Three years ago I fumbled a whole lamb breakdown in front of a customer and it still haunts me

I was finishing up a whole lamb breakdown at my shop in Portland, Maine, and this older guy (retired chef, I later found out) was watching from the counter. I got cocky, tried to free the leg in one clean cut, and totally mangled the hip joint. Bone fragments everywhere, meat all torn up. He just said "takes time, kid" and walked out. I still think about that every time I break down lamb. Has anyone else had a public mess-up that stuck with them?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_hart182d ago

Read somewhere that even pro chefs have those moments that haunt them for years. It's like that thing where you can do something a hundred times perfectly but one slip up just sticks in your brain forever lol. That guy probably didn't think twice about what he said but it clearly hit you hard. Honestly its kind of humbling how one little comment from a stranger can echo in your head like that. Hope you're nailing those lamb breakdowns now though, even with that ghost of a bad cut still lurking around.

river_hart182d ago

Buddy of mine used to work the line at this seafood spot down in Charleston. He dumped a whole tray of oyster shooters right onto some food blogger's lap during a busy Friday night. Said the lady had her phone out recording and the whole thing went viral on some local food page. He still gets tagged in the comments whenever someone reposts it years later.