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Could I send the meal back to the kitchen?


Kitty
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In a pavement cafe/restaurant yesterday, I ordered "moules a la creme".  There was no explanation on the blackboard or menu and I didn't ask the waitress because I assumed that it would be mussels in a creamy white sauce.  It wasn't.  It was a ghastly yellow heavily curried sauce with spicy peppers, which I struggled to eat.

Firstly, is "moules a la creme" usually curried?

Secondly, according to French protocol, could I have sent it back?

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Yes, I think you could have sent it back - if there was no mention of curry, since "a la creme" doesn't necessarily mean curry. You might be allergic to curry, after all.

I don't often "send back" a dish. But I have done on occasion - once, when the chicken was clearly very undercooked (eeek, campylobacter poisoning, here we come!!!). Another time, when my mussels must have been left cooking for a whole week and were completely dried up and rubbery. And another time at a posh restaurant, when my Aubrac steak was practically inedible as it was so tough - and not seared, just way overcooked as in "steamed" - it might have come from Aubrac, but died on the way... Prior to that, I had always poo-pooed any mention of "tough French steak", since I am one of those people who likes their beef a little costaud, crunchy, and who doesn't mind gristle.[:P].

So, Cathy, yes, I would have sent back the curried creamy mussels, pointing out that there was no mention of curry in the name, and that you just canot eat curry (even if it's a white lie).

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Cathy, looking on the positive side at least you found something unique that many are looking for, in nearly 5 years of searching for even a moderately spiced curry I have yet to find anything remotely close, although all have been the ghastly toxic waste yellow colour!
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[quote user="Bugbear"]Always a difficult subject which, even if handled with the utmost courtesy, can result in unspeakeable things being done to your food in the bowels of the kitchen. .[/quote]

My husband is always convinced they either spit on it or wipe the meat somewhere unmentionable, he will never send food back (which was why 'we had to' eat the steak in the steak knives thread [:(] )

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I like to think that it depends on "how" you send something back. If you are very humble and apologetic and quiet about it, if you are truly sorry that you just have to do it, and if the restaurant is a nice one, then they don't always spit in the food etc... I know, I did work in one, once.[:D] and it very much depends on whether the customer is nice or not.

The one time I had doubts (busy busy seaside restaurant), I sent the shrivelled, oversalted mussels back and did not order anything instead. Had to have lunch without food instead.[:'(]

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  • 2 weeks later...
I agree with 5-element. I have sent things back a very few times - but I have always been discreet and apologetic- and it worked and never worried about a bad reaction in the kitchen. 'A la creme' definitely does not mean 'curried' so you were totally correct to ask for a replacement.

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[quote user="Russethouse"]

[quote user="Bugbear"]Always a difficult subject which, even if handled with the utmost courtesy, can result in unspeakeable things being done to your food in the bowels of the kitchen. .[/quote]

My husband is always convinced they either spit on it or wipe the meat somewhere unmentionable, he will never send food back (which was why 'we had to' eat the steak in the steak knives thread [:(] )

[/quote]

SWMBO at one point in her life was involved in the catering industry - her advice, never send anything back no matter how you do it.

Apparently, chefs can be very precious.

If there is somethin on the plate or as a side dish that she does not eat she always messes it up to stop it being re-served.

Paul

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[quote user="P2"][quote user="Russethouse"]

[quote user="Bugbear"]Always a difficult subject which, even if handled with the utmost courtesy, can result in unspeakeable things being done to your food in the bowels of the kitchen. .[/quote]

My husband is always convinced they either spit on it or wipe the meat somewhere unmentionable, he will never send food back (which was why 'we had to' eat the steak in the steak knives thread [:(] )

[/quote]

SWMBO at one point in her life was involved in the catering industry - her advice, never send anything back no matter how you do it.

Apparently, chefs can be very precious.

If there is somethin on the plate or as a side dish that she does not eat she always messes it up to stop it being re-served.

Paul

[/quote]

So to avoid hurting the fragile feelings of the precious chef , we shouldn't complain if the food is sub-standard/not as described on the menu/not as ordered (e.g. well-done rather than blue)?   And then pay up meekly?   

Please tell me you're joking......

Fi

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If something is wrong with your food.Tell the waiter/waitress. Chefs make mistakes.

Sometimes "Chefs can not cook...and are not chefs." A good restaurant will take thge food away and rectify the problem.From time to time a customer is not there to be a customer...but a professional moaner.

A good waiter will identify such a person and  remember never to take their reservation next time

 

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 Last week we watched a lady reject her meal which was skirt of beef, she refused the offered replacement, however her son ate the meal and loved it, even though he had previously eaten his own dish !

 At the same restaurant yesterday I had battered cod cheeks, lamb fillet and 'Tony's Choc ice' all outstanding (esp Tony's Choc ice - a work of art!) all for £16.95 !!! 

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[quote user="jon"]

If something is wrong with your food.Tell the waiter/waitress. Chefs make mistakes.

Sometimes "Chefs can not cook...and are not chefs." A good restaurant will take thge food away and rectify the problem.From time to time a customer is not there to be a customer...but a professional moaner.

A good waiter will identify such a person and  remember never to take their reservation next time

 

[/quote]

Very true - some people only seem to be happy when complaining and finding fault.    However, restaurants need customers to come back.  It is far too easy to vote with your feet and never return if you have poor food or service.  A restaurant which does its best to resolve problems in a professional and courteous manner is more likely to succeed.  We can all have off days, but if a complaint has been dealt with swiftly and courteously, we are more likely to be forgiving.

Never forgotten the ?(apocryphal) story of Nico Ladenis chucking someone out of is restaurant for having the audacity to ask for some salt [:)]. 

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 A few years ago I went to Trotters ( http://www.greatrestaurantsmagazine.com/listing.php?restaurantID=86) one of my dining companions wanted a dish but would have preferred different vegetables to those offered, the chef refused to change the offered dish ! It had to have its accompaniment as stated or nothing..... the diner decided to try something else, but they lost a customer.
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Ah yes Nico Landis of Battersea and Dulwich.

The salt saga.....I think that level of arragonce has been washed away long ago.

However it is the great Britiah public who swoon over their idols as they prepare the same old "TV dinners" for the cooks who carry their itinery in their picnic baskets.PR agencies have vertually taken over the restaurant world.

I would always be dissapointed if a meal was not enjoyed......going to a restaurant should bring pleasure.A chef should like to please.you  could not please    everyone....no thats not possible!There is a story which relates to a minor complaint regarding the small number of parisian potatoes served on the dinner plate.I seemed to remember  that my chef [at that time] waited for the diner to leave the reastaurant and wonder down the road as her shouted at him...not so politely and not with consent! The chef was a certain Marco P.Blanc and the diner an editor of the Good Food Guide. I guesse that the editorial that year was not as favourable as it might have been.

Yes ..as it happens Marco had been recently working for Nico Landis.

Oh well ...send your meal back...perhaps.

 

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One of my favorite eating places the English owner has a wife who is also the chef and she comes from Malasia,,, She will come out of the kitchen in her whites and walk round and if she sees anyone especially children who are not heartily tucking in or who may be trying a spicey dish for the first time will ask if the meal is OK and will offer to cook somthing else if they are not 100% happy ..Result ..the place is packed and you have to book well in advance . How many people today ask the waiter to let the chef know if they have enjoyed their meal ...more complaints than praise I should think .
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Maybe I am a bit different but I check every plate that goes out and check the same plates that come back... I am also very concious (perhaps too much) to please the guests.  If you cook something you do it in the hope it will be liked and I would not hesitate to cook something different if someone was not content in a sympathetic way. 

I also talk to the guests each evening to make sure all went well, talk about the weather, food, and might even mention that uneaten potato.

At the end of the day, it is these comments that sway the future menu.  Coincidently I have some Malaysian  blood too.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 7 months later...

I’m sure that many chefs don’t do unspeakable things to returned dishes but some certainly do. And I’m not prepared to risk that. What I do is eat up, leave early, and pay the bill. Then I trash the restaurant in any and all forums I can find. Even got one removed from the Guide Michelin.

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And if its not do you tell them, I do but I don't wait, I complain straight away. I can see the point of the staff, if you munch your way through 1/3rd of the meal and then complain its a bit cheeky really. Its something the French don't seem to do with food for some reason. Meals are like anything you buy, if it's 'not fit for purpose' then say so and send it back.
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