe cooks have gotten stuck with the short end of the stick for years, and an adjustment needs to occur to honor their contribution and create better overall working relations.

My argument is not to reduce anyone’s wages though, and so I might even suggest a higher mandatory service fee if people can’t make a fair wage. On the other hand if a server who used to make 80,000 now makes 60,000 and a cook moves up to 50,000 as a result of such a system, it’s tough to argue that someone’s not receiving a fair wage.

Ultimately, I think what Borrelli’s article and my summation here address is that diners should understand where their dollars are going and what they’re buying when they dine out. Assuming restaurants aren’t making money hand over fist and just not taking care of their employees, there is some responsibility on the part of the diner to ensure a healthy restaurant industry.

I realize, in such a poor economy, everyone’s worried about their next move and every dollar spent. The idea of accepting any kind of burden of responsibility is really tough to swallow. On the other hand, as a freelance food writer who tends to make more in the ballpark of a line cook than a high end server, I still support paying slightly more, tipping a bit more, or encouraging a shared pool if it helps improve service, food, and ultimately the livelihood of those workers. It’s an easy proposition for me, because the work I’ve seen the workers in this industry do is extraordinary and also extraordinarily hard and I believe they deserve it. Of course, we all do.

[Radyms13]

Hmmmm

Much food for thought ....intended.....BUT
I'll let Tele take this one.
Oh...will he be happy.

Tipping out is a BIG deal.

I godda' think about it for real....As a waitress in my heart...or server..or whatever. Waitress sounds so Flo..... But I'm honored
to be one in my heart and wish I could still.
My snooty real estate appraiser cousin when I told her I would be doon' it if I could she said.

Oh well it was fine for when I was in college.
NO not me.......Tis fine always.

Yeah... she's out of a job now and waitresses
are still doon' it...bJ and I love to serve
peeps and make them happy...If you do that you will make a ton of money....As bJ said they are always our guests.


Seriously tele will telle all here...I 'm actually getting excited Servers LOVE to tawk tips.

I think there are some interesting points brought up. I'm not saying I agree with everything, but it certainly does give one *food* for thought!

Very interested in Tele's opinion and everyone elses---we have a day to go before Wedding Wars---just trying to stir the pot a little!

[mdalef]

I'm a new poster, but I've been a fan of the show since it started. I record every episode and watch them, sometimes more than once, depending on which one of my family want's to see it.

The challenge was good and I loved that they brought the kids into it. I think it's a bit silly that they gave them $10 and sent them to Whole Foods to shop? Who in thier right mind would shop at Whole Foods if they were on a real budget? and who believes that they paid retail there and came out of the store with more than a smoothie and a supliment pack.

Get real.

[actor59]

I think there are some interesting points brought up. I'm not saying I agree with everything, but it certainly does give one *food* for thought!

Very interested in Tele's opinion and everyone elses---we have a day to go before Wedding Wars---just trying to stir the pot a little!

Well Rady Here in NOLA a waitor only makes $2.13 an hour so we really do live off our tips... we do not actually recieve a pay check because it goes towards our Taxes..... Most reastaurants here do have the front of the house share their tips the hostess, busser, runner, and Kitchen as well a percentage wich is all good and well but you do have to realize that those positions are not Tipped employees and do not claim those tips as cash recieved on taxes because they do not have too. Plus they make Min. wage we do not because we are tipped employees. Not to mention we get taxed on the gross amounts of the credit card tips.... so one can fudge a little on cash tips recieved. Credit card tips are always reported.... no way to get around that and it comes out of the waitors pocket.

Not saying that all States only pay $2.13 an hour only those of us lucky to live in Right To Work states are..... When I lived in Cali I worked Corparate Restaurant.... Red Lobster ( Yes Andre and Tim were Regs.) the thing about corparate was not only did I get raises but Insurance and paid vacations as well. By the Time I moved to NOLA I was makeing $9 an hour salary had a 3 week paid vacation that included the tips I had made yearly... so in that setting I did not mind the way all my tips were taxed because I always had a pay check every week plus my Tips I took home each night. Plus a 401 K plan, insurance, paid vacation....

Here however it would not be prudent to work for Red Lobster because you would end up paying the corparation the right to work for them... I would of taken a huge cut in pay....

So I guess what I'm trying to say is it depends on the state you work in...

[Radyms13]

Well Rady Here in NOLA a waitor only makes $2.13 an hour so we really do live off our tips... we do not actually recieve a pay check because it goes towards our Taxes..... Most reastaurants here do have the front of the house share their tips the hostess, busser, runner, and Kitchen as well a percentage wich is all good and well but you do have to realize that those positions are not Tipped employees and do not claim those tips as cash recieved on taxes because they do not have too. Plus they make Min. wage we do not because we are tipped employees. Not to mention we get taxed on the gross amounts of the credit card tips.... so one can fudge a little on cash tips recieved. Credit card tips are always reported.... no way to get around that and it comes out of the waitors pocket.

Not saying that all States only pay $2.13 an hour only those of us lucky to live in Right To Work states are..... When I lived in Cali I worked Corparate Restaurant.... Red Lobster ( Yes Andre and Tim were Regs.) the thing about corparate was not only did I get raises but Insurance and paid vacations as well. By the Time I moved to NOLA I was makeing $9 an hour salary had a 3 week paid vacation that included the tips I had made yearly... so in that setting I did not mind the way all my tips were taxed because I always had a pay check every week plus my Tips I took home each night. Plus a 401 K plan, insurance, paid vacation....

Here however it would not be prudent to work for Red Lobster because you would end up paying the corparation the right to work for them... I would of taken a huge cut in pay....

So I guess what I'm trying to say is it depends on the state you work in...

Michigan is right to work also. I used to be the bookkeeper/payroll at a bar/restaurant so I understand how servers are paid (or not paid).

I tip in cash for that very reason. My mom worked her butt off and provided a living on tips for quite a few years.

I thought the article was interesting and maybe would give people something to think about when they dine out. I think many are so interested in their experience and pleasure that they don't think about the folks who work and how they are paid.

This post has been edited by Radyms13: May 6, 2008 - 02:33 PM

[teleburst]

Tele I can see your point but I think your streching it lol.... too me any way the challenge is $10 for 4 people not 8. I think the judges get food only from the challenge not extra food cooked for them... we have what 8 or 9 contestants still cooking and I think they plate the food acordingly to however many dishes are needed that is why to me any way the portions are so small.

I could be wrong cause I have read where Leann has tasted each dish as well from the contestants... so who knows how much food each of them have to prepare for everyone involved?

Well, Lee Ann has always said that they are told exactly how many dishes that they have to prepare. Therefore, we know that in this particular challenge, they had to prepare at least 8 dishes (and maybe she specifies another 2 extra dishes - one for photo and one for her, although I get the idea that she just sort of tastes along with the judges). The challenge is indeed to prepare a dinner for 4 for $10. But this doesn't mean that you have to shop separately for 4 and then again for another 4 and have to double up on your bunches of parsley, thyme, etc. Preparing a dinner for 8 gives you the ability to spread your costs out a little better, so your $20 goes a little further than only being able to spend $10 on the ingredients for a dinner for 4.

Talk about about prices - I can't even afford reggiano parmesano anymore, even at Kroger. $16 for a thin little sliver? <cue Jon Stewart's outraged voice> Dammmmn you, US Dollar! And the prices for herbs? Outrageous. I've started growing my own on my front porch. It's nice to smell Thai basil, rosemary and sage on my way to work. $2.50 for a little plastic sleeve of rosemary? GMAB.

Ramen is still dirt cheap though <g>

I do find a real lack of thinking on the part of producers demanding that the CTs shop in a high-end boutique grocery store for a "feed the family for $10 challenge". On that we're totally agreed.

Where's the ramen challenge when you need one?

[WhataJoke]

Where's the ramen challenge when you need one?

When Top Ramen ponies up the cash to be a sponsor. Then well get the Top Ramen Top Chef Top Challenge!

I should run Bravo's media department.

[actor59]

Well, Lee Ann has always said that they are told exactly how many dishes that they have to prepare. Therefore, we know that in this particular challenge, they had to prepare at least 8 dishes (and maybe she specifies another 2 extra dishes - one for photo and one for her, although I get the idea that she just sort of tastes along with the judges). The challenge is indeed to prepare a dinner for 4 for $10. But this doesn't mean that you have to shop separately for 4 and then again for another 4 and have to double up on your bunches of parsley, thyme, etc. Preparing a dinner for 8 gives you the ability to spread your costs out a little better, so your $20 goes a little further than only being able to spend $10 on the ingredients for a dinner for 4.

Talk about about prices - I can't even afford reggiano parmesano anymore, even at Kroger. $16 for a thin little sliver? <cue Jon Stewart's outraged voice> Dammmmn you, US Dollar! And the prices for herbs? Outrageous. I've started growing my own on my front porch. It's nice to smell Thai basil, rosemary and sage on my way to work. $2.50 for a little plastic sleeve of rosemary? GMAB.

Ramen is still dirt cheap though <g>

I do find a real lack of thinking on the part of producers demanding that the CTs shop in a high-end boutique grocery store for a "feed the family for $10 challenge". On that we're totally agreed.

Where's the ramen challenge when you need one?

No I think you and I agree but while you were at work we found Marks blog and it really opened my eyes as to how the chefs completed this $10 challenge...... Brilkes Blog said they contacted Bravo to clarrify about the Pantry use but they still claim it is just like any other Kitchen pantry....

Well if that is the case where are my fresh herbs and Truffle Oils and high end Olive Oils?

I Had to laugh at one of the blogs they had a caption that said " What $10 will not even let you look at the cheeses alone Here at Whole Foods" That about sums it up for me....

This post has been edited by actor59: May 6, 2008 - 03:06 PM

[teleburst]

Well Rady Here in NOLA a waitor only makes $2.13 an hour so we really do live off our tips... we do not actually recieve a pay check because it goes towards our Taxes..... Most reastaurants here do have the front of the house share their tips the hostess, busser, runner, and Kitchen as well a percentage wich is all good and well but you do have to realize that those positions are not Tipped employees and do not claim those tips as cash recieved on taxes because they do not have too. Plus they make Min. wage we do not because we are tipped employees. Not to mention we get taxed on the gross amounts of the credit card tips.... so one can fudge a little on cash tips recieved. Credit card tips are always reported.... no way to get around that and it comes out of the waitors pocket.

Not saying that all States only pay $2.13 an hour only those of us lucky to live in Right To Work states are..... When I lived in Cali I worked Corparate Restaurant.... Red Lobster ( Yes Andre and Tim were Regs.) the thing about corparate was not only did I get raises but Insurance and paid vacations as well. By the Time I moved to NOLA I was makeing $9 an hour salary had a 3 week paid vacation that included the tips I had made yearly... so in that setting I did not mind the way all my tips were taxed because I always had a pay check every week plus my Tips I took home each night. Plus a 401 K plan, insurance, paid vacation....

Here however it would not be prudent to work for Red Lobster because you would end up paying the corparation the right to work for them... I would of taken a huge cut in pay....

So I guess what I'm trying to say is it depends on the state you work in...

One quick correction - nobody gets (or should get) taxed on anything other than what they actually make and what's reported on the W2, which is based on the reported tips and if a restaurant is reporting gross tips before tipout as income, they are not only wrong, they are cheating you. The only thing that should be reported is your after-tipout tips, i.e., the money that you walk with in your pocket at the end of the night. You do have to report your gross tips, but you shouldn't be taxed on that. You should also be subtracting out any tipout amounts to come to a net figure and THAT'S what you should be taxed on.

I don't know about LA, since the Napoleonic Code thing there is weird, but it's against federal law to require tipping out to "normally not-tipped employees" like managers and kitchen people.

And when you say that the paycheck goes toward taxes, let me emphasize to non-restaurant people that it doesn't begin to cover all of the Federal income tax. Unless we kick in additional money out of pocket throughout the year, withholding falls well short of our actual taxes in April. For instance, I owed $2800 this year. There's just not enough 2.13 money to go around. So, we get a zero check and still owe a bunch toward taxes.

Oh yeah, technically those recipients of your tipouts are supposed to claim them as income. Every restaurant I've worked in has made bussers and food runners declare what we give them, mainly because we actually have reported those tipouts ourselves as a reduction of OUR income. It doesn't surprise me that some restaurants don't do that though.

[dogabone]

No I think you and I agree but while you were at work we found Marks blog and it really opened my eyes as to how the chefs completed this $10 challenge...... Brilkes Blog said they contacted Bravo to clarrify about the Pantry use but they still claim it is just like any other Kitchen pantry....

Well if that is the case where are my fresh herbs and Truffle Oils and high end Olive Oils?

I Had to laugh at one of the blogs they had a caption that said " What $10 will not even let you look at the cheeses alone Here at Whole Foods" That about sums it up for me....

The whole trick is to line your pockets with plastic bags and hit all the sample stations in the store, filling your pockets with little cheese cubes, triangles of pita, fresh salsa, and hummus—at least that's what's constantly on sample display at my local Whole Foods!

[teleburst]

Oh and by the way I loved his blog he is not vindictive or bitter about the whole thing.. was just shocked he got sent home...

Yeah, I thought he was pretty classy about it.

That was an interesting point about the guest judge. He seemed to be pretty uncritical when it came to dishes, at least in his blog. I just have a hard time seeing how he would like a "curry" made with only equal proportions of cumin, cinnamon and tamarind as seasonings. And who knows why he would like Stephanie's dish when two other judges seem to dislike it intensely? He seemed the kind of guy who didn't want to say bad things about anyone's sincere efforts. Maybe we're also forgetting the kids. Perhaps they were swayed by the peanut butter and maybe they liked it better than some of even the more "refined" dishes (we'll probably never know that one, just that they liked Mark's dish the least). Kids sometimes like "mushy" things after all.

[actor59]

One quick correction - nobody gets (or should get) taxed on anything other than what they actually make and what's reported on the W2, which is based on the reported tips and if a restaurant is reporting gross tips before tipout as income, they are not only wrong, they are cheating you. The only thing that should be reported is your after-tipout tips, i.e., the money that you walk with in your pocket at the end of the night. You do have to report your gross tips, but you shouldn't be taxed on that. You should also be subtracting out any tipout amounts to come to a net figure and THAT'S what you should be taxed on.

I don't know about LA, since the Napoleonic Code thing there is weird, but it's against federal law to require tipping out to "normally not-tipped employees" like managers and kitchen people.

And when you say that the paycheck goes toward taxes, let me emphasize to non-restaurant people that it doesn't begin to cover all of the Federal income tax. Unless we kick in additional money out of pocket throughout the year, withholding falls well short of our actual taxes in April. For instance, I owed $2800 this year. There's just not enough 2.13 money to go around. So, we get a zero check and still owe a bunch toward taxes.

Oh yeah, technically those recipients of your tipouts are supposed to claim them as income. Every restaurant I've worked in has made bussers and food runners declare what we give them, mainly because we actually have reported those tipouts ourselves as a reduction of OUR income. It doesn't surprise me that some restaurants don't do that though.

Oh I know your preaching to the choir here lol.. but this is NOLA and they do things here that the rest of the states do not. And your right about haveing to owe even though my entire check or lack of goes to pay taxes. But No they un tipped employes do not claim it they call it beer money here...lol

I mean we can itamize if we want for Uniforms, dry cleaning etc.. but it is a waste of Time really you still end up oweing so you put some money away each week to give to the IRS.... that is why I love getting cash tips no matter what they can't prove how much you made that night.. I know naughty of me but I gota live too...lol

I got out of the restaurant business right after Katrina because I really could not afford to live off of it any more.

But even though my last job was as a Barrista I made $6 an hour plus tips so I was pulling around $3000. a month but I still had to pay taxes this year but atleast I was makeing a better living without the head aches of a true restaurant.

[SecondTry]

that is why I love getting cash tips no matter what they can't prove how much you made that night..

You know, that never occured to me, and I've been putting tips on my credit card for years.....