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"Knowing what I know now, I truly do not understand why we tip servers and not cooks. If you loved your meal, please tell the server to tell the crew in the kitchen. Those compliments do stoke the fire." I have several food allergies, and eating out is always a challenge. I usually call a restaurant ahead of time and find out if they have something on their menu I can eat. When I get there, I quite often find I can't eat anything on the menu because the person I spoke to didn't know all the ingredients. So I request that a dish be made with or without certain ingredients. And I always send a generous tip to the kitchen crew in a sealed envelope marked Kitchen Crew. At least half the time, a kitchen crew member comes out to thank me and tells me how surprised the crew is to have been tipped. I always thank them for making me a special dish because I know how much trouble it causes them to have to make it. We live in a small rural town, and it's 25 miles to the nearest town of 40,000 people that has two good restaurants. They know me well now, and as soon as my husband and I arrive, the hostess tells me what's on the menu that can be modified for me or goes to the kitchen to tell them I've arrived and what suggestions do they have. I'm always amazed at their willingness to go out of their way to provide this service. At the kitchen crew's request, we usually go to the restaurants at 5:30 before they get really busy or go very late after the crowd has gone. It's a very workable solution for me and for the restaurants.

acbearce

Yes, I care that you're a chef and I'm sorry you've never received a tip. I frequently request a change in a menu item at a restaurant due to food allergies and sensitivities. I always send a tip to the chef via the server. My husband wonders if the chef gets it. Many times they do, because they they come out to thank me, telling me it's the first time anyone has ever tipped them. And I get the opportunity to thank them for cooking my meal just the way I wanted it.

My friends think I'm crazy to tip the chef. But hey! You went to extra work to cook my meal the way I wanted/needed it, you deserve to be tipped! And tipped well. And I make it a point to tell the manager about the good service I received from the kitchen.

Do you have a suggestion for ensuring that the tip gets to the chef and doesn't stay in the server's pocket?

kateinmo

Love all the comments. I'm a good cook--the one who reads cookbooks as if they're novels. Love Joy of Cooking. Love the skills my husband has taught me. Love that he taught me it's okay to throw out a dish if it doesn't turn out (I grew up in poverty; throwing out food is a very, very tough thing to do). I'm OCD and make copious notes when trying out a recipe the first time. It tooke me a long time to learn that ingredients vary as dbcurrie mentioned. Lunchblock - loved your comment "Empiricism, for me, in the only way in the kitchen." Healthygirl78, you've got the right attitude, so you'll do just fine.

chiff0nade,

I couldn't cook rice, either. But I can now, thanks to my husband teaching me his technique. Here it is:

Rice by Glen:

4 cups water
2 cups converted white rice
salt to taste
heavy 4 quart pan with a tight fitting lid
12" round pan (he uses our heavy frying pan) or dish 2-3 inches deep

Bring the 4 cups of water to a full rolling boil over high heat. Dump in the rice all at once. Stir well one time. Bring back to a "tiny" boil. Turn the heat down to medium. Put the lid on the pan, and watch for 2-4 minutes for lots of steam to come out of the pan. When it does, turn the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Conventional wisdom says not to remove the lid during the 20 minutes, but my husband swears it makes no difference to take a peek or two to see how the rice is doing. At the end of the 20 minutes, take the pan off the heat. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Put the lid back on and let the rice sit off the heat for 5 minutes. Take the lid off and fluff the rice again with the fork. Dump the rice out into the 12" round pan or dish and let it sit for 20 minutes. Perfectly fluffy, separate grains of rice. Yes, you will have to reheat it before serving. My husband reheats it, covered, in the microwave. Even better, make it the day before you're going to use it; you'll be amazed at the improvement in the flavor. This recipe works well using chicken or beef stock for the liquid. Homemade is best, but if you don't have any around, bouillon or purchased chicken stock will do.

Good luck, and let me know if this works for you.

kateinmo

Don't like getting stuck with the cat butts? Put a peppermint patty between the cupcake and the icing. Yum! I'd make the cupcakes in my muffin tops pan for bigger kitties. More yummy chocolate frosting per bite!