At the digital kitchen table, today’s hot topics include chef Gordon Ramsay blowing his top when an restaurant wouldn’t allow a substitution, chef Tyler Florence’s advice for how to make kids meals healthier, and strategies for shopping exotic markets that are loaded with unfamiliar ingredients.
Should restaurants allow substitutions?:
Earlier this week, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay (of TV’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Masterchef,” which returns for its second season on Monday) flew into a blind rage over the way he was treated at a Southern California restaurant, when a request for a menu substitution was turned down. Normally, Ramsay blowing a gasket wouldn’t qualify as news, since it happens on a near-hourly basis. But that changes when you throw Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, into the tale. Suddenly you’ve got some juicy restaurant gossip.
Ramsay was having lunch on Tuesday at the Venice restaurant Gjelina with Beckham, a good friend who is eight months pregnant with her fourth child. Beckham ordered a smoked trout salad and asked to have it served with the dressing on the side. According to the menu, the salad is made with grapefruit, avocado, red onion and lemon, and that sounded like ample flavor to her. While the restaurant’s menu clearly states its no-substitutions policy, Ramsay couldn’t believe they’d turn down such a simple request. So he went public.
“The lady’s pregnant!” Ramsay told the Times. “No one is asking to be fussy…. I still think that’s the customer’s prerogative. … It was a sour note. I don’t think customers should be treated that way. That might not be the way I choose to eat it, but that’s what the customer wants.”
When Times’ reporter Rene Lynch called the restaurant to ask what happened, the manager asked “So you would like to know about our ‘no substitutions’ policy? It’s clearly stated on the menu. Have a nice day,” and hung up on her.
I can understand chefs not being too keen on having their menus treated as mix-and-match affairs, particularly when they’ve put a lot of thought into flavor combinations and presentations. But asking to have salad dressing served on the side is a common and simple request. I do it all the time because cooks often are heavy-handed with salad dressing, turning a meal that ought to be healthy into one that’s a caloric nightmare. And what if a diner has a food allergy? Would they still be so hard-nosed about a substitution?
So what do you think? Is asking for salad dressing on the side opening up a Pandora’s box that will lead to madness in the kitchen? Should high-end restaurant allow menu substitutions to keep customers happy?
A chef’s advice for serving healthier meals for kids:
If you’re a parent of a fussy eater, you’re probably frustrated with dinner table wars over eating vegetables. Chef
for making healthy meals attractive to young palates. For starters, make sure that the very first spoonful they eat is something that’s delicious and nutritious. And if the kids are older, think fruit and roasted vegetables, which both appeal to sweet tooths.
Strategies for shopping in unfamiliar markets:
Portland has an abundance of ethnic and specialty markets, but if you don’t shop at them regularly, all those bottles of hot sauce, cans of coconut milk and unusual spices can be overwhelming.
. Start by watching which products other shoppers pick up. The experienced ones will know which brands are the very best.
