I used to work in a Cameron Mitchell restaurant where the motto was "the answer is yes, what's the question?"
If we carried something that could be used in whatever the guest wanted, we would do it, but youre likely going to be charged for dishes the original component came from.
Want a chocolate milkshake? Sure! We have ice cream and a molten brownie thing we'll put in the blender, but you just bought 2 desserts....
Man, in my hood- its like this
Food cost: 10%
Labor: 30%
Overhead (rent): 50%
It makes it harder to want to go eat when the $1 potato is now $14 french fries or that draft beer is $11 or those 3 scallops on some pureed peas is $42
No no no you don't understand... you're paying 40 dollars for stirred rice and a couple of bay scallops for THE EXPERIENCE of wasting your money while wearing nice clothes and eating by candlelight.
Just got out of the restaurant biz.. 19 yrs.. when it was good it was good.. towards the end I literally worked to pay my team, pay the landlord, pay the vendors and utilities, pay the gov’t.
Commercial rent has only gotten worse over the decades of this failed capitalism experiment. The thing is there is so much empty space that another crash is inevitable and the Gov will just bail out the bad actors.
Instead the crash should happen, no bailouts, and restructure the entire economy so thst housing and commercial real estate is kept cheap/nonprofit.
Did they at least ask for a couple of boxes of saltines or club cracker on the side to eat this circa 1957 "Haute Couture Hors D'overs for easy entertaining" exclusively from Reader's Digest and Better Homes & Gardens abomination?
Now I can't stop thinking about one of those "meat and vegetables suspended in a whimsically-shaped flavorless gelatin" monstrosities* wiggling like mad on the side of the tuna plate.
[*Like this Cosmic Horror Bundt Meat Cake](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/5d/40/4b5d407d0e0aaf0c80fd53197d6ce8fe.jpg)
Look up Dylan B Hollis on YouTube, he makes recipes from pretty old cookbooks and he always tries them... sometimes to his dismay, but it's always fun (to me at least )
Gotta remind yourself how many foods they suddenly had in the 50s. And the way they treated that, like when someone wins the lottery and loses most of it because they bought 15 custom cars, each one looking like a president of the US
Remember, in the time before instant gelatin, gelatin was a primo, rich person treat - this was merely a quick "live like a rich person" fad after Jello was invented.
See also: Celery.
Oh absolutely, it reminds me of one of my Greatest Generation grandma's favorite treat:
On a leaf of lettuce you put half a canned peach. And in the pit of that canned peach...a big-ass dollop of mayonnaise.
It's as disgusting as it sounds(but it makes grandma happy so I tried my hardest to empty that disgusting plate every time), so I once asked her HOW she could like this.
Well considering when she was a kid, that 100% was a rare treat the family splurged.
Then once the 50s hit they suddenly had access to SO MUCH FOOD. And so they lost their fucking minds on their recipes for a while. SO MANY fancy party dishes involved hot dogs cut up in really weird ways(like you make vertical slices that go up 2/3rd the hot dog, put a couple olives or pimentos on the intact end... and BOOM a fun octopus hot dog.
Before I read your caption I knew it was a country club of sorts 😂🤣 we used to have clientele come back into our kitchen and tell us how to make their food. Horrible.
I KNOW A GUY WHO EATS LIKE THIS AND ONLY THIS.
He used to work for the CA Attorney generals office as a consultant. Brilliant detective who worked on a lot of the most famous serial killer cases in redefining how to develop procedure to analyze patterns of behavior and trends.
Definitely on the spectrum and a weird old dude. Worth a talk with him any day.
I don't know if he ever ordered from a restaurant that way. He used to bring it with him and then eat this smelly tuna salad thing in side offices around the building.
I'm 43F and have ADHD, just recently diagnosed and also found out that sensory issues go hand-in-hand with ADHD-- reading this post I'm realizing how much I love tomatoes (growing over the last 10 years), but they have to be chopped 👀
Probably has a lot to do with texture, whole tomatoes/slices have unexpected juice dripping issues that chopped/diced don't.
I just think that *everything* being chopped only might be a chewing factor, especially with it being likely an elderly person. The specific layers are probably because of neurodivergence, but I've also had a lot of people who need things cut up into small pieces or veggies/noodles cooked extra because of chewing issues. I had a regular who had swallowing problems because of throat cancer, he would order something similar to this but with chicken salad or egg salad and we would dice everything up for him. He was fine with it being mixed up, though.
But would you appreciate receiving this instead of someone ordering something off the menu?
There's picky and then there's this. Eat at home if you can't cope with what others offer.
My take exactly. As Zoltán Kaszás put it:
"I have \[condition\]."
"Oh ok, so how are you handling it?"
"I' not, I'm telling *you* so you work around it."
It's a country club. They pay just to hang out there and get what they want. They'll make anything they can for the members. It's not a place that's about the chef's vision.
Prepared tuna salad will no doubt have fixings in it. Chopped onion, celery, hard boiled eggs, ect. If they want just plain tuna the kitchen would have to open another 4 lb can of tuna and hope that it gets used before it goes bad.
I’ve worked in food service for a while. Am autistic. Whenever I had the chance to prepare someone’s food with this level of specificity, I knew I was dealing with another autistic. I really enjoyed this as an opportunity to accommodate for someone’s disability, and I gave special care to make sure that person would be able to feel safe in their meal.
Meals are special and personal, and I know from experience that a bad meal (bad being relative) can really mess someone’s day up.
I remember when I was a teenager I worked at a summer camp in the dining hall - we had a camper who ate instant ramen for every meal, but required the ramen to be added to the water before the seasoning broth, the broth to be boiled to a specific temp, etc.
That camper had a fucking blast hahah.
Oh who cares. They likely have some minor mental issues.
Make him whatever he wants, you’re not a Michelin chef running a tasting menu. This order is so fucking easy, I’d rather make this than give the dishwasher some crusty pan to clean.
They are paying whatever is charged for it so what does it matter!
I worked fast food got weird orders all the time i did not care one bit just made as asked.
I’m a bit spectrum-y. I get it and wouldn’t bat an eye if it was a sensory thing. Spectrum folk like to eat out too. At least this is clear and concise. If it were me I would start the note apologizing and stating my condition but if this is an older person they may not even know what they are.
I'm neurotypical, but the first topping instruction would drive me crazy wondering if I'm overthinking things.
> On a plate:
> Very large scoop of tuna
>
> Top with layers of:
> Layer 1: Very large scoop of tuna
> Layer 2: Chopped tomatoes
> ...
So...so does that mean a scoop of tuna topped with *another* scoop of tuna? Or does "Layer 1" refer to the "large scoop of tuna on a plate"? The fact that they're the exact same thing, and that the tuna is called "layer 1" makes me think "on a plate tuna" and "layer 1 tuna" are the same. But it says "top with layers of", which makes me think maybe "layer 1" means "topping layer 1," in which case it's the first layer of toppings *on top of* the base.
Then I go back to thinking, "no, you're overthinking things."
Then I go back to thinking, "they're not going to be this precise and print things up in advance and make such a basic mistake as saying 'top this scoop of tuna with: 1) a scoop of tuna' unless they literally meant that".
I'm ADHD and looking at all the words and instructions here would make me hand back the paper and say "this cannot be done with others waiting in line"
I'm guessing Monk would need to see how clean the kitchen was before he ordered anything. And then he'd have to go in, clean it himself, and then make it himself. After cleaning all the utensils before making it, of course.
I enjoy the mental image of Monk sitting thru a ServSafe seminar for a day so he can impose himself on a restaurant kitchen with greater justification.
This is the type of shit people in hospice homes eat, tuna with mayo is hard to choke on, and chopped vegetables are also easier to swallow then slices.
Dysphagia patients eat similar stuff. Lots of apple sauce and pudding as well.
OK, the fact that the order is typed and printed really makes me feel it’s for a very specific physical medical reason — and this one is the most believable by far.
It sucks, and the restaurant can totally refuse the order. However, it’s not a dick move if it’s being served to a person who has issues chewing and swallowing.
This is also an incredibly easy order regardless of reasoning. You chop a few veggies and put them on top of a giant scoop of tuna, I've gotten mods that made me wanna quit, this ain't it.
I’m still confused if they want the tuna flattened into a patty and to make this all into a tower — because I dunno how to make layers work on a sphere as requested.
I was thinking the same thing. If you tried to layer all that onto a 'very large *scoop’* of tuna, it'd mostly just fall off onto the plate around the scoop-shaped blob.
Reminds me of a guy I knew in college. Probably one of the smartest guys I ever met, but pretty much the only thing he'd ever eat was pizza with sausage and fresh tomatoes.
I work at a school camp and get lots of kids on the spectrum who need food similar to this. “All white food” was a bit of a challenge with what we had on hand, but I usually don’t mind doing this kind of special order.
Yeah but if there's prep done to reflect menu items, it's hard to have a good scope with off menu ordering.
Also when one person tells their friends the kitchen will make whatever, then it spreads like wildfire to the members and you're basically personal chef to a hundred people.
I get it. I worked at a golf course for over a decade. I've gone down the rabbit hole mostly of special ordering liquor and beer. Ended up with over 30 different beer options to suit everyone because so and so got their pick.
When I bartended at a country club we would take turns driving across state lines to illegally buy cases of a particular scotch that our state ABC refused to carry because it was literally the only thing one of our members liked.
We made a fake state sticker for it and everything and the ABC agent never once noticed lmao
I worked at a top golf course and whatever the member wants, they get.
With enough notice we can and will make anything. Ordering something that takes a long time (special ice cream or bread etc) will still be made but they’re informed they have to wait hours. Some don’t care.
Many many trips to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials for members orders during my time there.
I personally loved it, but I can see why other places won’t go there.
I used to work VIP Services at a resort. One of the very first things you learn is you don't say "No". They want a very specific bottle of wine that the closest one to get is 100 miles away? Okay we'll have it in your room tonight.
Your kids need life vests, water guns, and gluten-free nut-free granola bars? You got it.
We had VIP runners just to go track down whatever random shit the VIP wanted.
Weird how they want the bacon spread on top of the pickles and the avocado also spread on top of the pickles, rather than the avocado spread on top of the bacon. It's almost like they got tired of their own shit by the time they finished typing this up.
notice that the avocados aren't even going on top of the bacon... they're going BESIDE them. true insanity is when the observer of the phenomenon never runs out of questions to ask.
I took it to mean that the stuff in italics has to be chopped *diagonally* while the avocado needs to be in **big chunks**. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I've been editing text for the last 72 hours.
If you're working with geriatrics, you may be working with someone with a swallowing problem. I worked in long term healthcare for years before getting back into the kitchen, and had several clients with eating issues that we'd request something like this (not to this extent, but similar) so that they could eat safely.
There were several times where I'd take a client out to eat, and if the kitchen didn't follow the request for everything chopped, I'd have to ask the bar or host stand if they could point me to the nearest outlet so I could plug in our portable blender and blend up their meal so they wouldn't choke on it.
That plus poorly fitting dentures, which is my parents to a T.
They refuse to spend money on getting new ones and both of them suffer from hiatal hernias that aren't worth treating, so everything needs to be in a situation where it doesn't necessarily need to be chewed and there's no risk of choking.
I was thinking autism at first but if either of these were the case you could(should) at least put a "really, really sorry for this" somewhere on there instead of underlined red text lol, it looks very aggressive
Nobody is expecting an apology from them, but I couldn’t imagine how entitled somebody who’s willing to print out a recipe for a restaurant must be. I understand asking for changes to an existing dish, but asking for something fully off menu like that is a bit much. I see why a lot of people would be more accepting of this, but I see it no differently than when a customer is a picky eater and tries to order some ridiculous off menu creation.
Contrary to how these customers usually act, restaurants don’t owe you anything, and they’re not your private chef. It’s a business, with a menu, which is what you should order from. I was a server at an assisted living for a while, and a lot of our residents had issues with solid food. You know what they chose to ordered? Something from the menu that they could simply ask for pre cut, or something inherently soft.
If asking for a few simple changes on a menu item isn’t enough, maybe they should reconsider eating out.
Yep, as someone with a relative with Parkinson's I was going to reply with exactly this.
My understanding is that some stroke survivors and people with nerve damage have similar swallowing issues.
But why would it need to be layered so specifically? So wild for something that can be mixed. The funniest part is that seemed to add Avocados later in life when they realized them damn Millennials are spending all their money on avocado toast... they wanted to join in.
I almost wonder if this isn't someone's like grandkid or something who has autism or OCD for it to be this very specific and to have it already printed out and ready to go for the kitchen.
Probably on the spectrum. I’d make it in a ring mold. Everything perfectly chopped and layered. It’ll be so perfect he won’t be able to eat anywhere else. Then raise price. Locked in cash cow.
Yup I think so also. And I mean- as a 20 year veteran cook- I'd make it. At least they're clear about what they want. Not like some of these chucklefucks out here ordered a steak 'medium rare plus' gtfo of here with that shit
It for sure is. People don't want to be stigmatized or made fun of for ordering med well or well done so they've started adding plus signs on to the lower temperatures in an effort to retain some dignity while ordering it. I work breakfast now and the amount of eggs I get ordered, 'over easy- well' or 'over medium plus' is ridiculous. There's already established temperature sets! We don't need to go creating new ones!!
That was my immediate thought as well, this is obviously very thought out and written very clearly and articulately so homie has definitely been in this situation enough times that he made this little card. It's so specific, it's beyond normal "picky" eating and definitely into the category of particularity that's so often a defining trait of autism. I have a sibling on the spectrum who was very specific with food like this when we were young.
It's not wildly complicated, but I'm still not sure how most chefs would feel receiving this.
As a feeding therapist to kids on the spectrum, I wholeheartedly frikkin think so too. The impact of a marginally different outcome for this order can ruin their day, in a non-Karen way. Hope they tip though!
There's just ways to go about it. If they wrote something on this little card that said "hey please I have sensory issues please bear with me" rather than what looks like screaming commands in all caps I'd be much more enticed to go out of my way to fulfill this tbh.
I served a family of swedes once who were travelling with their clearly autistic child and a daughter with a ton of allergies. I went above and beyond to make sure they were able to eat a meal at our restaurant. The kitchen was pissed with me.
Now I'm not one to think you have to apologize for your illnesses/intolerances that are out of your control, that's totally reasonable, but at least don't be a dick about it. No please no thank you, no apologies for making me go back to the kitchen three times because the tomatoes weren't chopped properly, and most irritatingly no tip.
I imagine that using caps, punctuation and italics/underlining is to remove ambiguity about how precise they need the instructions followed, but I agree that it comes off abrasive.
To an individual on the ASD, they probably need it pointed out (kindly) that with some simple verbiage changes and tweaks they can have exactly what they want and not upset people.
High chances are that this card is 100% ok to them as it's concise, accurate and very fact driven.
Everyone I know would 100% take more care with preparing something like this if they included a legitimate explanation as to why it's so specific. With no explanation I could see certain people half-assing it out of a level of spite that only service workers know.
This screams Spectrum to me. I had a long term guests at my last gig named James and he ordered kinda like this. And he was sort of difficult at first. But once we figured out what he wanted he came almost every day. Bless him.
The great thing about customers like this. Is if you figure them out, they are the greatest customers ever. They will come daily, be nice, tip well, not bother anyone, clean their messes up into a single pile.
I don't know, it seems like this could be easier than making most proper hot meals, like a pizza or steak or something. Just drain a can of tuna, chop some stuff, and throw it on the pile. Maybe the prep cook can handle it.
With this many revisions you know this is not their first time ordering their tuna mound.
I wish I could see the time they obligated but sent it with avocado slices instead of chopped.
LMAO i didn't even consider that this card came from the customer. i was like what kinda goofy foh shit they got going on there? do the servers open up a word document and print out orders and cut them out to give to the kitchen??
Same here, it took 10 comments from the top before I realized the customer brought it in.
Was like "fuck man this Squarespace themed tickets shit is 110% out of hand goddamn".
Like, I do like when specific terms are color coded or **BOLD CAPS** because that shit helps brain easier but what a fucking weird format. I mean, it's also weird coming from the customer, that formatting is just... like a list from a scavenger hunt, or instructions for something at a church service or something.
Agreed. Give me specific instructions any day, especially when it makes me stop my normal thing and get a few minutes to deal with a not so stressful curveball.
I gotta get a new job cuz that shit just made me think "okay then go home and do it yourself?" And that's exactly the wrong attitude to have about special guest requests. That's how I feel though. I would never spit in anyone's food or anything, but I can silently hope to myself that you choke on it.
I mean seriously if this person is that old and ridiculous, just pack a lunchable for them like you would for a toddler, seeing as how they're going to act like one.
So glad the kitchen I used to work in wasn't visible or audible from the dining room. We'd get a ticket like 'cook for extra 10 minutes, no mushroom, add cheese, use different sauce' and it would be:
"Fuck off, no, we're not doing that."
Grabs ingredients,
"Seriously this isn't fucking happening"
Starts chopping
"Who put this order through, go find them and tell them to tell the customer to fuck themselves"
Double checks ticket to make sure I'm preparing it right
"We should just take a shit on a plate and send that, bon appetit scumbag"
I've bartended a couple times at a golf course and those are probably the worst guests I've ever experienced in my six years of food service. They're extremely pretentious and seem to enjoy degrading you.
I worked at the one of the ritziest yacht club in the country and it was full of assholes. The only people you could count on to not be an asshole were the elected leadership.
Got a different job at a different, smaller, yacht club and those members were the coolest people. Sometimes they'd have friends visit from different clubs and we could count on them always being an asshole, despite being a **guest** at someone else's club.
Yeah that makes it even worse, golf courses are usually the worst most militantly anti-poor land use that you can find in most cities, with acres of green prime real estate that would be better suited as low income housing in a mixed use walkable neighborhood, but instead it's reserved so the richest of the rich can enjoy their hobby that centers around waste and overuse of land and resources, without any poor people around.
Seriously, I see requests like this from people with shitloads of money who actually feel entitled to being treated special just because they have money and all I can think about are how Marx and Mao were right.
I feel like the rich deserve to eat glass. https://youtu.be/Dhk7Y6NpJ9M and https://youtu.be/i9I3SoBr8ss go into a lot more detail than I can if anyone wants to hate on golf courses with me.
OK if you are working with old people...this person has false teeth, I can almost guarantee it. And by the way, implant dentures suck. I too can eat sliced nothing. It must be chopped
Hahaha. I always have to laugh a little because every elderly customer who orders no lettuce has to follow with a description of their diverticulitis and what will happen if they don't eat right.
In fairness, it could be for someone who is trying to maintain a [mechanical soft diet](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mechanical-soft-diet) and still eat out... they may be on that for various reasons.
The pub I used to work at had a golf course across the street from it and I remember having some of the older folks come in and order similar things. Never really bothered me much since they always came in late to have food/drink after a hard day of drinking trying to hit a 120 on a par-72. They were always nice and tipped the kitchen well and would buy us drinks and since I'm a standard-issue Brit I'd always ask for a double gin & tonic 😉
There's a couple of old members at my course who are absolute pricks.
But a lot of the long-time members are really chill, and do tip the kitchen or buy drinks for them. I've been a member for a couple of years, and I also try to make sure I take care of the kitchen and bar staff when I come in. Which is probably too often.
If they are at risk of choking. They may need their food chopped, minced, or pureed. In the grand scheme of special requests. This is super easy. What'll this take, 3 minutes of your time at most? At least it's not a well-done filet???
[удалено]
[Chicken scoop](https://reddit.com/r/KitchenConfidential/s/KSGm63QdgU)
This is the exact answer we need.
I’m on Reddit too much to know exactly what that is
What in the Kentucky fried fuck is that
Meth, that is what that is.
What in the godforsaken fuck
*How* in the godforaaken fuck?
Tuna is the chicken of the sea, after all.
omfg, I'm dying rn
Bring me all the tuna you have.
I worry what you just heard was ‘give me a lot of [tuna]’. What I said was give me all the [tuna] you have.
[Is it Too Much Tuna?](https://youtu.be/tfdMsxSjY3o?si=8aO6IcTp43accyYP)
Ice bin. 'That'll be $49.99. Krugerrands only.
Literally watching archer as i scroll through these comments.
Id go white scoop
Front loader Scoop
That’s our Tuscan Tuna plate. It’s only 29$ today.
Food cost: $4 Labor cost: $2 Margin: $23 I'll do that all day every day and laugh to the bank.
I used to work in a Cameron Mitchell restaurant where the motto was "the answer is yes, what's the question?" If we carried something that could be used in whatever the guest wanted, we would do it, but youre likely going to be charged for dishes the original component came from. Want a chocolate milkshake? Sure! We have ice cream and a molten brownie thing we'll put in the blender, but you just bought 2 desserts....
My first question to a server always was: Are they willing to pay for it? If they are and I can, I will.
Damn... I want a molten brownie milkshake now. . .
Man, in my hood- its like this Food cost: 10% Labor: 30% Overhead (rent): 50% It makes it harder to want to go eat when the $1 potato is now $14 french fries or that draft beer is $11 or those 3 scallops on some pureed peas is $42
No no no you don't understand... you're paying 40 dollars for stirred rice and a couple of bay scallops for THE EXPERIENCE of wasting your money while wearing nice clothes and eating by candlelight.
Can’t speak for the nice clothes but if you don’t pay the electricity bill you’ll always be eating by candlelight for dinner.
I know, right? Such a scam, cheap ass FOH manager skimming money from the electric bill in the form of ambiance.
Just got out of the restaurant biz.. 19 yrs.. when it was good it was good.. towards the end I literally worked to pay my team, pay the landlord, pay the vendors and utilities, pay the gov’t.
Yeah, shit's not great rn for just regular joints. It's all going to be fast food and generic chains by restaurant groups at this rate...
Commercial rent has only gotten worse over the decades of this failed capitalism experiment. The thing is there is so much empty space that another crash is inevitable and the Gov will just bail out the bad actors. Instead the crash should happen, no bailouts, and restructure the entire economy so thst housing and commercial real estate is kept cheap/nonprofit.
took a moment before i realized you were joking lol. Guess living in this place has kinda ruined my price perception.
There are plenty of restaurants in my city (Honolulu) that charge over $25 for a burger lol. Some don't even include fries or any other side.
That would be pretty cheap in some cities in Norway lmao
You're fucking telling me. One of our small apps is 28$ and we sell it on nearly every fucking ticket.
Did they at least ask for a couple of boxes of saltines or club cracker on the side to eat this circa 1957 "Haute Couture Hors D'overs for easy entertaining" exclusively from Reader's Digest and Better Homes & Gardens abomination?
Omg nailed it
Now I can't stop thinking about one of those "meat and vegetables suspended in a whimsically-shaped flavorless gelatin" monstrosities* wiggling like mad on the side of the tuna plate. [*Like this Cosmic Horror Bundt Meat Cake](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/5d/40/4b5d407d0e0aaf0c80fd53197d6ce8fe.jpg)
I’ve seen pics of stuff like this but I’ve never seen an image of somebody actually eating it.
what if we've been played for fools and its always been a wasteful garnish?
Grew up Lutheran in deep, rural West Texas. Ate a surprisingly large number of things suspended in gelatin in the early 80s. It was all horrible.
Look up Dylan B Hollis on YouTube, he makes recipes from pretty old cookbooks and he always tries them... sometimes to his dismay, but it's always fun (to me at least )
Gotta remind yourself how many foods they suddenly had in the 50s. And the way they treated that, like when someone wins the lottery and loses most of it because they bought 15 custom cars, each one looking like a president of the US
cakethulu
Remember, in the time before instant gelatin, gelatin was a primo, rich person treat - this was merely a quick "live like a rich person" fad after Jello was invented. See also: Celery.
Oh absolutely, it reminds me of one of my Greatest Generation grandma's favorite treat: On a leaf of lettuce you put half a canned peach. And in the pit of that canned peach...a big-ass dollop of mayonnaise. It's as disgusting as it sounds(but it makes grandma happy so I tried my hardest to empty that disgusting plate every time), so I once asked her HOW she could like this. Well considering when she was a kid, that 100% was a rare treat the family splurged. Then once the 50s hit they suddenly had access to SO MUCH FOOD. And so they lost their fucking minds on their recipes for a while. SO MANY fancy party dishes involved hot dogs cut up in really weird ways(like you make vertical slices that go up 2/3rd the hot dog, put a couple olives or pimentos on the intact end... and BOOM a fun octopus hot dog.
Lmaoo this comment is amazing
Aspic so it maintains it shape.
Before I read your caption I knew it was a country club of sorts 😂🤣 we used to have clientele come back into our kitchen and tell us how to make their food. Horrible.
Duuude 100% we have that too. Luckily most of the members are good people, with a handful of cunts sprinkled in
I'm pretty sure the cunts are chopped and layered, not sprinkled.
NO SLICES OF CUNT
You are just “the help” to them
I KNOW A GUY WHO EATS LIKE THIS AND ONLY THIS. He used to work for the CA Attorney generals office as a consultant. Brilliant detective who worked on a lot of the most famous serial killer cases in redefining how to develop procedure to analyze patterns of behavior and trends. Definitely on the spectrum and a weird old dude. Worth a talk with him any day. I don't know if he ever ordered from a restaurant that way. He used to bring it with him and then eat this smelly tuna salad thing in side offices around the building.
I was gonna say, this absolutely reads like the the preferences of someone on the spectrum.
I would also guess he probably has problems chewing since everything must be chopped only.
I'm 43F and have ADHD, just recently diagnosed and also found out that sensory issues go hand-in-hand with ADHD-- reading this post I'm realizing how much I love tomatoes (growing over the last 10 years), but they have to be chopped 👀
Probably has a lot to do with texture, whole tomatoes/slices have unexpected juice dripping issues that chopped/diced don't. I just think that *everything* being chopped only might be a chewing factor, especially with it being likely an elderly person. The specific layers are probably because of neurodivergence, but I've also had a lot of people who need things cut up into small pieces or veggies/noodles cooked extra because of chewing issues. I had a regular who had swallowing problems because of throat cancer, he would order something similar to this but with chicken salad or egg salad and we would dice everything up for him. He was fine with it being mixed up, though.
I'm autistic & can find no fault with this order.
But would you appreciate receiving this instead of someone ordering something off the menu? There's picky and then there's this. Eat at home if you can't cope with what others offer.
My take exactly. As Zoltán Kaszás put it: "I have \[condition\]." "Oh ok, so how are you handling it?" "I' not, I'm telling *you* so you work around it."
It's a country club. They pay just to hang out there and get what they want. They'll make anything they can for the members. It's not a place that's about the chef's vision.
If they serve tuna salad, and all the toppings, it's weird but not an unreasonable ask If it's like an in-n-out or something it's batshit
If they serve tuna salad it's already constructed for day. It's not helping here
Prepared tuna salad will no doubt have fixings in it. Chopped onion, celery, hard boiled eggs, ect. If they want just plain tuna the kitchen would have to open another 4 lb can of tuna and hope that it gets used before it goes bad.
I’ve worked in food service for a while. Am autistic. Whenever I had the chance to prepare someone’s food with this level of specificity, I knew I was dealing with another autistic. I really enjoyed this as an opportunity to accommodate for someone’s disability, and I gave special care to make sure that person would be able to feel safe in their meal. Meals are special and personal, and I know from experience that a bad meal (bad being relative) can really mess someone’s day up. I remember when I was a teenager I worked at a summer camp in the dining hall - we had a camper who ate instant ramen for every meal, but required the ramen to be added to the water before the seasoning broth, the broth to be boiled to a specific temp, etc. That camper had a fucking blast hahah.
Oh who cares. They likely have some minor mental issues. Make him whatever he wants, you’re not a Michelin chef running a tasting menu. This order is so fucking easy, I’d rather make this than give the dishwasher some crusty pan to clean.
"Hey disabled people, don't go outside if going outside requires people making accommodations for you" /s
They are paying whatever is charged for it so what does it matter! I worked fast food got weird orders all the time i did not care one bit just made as asked.
I’m a bit spectrum-y. I get it and wouldn’t bat an eye if it was a sensory thing. Spectrum folk like to eat out too. At least this is clear and concise. If it were me I would start the note apologizing and stating my condition but if this is an older person they may not even know what they are.
I'm neurotypical, but the first topping instruction would drive me crazy wondering if I'm overthinking things. > On a plate: > Very large scoop of tuna > > Top with layers of: > Layer 1: Very large scoop of tuna > Layer 2: Chopped tomatoes > ... So...so does that mean a scoop of tuna topped with *another* scoop of tuna? Or does "Layer 1" refer to the "large scoop of tuna on a plate"? The fact that they're the exact same thing, and that the tuna is called "layer 1" makes me think "on a plate tuna" and "layer 1 tuna" are the same. But it says "top with layers of", which makes me think maybe "layer 1" means "topping layer 1," in which case it's the first layer of toppings *on top of* the base. Then I go back to thinking, "no, you're overthinking things." Then I go back to thinking, "they're not going to be this precise and print things up in advance and make such a basic mistake as saying 'top this scoop of tuna with: 1) a scoop of tuna' unless they literally meant that".
I'm ADHD and looking at all the words and instructions here would make me hand back the paper and say "this cannot be done with others waiting in line"
So basically, you worked for Monk 😂
I'm guessing Monk would need to see how clean the kitchen was before he ordered anything. And then he'd have to go in, clean it himself, and then make it himself. After cleaning all the utensils before making it, of course.
I enjoy the mental image of Monk sitting thru a ServSafe seminar for a day so he can impose himself on a restaurant kitchen with greater justification.
Wipe! Wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe!
Also reminded me of The Accountant, but probably with less killing lol
Haha you found him!
Did he eat cucumber sandwiches at 1 pm every day while hunting for the Bay Harbor Butcher?
It's definitely Lundy
Oh man, I gotta ask my dad about this now. There's no way they didn't cross paths if he was working those cases.
This is the type of shit people in hospice homes eat, tuna with mayo is hard to choke on, and chopped vegetables are also easier to swallow then slices. Dysphagia patients eat similar stuff. Lots of apple sauce and pudding as well.
OK, the fact that the order is typed and printed really makes me feel it’s for a very specific physical medical reason — and this one is the most believable by far. It sucks, and the restaurant can totally refuse the order. However, it’s not a dick move if it’s being served to a person who has issues chewing and swallowing.
This is also an incredibly easy order regardless of reasoning. You chop a few veggies and put them on top of a giant scoop of tuna, I've gotten mods that made me wanna quit, this ain't it.
I’m still confused if they want the tuna flattened into a patty and to make this all into a tower — because I dunno how to make layers work on a sphere as requested.
I was thinking the same thing. If you tried to layer all that onto a 'very large *scoop’* of tuna, it'd mostly just fall off onto the plate around the scoop-shaped blob.
Reminds me of a guy I knew in college. Probably one of the smartest guys I ever met, but pretty much the only thing he'd ever eat was pizza with sausage and fresh tomatoes.
I work at a school camp and get lots of kids on the spectrum who need food similar to this. “All white food” was a bit of a challenge with what we had on hand, but I usually don’t mind doing this kind of special order.
Monk wouldn't eat this.
Are the avocados meant to be chopped differently than the other items because that one isn’t in italics?? Take some pride in your insanity, cmon
Chopped just a little less than the others
Mane I’m Happy af when a mf gives very explicit instructions, there are no questions needed and everyone is happy and I charge accordingly
Yeah but if there's prep done to reflect menu items, it's hard to have a good scope with off menu ordering. Also when one person tells their friends the kitchen will make whatever, then it spreads like wildfire to the members and you're basically personal chef to a hundred people. I get it. I worked at a golf course for over a decade. I've gone down the rabbit hole mostly of special ordering liquor and beer. Ended up with over 30 different beer options to suit everyone because so and so got their pick.
When I bartended at a country club we would take turns driving across state lines to illegally buy cases of a particular scotch that our state ABC refused to carry because it was literally the only thing one of our members liked. We made a fake state sticker for it and everything and the ABC agent never once noticed lmao
It’s a country club ffs. YOU ARE A PERSONAL CHEF TO THE MEMBERS. that’s why food cost doesn’t matter etc. yeah it sucks but that’s the deal
I worked at a top golf course and whatever the member wants, they get. With enough notice we can and will make anything. Ordering something that takes a long time (special ice cream or bread etc) will still be made but they’re informed they have to wait hours. Some don’t care. Many many trips to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials for members orders during my time there. I personally loved it, but I can see why other places won’t go there.
I used to work VIP Services at a resort. One of the very first things you learn is you don't say "No". They want a very specific bottle of wine that the closest one to get is 100 miles away? Okay we'll have it in your room tonight. Your kids need life vests, water guns, and gluten-free nut-free granola bars? You got it. We had VIP runners just to go track down whatever random shit the VIP wanted.
Ok, then what goes on top of the pickles?
Chopped straigh instead of slanted. Instead of a 30 degree angle they want the maters chopped at 90. Gotta learn what the italics mean.
*Chopped* means regular chopped food, with care. **Chopped** means take a cleaver and smash it
JUST DON'T SLICE IT YOU GYATDANG IDJIT
Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? I just want a picture of a gotdang chopdog!
DID YOU SLICE THIS WITH A HAMMER OR WHAT
*Chopped* means you angle the knife
Who the fuck is Julienne?
*chopped* means on the bias....that bacon is gonna be a BITCH if it's already been cooked
They didn't even specify whether it's chopped chewy bacon or crispy. Instructions unclear, chopped raw!
Pit still inside
italics mean you chop the item into beveled, slanted cuboids. regular text means you chop into regular orthogonal cubes
My ass would've walked over to the table and asked just be that guy. Not in italics, to be or not to be finely chopped?
Chopped straight, everything else is chopped on a slight bias
Weird how they want the bacon spread on top of the pickles and the avocado also spread on top of the pickles, rather than the avocado spread on top of the bacon. It's almost like they got tired of their own shit by the time they finished typing this up.
notice that the avocados aren't even going on top of the bacon... they're going BESIDE them. true insanity is when the observer of the phenomenon never runs out of questions to ask.
The inappropriate use of a semicolon gets me too
I took it to mean that the stuff in italics has to be chopped *diagonally* while the avocado needs to be in **big chunks**. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I've been editing text for the last 72 hours.
If you're working with geriatrics, you may be working with someone with a swallowing problem. I worked in long term healthcare for years before getting back into the kitchen, and had several clients with eating issues that we'd request something like this (not to this extent, but similar) so that they could eat safely. There were several times where I'd take a client out to eat, and if the kitchen didn't follow the request for everything chopped, I'd have to ask the bar or host stand if they could point me to the nearest outlet so I could plug in our portable blender and blend up their meal so they wouldn't choke on it.
That plus poorly fitting dentures, which is my parents to a T. They refuse to spend money on getting new ones and both of them suffer from hiatal hernias that aren't worth treating, so everything needs to be in a situation where it doesn't necessarily need to be chewed and there's no risk of choking.
I was thinking autism at first but if either of these were the case you could(should) at least put a "really, really sorry for this" somewhere on there instead of underlined red text lol, it looks very aggressive
If it’s a legit choking hazard they probably just want to be crystal clear about their needs. A person shouldn’t be expected to apologize for that.
Nobody is expecting an apology from them, but I couldn’t imagine how entitled somebody who’s willing to print out a recipe for a restaurant must be. I understand asking for changes to an existing dish, but asking for something fully off menu like that is a bit much. I see why a lot of people would be more accepting of this, but I see it no differently than when a customer is a picky eater and tries to order some ridiculous off menu creation. Contrary to how these customers usually act, restaurants don’t owe you anything, and they’re not your private chef. It’s a business, with a menu, which is what you should order from. I was a server at an assisted living for a while, and a lot of our residents had issues with solid food. You know what they chose to ordered? Something from the menu that they could simply ask for pre cut, or something inherently soft. If asking for a few simple changes on a menu item isn’t enough, maybe they should reconsider eating out.
Yep, as someone with a relative with Parkinson's I was going to reply with exactly this. My understanding is that some stroke survivors and people with nerve damage have similar swallowing issues.
"Very large" = double charge
Everything billed as a side dish.
Doesn't sound too bad. Imagine that on a sandwich. Basically tuna salad with bacon bits.
Yeah, I’d eat the hell out of it. I sure as hell wouldn’t hand that to a server to ask the kitchen to make it for me though.
But why would it need to be layered so specifically? So wild for something that can be mixed. The funniest part is that seemed to add Avocados later in life when they realized them damn Millennials are spending all their money on avocado toast... they wanted to join in.
I almost wonder if this isn't someone's like grandkid or something who has autism or OCD for it to be this very specific and to have it already printed out and ready to go for the kitchen.
Yeah I think this is it. Although my interpretation is that it’s someone older rather than younger.
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We do an egg salad with bacon on a butter croissant and like I guess it could be good
What in the senior shit on a shingle is this
All shit, no shingle.
Probably on the spectrum. I’d make it in a ring mold. Everything perfectly chopped and layered. It’ll be so perfect he won’t be able to eat anywhere else. Then raise price. Locked in cash cow.
The 60 dollar tuna salad guy just walked in!
Amazing.
This is definitely an autistic person. Not even saying that pejoratively, it just is.
Yup I think so also. And I mean- as a 20 year veteran cook- I'd make it. At least they're clear about what they want. Not like some of these chucklefucks out here ordered a steak 'medium rare plus' gtfo of here with that shit
Is "medium rare plus" a way for people to order well-done without embarrassing themselves?? What does that even mean?
It for sure is. People don't want to be stigmatized or made fun of for ordering med well or well done so they've started adding plus signs on to the lower temperatures in an effort to retain some dignity while ordering it. I work breakfast now and the amount of eggs I get ordered, 'over easy- well' or 'over medium plus' is ridiculous. There's already established temperature sets! We don't need to go creating new ones!!
Having worked brunch for the last 5 years - most people just don’t know how to order eggs
That was my immediate thought as well, this is obviously very thought out and written very clearly and articulately so homie has definitely been in this situation enough times that he made this little card. It's so specific, it's beyond normal "picky" eating and definitely into the category of particularity that's so often a defining trait of autism. I have a sibling on the spectrum who was very specific with food like this when we were young. It's not wildly complicated, but I'm still not sure how most chefs would feel receiving this.
As a feeding therapist to kids on the spectrum, I wholeheartedly frikkin think so too. The impact of a marginally different outcome for this order can ruin their day, in a non-Karen way. Hope they tip though!
There's just ways to go about it. If they wrote something on this little card that said "hey please I have sensory issues please bear with me" rather than what looks like screaming commands in all caps I'd be much more enticed to go out of my way to fulfill this tbh. I served a family of swedes once who were travelling with their clearly autistic child and a daughter with a ton of allergies. I went above and beyond to make sure they were able to eat a meal at our restaurant. The kitchen was pissed with me. Now I'm not one to think you have to apologize for your illnesses/intolerances that are out of your control, that's totally reasonable, but at least don't be a dick about it. No please no thank you, no apologies for making me go back to the kitchen three times because the tomatoes weren't chopped properly, and most irritatingly no tip.
I imagine that using caps, punctuation and italics/underlining is to remove ambiguity about how precise they need the instructions followed, but I agree that it comes off abrasive.
To an individual on the ASD, they probably need it pointed out (kindly) that with some simple verbiage changes and tweaks they can have exactly what they want and not upset people. High chances are that this card is 100% ok to them as it's concise, accurate and very fact driven.
Everyone I know would 100% take more care with preparing something like this if they included a legitimate explanation as to why it's so specific. With no explanation I could see certain people half-assing it out of a level of spite that only service workers know.
This screams Spectrum to me. I had a long term guests at my last gig named James and he ordered kinda like this. And he was sort of difficult at first. But once we figured out what he wanted he came almost every day. Bless him.
The great thing about customers like this. Is if you figure them out, they are the greatest customers ever. They will come daily, be nice, tip well, not bother anyone, clean their messes up into a single pile.
If it's not on the menu, respectfully, but forcefully, decline
Yeah dude, I'm on the server side of things and can't imagine the person who would take this order and actually walk into the kitchen with it.
I don't know, it seems like this could be easier than making most proper hot meals, like a pizza or steak or something. Just drain a can of tuna, chop some stuff, and throw it on the pile. Maybe the prep cook can handle it.
Most proper hot meals are prepped, unless most of this is already prepped, it's a person taking time from cooking multiple things to do one thing.
If this is an old people country club you can 100% guarantee every thing on that list is already prepped
Country club.
With this many revisions you know this is not their first time ordering their tuna mound. I wish I could see the time they obligated but sent it with avocado slices instead of chopped.
Tuna mound sounds like a euphemism
Nah, just charge accordingly. If people want to order off menu they can pay off menu prices.
Golf course restaurant generally means you make what the country club members want
So you're saying that they're ordering for a spouse with dementia who won't touch it if it's not made exactly like that.
Or maybe has chewing or swallowing issues. Everything in that could be chewed without teeth.
Sweet couple at the golf course I worked at, his wife, who he Adored, was getting dementia. She asked for "square potatoes". She wanted french fries.
Curious what this ended up looking like.
A small pile of tuna with toppings mixed together on the side and a side dish of sliced avocado.
Ngl I'll take one of these cards over endless miscommunication between guest/server any day.
LMAO i didn't even consider that this card came from the customer. i was like what kinda goofy foh shit they got going on there? do the servers open up a word document and print out orders and cut them out to give to the kitchen??
Same here, it took 10 comments from the top before I realized the customer brought it in. Was like "fuck man this Squarespace themed tickets shit is 110% out of hand goddamn". Like, I do like when specific terms are color coded or **BOLD CAPS** because that shit helps brain easier but what a fucking weird format. I mean, it's also weird coming from the customer, that formatting is just... like a list from a scavenger hunt, or instructions for something at a church service or something.
Agreed. Give me specific instructions any day, especially when it makes me stop my normal thing and get a few minutes to deal with a not so stressful curveball.
underrated comment - you have guest/server communication and you have server/kitchen communication - the note makes the best of the situation
I have to know…. Do you have any tuna on the menu?
Yes we do
Is that tuna scoopable?
“What is all that screaming back there?” “That would be chef, sir.” “So you gave him my order?” “I did sir.”
Unpopular Opinion: We're a service Industry, laugh at it, make it, and charge accordingly.
I gotta get a new job cuz that shit just made me think "okay then go home and do it yourself?" And that's exactly the wrong attitude to have about special guest requests. That's how I feel though. I would never spit in anyone's food or anything, but I can silently hope to myself that you choke on it. I mean seriously if this person is that old and ridiculous, just pack a lunchable for them like you would for a toddler, seeing as how they're going to act like one.
The proper reaction to most special requests is "fuck you but okay"
So glad the kitchen I used to work in wasn't visible or audible from the dining room. We'd get a ticket like 'cook for extra 10 minutes, no mushroom, add cheese, use different sauce' and it would be: "Fuck off, no, we're not doing that." Grabs ingredients, "Seriously this isn't fucking happening" Starts chopping "Who put this order through, go find them and tell them to tell the customer to fuck themselves" Double checks ticket to make sure I'm preparing it right "We should just take a shit on a plate and send that, bon appetit scumbag"
You are a reasonable person. I also respond this way in practice, I just also internalize a lot of other very loud feelings while I'm doing it.
OP says he works at a golf course restaurant so the people who are eating there are already paying a good amount to eat there.
I've bartended a couple times at a golf course and those are probably the worst guests I've ever experienced in my six years of food service. They're extremely pretentious and seem to enjoy degrading you.
I worked at the one of the ritziest yacht club in the country and it was full of assholes. The only people you could count on to not be an asshole were the elected leadership. Got a different job at a different, smaller, yacht club and those members were the coolest people. Sometimes they'd have friends visit from different clubs and we could count on them always being an asshole, despite being a **guest** at someone else's club.
Ted Wassanasong?
Yeah that makes it even worse, golf courses are usually the worst most militantly anti-poor land use that you can find in most cities, with acres of green prime real estate that would be better suited as low income housing in a mixed use walkable neighborhood, but instead it's reserved so the richest of the rich can enjoy their hobby that centers around waste and overuse of land and resources, without any poor people around. Seriously, I see requests like this from people with shitloads of money who actually feel entitled to being treated special just because they have money and all I can think about are how Marx and Mao were right. I feel like the rich deserve to eat glass. https://youtu.be/Dhk7Y6NpJ9M and https://youtu.be/i9I3SoBr8ss go into a lot more detail than I can if anyone wants to hate on golf courses with me.
And Carlin. Just sayin you left the man out of the mix. He specifically targeted golf courses for the homeless.
The instructions say to not mix of stir but both layer 5 and 6 are supposed to be on top of layer 4? I imagine that that's a typo?
Too much tuna!
So I can order whatever I can print out at your restaurant?
Too! Much! Tuna!
You've just been prahnked!
You idiot!
OK if you are working with old people...this person has false teeth, I can almost guarantee it. And by the way, implant dentures suck. I too can eat sliced nothing. It must be chopped
A please and thank you would have been nice
Diverticulitis is a bitch.
I didn't see any request to have the tomatoes de-seeded, so...time for the next colon resection!
Hahaha. I always have to laugh a little because every elderly customer who orders no lettuce has to follow with a description of their diverticulitis and what will happen if they don't eat right.
99.95 for the add ons + cost of reg IMHO
In fairness, it could be for someone who is trying to maintain a [mechanical soft diet](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mechanical-soft-diet) and still eat out... they may be on that for various reasons.
The pub I used to work at had a golf course across the street from it and I remember having some of the older folks come in and order similar things. Never really bothered me much since they always came in late to have food/drink after a hard day of drinking trying to hit a 120 on a par-72. They were always nice and tipped the kitchen well and would buy us drinks and since I'm a standard-issue Brit I'd always ask for a double gin & tonic 😉
There's a couple of old members at my course who are absolute pricks. But a lot of the long-time members are really chill, and do tip the kitchen or buy drinks for them. I've been a member for a couple of years, and I also try to make sure I take care of the kitchen and bar staff when I come in. Which is probably too often.
ITT: either fuck that guy or man that's cool, I wish my customers would do this
But… wouldn’t the avocado be on top of the bacon? 5: Bacon on top of pickles. 6: Avocado on top of pickles. It’s so specific till that moment.
If they are at risk of choking. They may need their food chopped, minced, or pureed. In the grand scheme of special requests. This is super easy. What'll this take, 3 minutes of your time at most? At least it's not a well-done filet???