
To be a chef of any kind can feel like living in the trenches. Orders are being thrown at you, the pressure is on, and the last thing you need is some rookie not staying in his lane. It's tough, and the day can only be made all the tougher when an unwanted or complex order comes through. To be a chef, you have to love to cook, but that doesn't mean you have to love to cook everything.
Reddit user, u/usernameredacted, wanted to know what chefs hate the most when they asked:
Chefs of Reddit, what's the one thing on the menu that you HATE making?
When You Don't Need All The Supplies...
We have a pork thing that I only hate making because due to the packaging you have to make a minimum of 6 and they're expensive and rarely ordered so I usually end up tossing at least half the package
When They're Just So Inconvenient...
Chicken fingers.
Being an upscale steakhouse we were always supposed to hand make them from cut up airline breasts and for years we just used frozen ones but we stopped buying them. I see maybe 1 order a week if that so it's just not practical to keep the extra cutting board, flour, batter, eggwash etc on hand at all times. But they always seem to pop up in the middle of a rush when I'm already making 3 other special orders.
So yeah, f-ck chicken fingers.
When It's The Same, But Only Smaller...
I was a cook in a bar briefly at one point. The thing I hate most of all was burger sliders. Same amount of food and same exact taste as a normal burger, but like four times the work.
When The Gingerbread Is Terrorizing...
I'm a cake decorator but we decorate other things as well. Anything gingerbread related around Christmas time. We had giant gingerbread houses that took several days to make and the royal icing that is used to hold it together and decorate, it just kills your hand it's so hard. We would do about 15-20 houses a week, 10 gingerbread sleighs a week, and several cookies (gingerbread people, reindeer faces, and giant 1.5 foot tall gingerbread people).
Every year I would think that was the year that was going to give me carpel tunnel.
When There's More Than One Recipe...
Combo meals or a dish that has a handful of everything.
For example, a breakfast combo might have eggs, mushroom, tomato, bacon, snags and a hash brown. Time consuming to make and can really slow you down when you get smashed with them.
When Heavy Metal Is The Only Way...
To be honest in my previous place. I hated the carpaccio.
B-tch I had to cut that stuff fresh on the day and the actual chef sucked at his job so I was doing that, my own stuff plus 80 percent of his work too. I had 4 hours to prep each day.. I had a regular of 100 -120 diners a night and like 80-90 of them ordered the carpaccio. I spend 3 hours a day cleaning the machine and cutting the meat and had many a breakdown over it. Usually I ended up listening to heavy metal to get me through it and imagining it was my chefs head I was slicing...... oh well hope my guests enjoyed it.
When They Order 10 Minutes Before You Close...
Our German Apple pancake.
First you sauté Granny Smiths in clarified butter.
Then add three ladles of our German batter into sauté pan.
Throw in oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and add clarified butter and cinnamon sugar.
Flip delicate pancake with spatula.
Return to oven and cook 5 more minutes.
Flip pancake onto plate and insure it makes it to the table in less than a minute as it deflates rapidly.
Bonus points for when it's ordered 10 minutes before we close.
When It's Just. So. Boring...
I expo at a french restaurant and the cooks hate making the burger. Mainly because it's boring and they want to make the creative dishes, but that burger is one of our most popular menu items.
When The Pizza Is A Taco...?
The taco pizza at the pizza place I worked at. It had like 17 toppings, half of them had to go on after it was baked so you ended up cutting and panning a total mess. 2 metric tons of lettuce would come flying off with every cut. 30 minutes later you had to bus the table and that was an ordeal right there. The table was covered in uncooked toppings. It didn't help that I hated taco pizzas to begin with, so it didn't look the least bit appetizing.
It's Just...So Much Work...
not a chef.
barista.
every frappuchino, especially the "ultra" or "triple" ones
Just Tell Me How You Want Your Eggs!
Can I get me eggs between over medium and over medium well? I want the yolk wet but not runny, and I don't want the whites to jiggle.
F-CK YOU
Foam Is The Worst
Not a chef, but a barista for a little while. I don't mind making the majority of drinks, but the absolute worst request was any kind of espresso drink with a high fat percentage in the 'dairy', with foam.
All of our steamer wands would throw a fit when confronted with a high fat dairy, screaming loudly as they whipped up the foam. And, given how heavy the fat made the liquid, it would take several minutes to get the right amount of foam, all the while with Nazgul screeching up a storm. Plus, it would fling dairy all over my apron, which was not fun cleaning up.
It Sticks So Much
5 star hotel, would ocassionally get the "health freaks" who ask for eggs-white only omelette, and no oil.
Damn thing would stick to the pan everytime ruining the texture and they stare as if that wasnt supposed to happen...
Too Much Effort Involved
I worked at a 150 seat restaurant at a ski hill that did "build your own pasta" I was the only guy working pans. I had 8 star tops and maybe 10 serviceable pans.
I also had to work the ovens and plate a few other dishes.
10/10 would never do it again.
What's The Point?
I'm not a chef, but as a cook and normal person, who the f-ck decided to make wedge salads a thing? Chopping up some iceberg too difficult? Just quarter it and toss some blue cheese and tomatoes and other sh-t on it and you're good!
It just looks terrible no matter how you plate it, and since my place does blue cheese dressing with blue cheese crumbles and a balsamic glaze, its got a bunch of sh-t on it I find disgusting. At least if it were chopped like normal salads I could attempt to make it look good, but wedge salads look like someone puked on a chunk of lettuce.
Because That's What Vietnam Is Known For?
I used to cook at an authentic Vietnamese restaurant owned by a sassy old Vietnamese grandma. Best food I've ever had the privilege of cooking. However, being located in northern Minnesota, where people are famous for being less-than-adventurous, we had a small menu of "American" items. Whenever I heard kids up front, I knew I was going to get an order for a f-cking grilled cheese.
But that wasn't the worst.
The worst offender would be the baby-boomer husband who just has to order a cheeseburger with ketchup. I'm sorry, but why the f-ck did you come to a Vietnamese restaurant to order a burger?! It's not even a good burger. Great, now I have to dig the patties out of the freezer, thaw them in the microwave, get out the skillet (or just say f-ck it and cook it in the wok), pray we're not out of buns and cheese singles, and slap it on the plate for your boring ass. Enjoy your sh-tty burger.
Eat When You're Supposed To, Man!
Does fast food count?
Breakfast food at late in the evening ruins my efficiently, I have to walk all the way to another grill and lay them down specifically and usually requires babying with delicate foods like eggs.
What Even Is That???
My father is a culinary specialist. I messaged him this inquiry. Regularly it takes him around a hour to two hours to react to a content, yet under 30 seconds after the fact he reacts, "Screwing BEEF WELLINGTON."
But It Seems Like Such A Happy Meal
Asked my dad who was a cook in many a place and he said oatmeal.
No two people eat it the same and the only people who order oatmeal in a restaurant are cranky old people.
When The Steak Is Ordered WELL-DONE???
People that have no idea about steaks and think a very well done steak should still be juicy.
Any chefs out there? What's the one thing you can't stand cooking? Tell us all about it!
Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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