'10 Things I Hate' With Michael Voltaggio
Life is filled with wonderful things and terrible things. During interviews, however, we pretty much only get to hear about the wonderful things. Ten Things I Hate is a chance for people in the food world to get things off their chest. We ask them what they hate, they give us a list. Next up: Michael Voltaggio.
You know Michael Voltaggio. He's a brand-new Food & Wine Best New Chef, the winner of Top Chef Season 6, and chef of ink. in LA as well as ink's sandwich-slinging cousin ink.sack. But just because he's a successful dude doesn't mean things don't stick in his well-coiffed craw. Voltaggio has a lot on his plate, but there's always room for a little venting. Here are 10 things that Michael Voltaggio hates:
- Yelp...even though I use it when I travel
- When servers ask the guest, "How are 'we' enjoying things tonight?" when they're not sitting at the table.
- When restaurants either close before the advertised time or break down the restaurant around you when you're there late. At least leave the music on and the candles lit.
- It bothers me when servers count tips in view of the guest. Not to mention that money is dirty.
- YES, MY LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE TOP CHEF. My life has changed since breakfast...
- When cooks stage somewhere for a week and their chef bios say "formerly of..."
- "Farm-to-Table"? Why not "manure-to-manure"? (Shout out to chef de cuisine Cole Dickinson for this one).
- I miss hospitality. We are still in the service industry.
- I'm not a fan of alcohol consumption at work. Even though we work in restaurants, we are still at work and other professions don't allow it.
- I feel that people should taste their food before putting salt and pepper on it, or even asking for it before they've tasted it.
More chef talk on Food Republic: