Any chefs or cooks out there?

Hi, I am wondering if any chefs or prep cooks are counting calories on this site. If SO, do you taste your food? I cook and prep at work and sometimes feel it would be prudent to taste but I am afraid to, afraid of the calories I will consume.

The most experienced, oldest chef in the kitchen says I will have to get over this if I want to be a chef (which I don't know if I do yet). Sometimes the fare is healthy, but yesterday I made bacon-wrapped meatloaf with tomato chili glaze, jasmine rice, and a salad for my special. Had someone else nibble the rice to make sure it was done, and did not taste the meatloaf or sauce at all.

What do you do?

What if you don't actually swallow the food?

Not being one to cook much, I'll leave this to the more qualified but I wonder if the answer might not lie in allowing your total daily caloric intake to accommodate the tasting of more fattening foods.

An interviewer commented to an older Julia Child about how her and her husband must have enjoyed a life of the most delicious meals and her response was that they ate quite modestly or would have both been very fat.  I was a younger at the time with very little interest in health and remember thinking, what a waste!

I get a kick out of "Dont trust a skinny cook" but I guess professionally, its a reasonable concern about those extra calories adding up.

* edited, trusting skinny cooks not a reasonable concern LOL 

Original Post by jwcarman:

What if you don't actually swallow the food?

There's an idea! I have done this, but it feels unsanitary to spit in the kitchen, lol. It seems to gross people out.

Maybe I will try eating a little less for lunch or dinner on days I know I'm going to be cooking something absolutely sinful, lol.

hehe thanks sun123 for the Julia Child anecdote, made me smile!

I have done that before.  I tasted a piece of leftover cake. It was all dry and not very pleasing. So I thought it wasn't worth swallowing so I just spit it out.

Original Post by iheartsin:

Original Post by jwcarman:

What if you don't actually swallow the food?

There's an idea! I have done this, but it feels unsanitary to spit in the kitchen, lol. It seems to gross people out.

 Also, it might look like you don't even like your own food! :)  Good luck!

Original Post by jwcarman:

Original Post by iheartsin:

Original Post by jwcarman:

What if you don't actually swallow the food?

There's an idea! I have done this, but it feels unsanitary to spit in the kitchen, lol. It seems to gross people out.

 Also, it might look like you don't even like your own food! :)  Good luck!

Haha, yes I might just have to start taking tiny nibbles and holding myself accountable for that!

I wasn't a cook, but did work as an expo at one of those chain bar and grill type of restaurants for a few years.  I wasn't counting calories at the time, and definitely did my fair share of sampling.  I actually lost weight working there, since I was contantly moving about the kitchen prepping plates, lifting boxes of supplies, running trays of food to tables, etc. despite the fact that I was eating burgers/chicken fingers/fries/whatever at least 4 times a week.  Considering how much physical activity the job demands, sampling food here and there probably won't throw off a diet too much.  Eating a whole plate of dead nachos is a whole different story, lol.  I'd just keep an eye on what I was sampling, and guesstimate how much I ate during the shift when entering it in the food log. 

And you should totally post that meatloaf recipe!!! ;)

I do think it is important to check the seasoning of your foods, but mainly just the sauces.  A dip of the spoon and a dab on the tongue will do, you don't have to consume mouthfuls of anything.  I am not a chef, just love to cook for people at home and have people over.

Original Post by melonhoney:

I wasn't a cook, but did work as an expo at one of those chain bar and grill type of restaurants for a few years.  I wasn't counting calories at the time, and definitely did my fair share of sampling.  I actually lost weight working there, since I was contantly moving about the kitchen prepping plates, lifting boxes of supplies, running trays of food to tables, etc. despite the fact that I was eating burgers/chicken fingers/fries/whatever at least 4 times a week.  Considering how much physical activity the job demands, sampling food here and there probably won't throw off a diet too much.  Eating a whole plate of dead nachos is a whole different story, lol.  I'd just keep an eye on what I was sampling, and guesstimate how much I ate during the shift when entering it in the food log. 

And you should totally post that meatloaf recipe!!! ;)

Will do! It is totally possible to prepare it more healthfully than I did at work, but the bacon sure is good. Where shall I post it? I kind of throw everything in so I'll have to think about the amounts!

honestly i would want to know if the cook thought it was good or not. If the cook does not want to eat it I would not either..

Hey there,

 While I love that you are getting so many suggestions and support from other people on here, I think it is all horrible.  I actually am a chef, specializing in healthy cuisine, and I just couldn't believe what I read on your post.  You can't be a chef (or a good cook) and not try your food.  If you wont try it because you are scared of a couple extra calories (and yes, that's all it would be because you don't need a whole spoonful of something to check the taste), then how can you expect to serve it to other people?  I would suggest that you either get over this whole thing, or find another profession.  You will never get any respect in the kitchen if you wont try your food (especially if the reason is because of extra calories).   

I agree whole heartedly with chefchick07. How can any cook/chef offer food to other people without verifying the seasoning and taste? As mentioned before you only need a small spoonful to test. It's especially important with sauces. How would you feel if you served something and it got sent back because it was either too salty or too bland? The only way to tell is to taste.

Original Post by iheartsin:

Original Post by melonhoney:

I wasn't a cook, but did work as an expo at one of those chain bar and grill type of restaurants for a few years. I wasn't counting calories at the time, and definitely did my fair share of sampling. I actually lost weight working there, since I was contantly moving about the kitchen prepping plates, lifting boxes of supplies, running trays of food to tables, etc. despite the fact that I was eating burgers/chicken fingers/fries/whatever at least 4 times a week. Considering how much physical activity the job demands, sampling food here and there probably won't throw off a diet too much. Eating a whole plate of dead nachos is a whole different story, lol. I'd just keep an eye on what I was sampling, and guesstimate how much I ate during the shift when entering it in the food log.

And you should totally post that meatloaf recipe!!! ;)

Will do! It is totally possible to prepare it more healthfully than I did at work, but the bacon sure is good. Where shall I post it? I kind of throw everything in so I'll have to think about the amounts!

Post it here, or put it in a new thread! I love meatloaf, I'd love to see some new variations on an old favorite!

Well, in response to chefchick 07, I am not a chef, I am merely an untrained person who enjoys cooking and is asked a few times a week to prepare foods for purchase by customers. I feel like I have enough of a feel for cooking and enough experience to know how much of one thing or another to put in. Everyone who purchased the meatloaf special RAVED about it. So I can't be too bad at what I do. And I usually do ingest some of what I plan to serve, to make sure it is up to par, I was just wondering what other people who prepare food do about extra/extraneous calories.

I wish I could cook more healthfully, but unfortunately I don't have the resources or power to request more health-friendly ingredients. I do try to make more healthy meals, but it is hard when all that is available is full-fat and heavily processed (as most ingredients in most kitchens today are). So, no, most times I do not want to ingest what I prepare. I do dab it on my tongue, but yes I am still afraid of the calories when I plan my day to eat around 1600-1800. Butter, cheese, oil, fatty meat cuts, etc, are not what I want to consume.

I grew up in a restaurant.

My mum is a chef and runs the kitchen and my dad is maitre de service and runs the actual restaurant.
Although I am not a qualified chef- I have worked in the kitchen since I was 12 and feel like I am pretty qualified in running a professional kitchen... so...

from my experience-

• a good chef needs to taste the food he makes...
• a good chef doesn't need to create food dripping in butter and cream for them to be good- my mum uses olive oil... herbs and spices...
• sauces do not have to be based in cream and butter- in our kitchen these things are used sparingly as the final finish.
• and so on
  

My Mum is thin as a whip... she tastes everything she makes-and when I say tastes- it is a tiny sample. 1/4 teaspoon of something is enough to know for her... and me...

also remember working in a kitchen uses a lot of energy- you are on your feet for hours on end- walking... running... lifting... in my experience it's more active than when cooking for the family...

My parents (Mum 55, Dad 68) will be retiring this year...but they go powerwalking every morning... which is important to my Mum...
And when she cooks for the family (gosh I wish I still lived at home:-)) she makes sure to cook healthy balanced meals.

Oh and I'm sure you know this. Eat a proper meal before you start work... I know restaurant hours suck... but if you are fed and satisfied you won't have the desire to "eat" when working. I learnt that the hard way...

It is possible- you just need to find a rhythm that suits you.

all the best

B

If you're truly tasting very small amounts and not nibbling throughout your shift I would think the physical exertion of cooking would cancel out the calories you take in while you do it.  I have not been a line cook but I have been an expo and a waitress for many years and I always thought the cooks were on their feet moving around an awful lot.

Wow, what a topic for discussion!  I am a trained chef, and I can tell you that tasting everything you make is the single most important step in preparing food for others.  If it doesn't taste good to you, chances are it won't taste good to others.  However, that being said, that is probably why I'm currently counting calories.  There is no shame is spitting food out, that way you can have to best of both worlds.  Taste it but don't consume it. 

I can relate! I am a chef, too and I do something similar to what you do (cook for a family as their personal chef).  I taste nearly everything that I make, and sometimes make a small plate of the food for myself to eat as my lunch.  I am fortunate in that "my family" likes very healthy, whole grain based, veggie-heavy meals.  I remember being in culinary school and working at restaurants and being frustrated that I had to taste foods all day long that had low-quality ingredients and was not balanced with healthy ingredients.. 

Is there any way that you can offer up an alternative menu that is healthy and represents your cooking style? It seems like people would be interested in healthy food, right! If not at your current place of employment, maybe do it on your own? That is what I did and it has been amazing!

In the meantime, don't worry too much.  Just taste small amounts of your foods and supplement with lots of healthy foods of your own.  A little bit isn't gong to spoil a lot of a good thing.

I'm a chef too, a pastry chef actually, and with my husband (also a chef) we own & operate a bakery/cafe.  I agree that it is very important for a chef to taste the food, I would never serve anything that I had not tasted.  The difference is in tasting as opposed to eating, a little taste here and there to check the seasoning will certainly be offset by the physical demands of the job.