The Reason Chefs Never Order Chicken At Restaurants

There are two sides to perusing a restaurant's menu for the very first time. Of course, there's that growing anticipation as you wonder to yourself, "What amazing gastronomic gem lurks within this page of Edwardian script?" There is a whisper of promise. But there is also that nagging sense of foreboding as you ponder the chef's ability, the freshness of the day's catch, and what will give you the most bang for your buck. 

Thankfully, the masters of the culinary world are quite open when it comes to sharing what they would never order at a restaurant, especially one that is new to them. Gordon Ramsay, for example, told the Daily Mail that he wouldn't order the restaurant's "special." He explained that these are designed to get rid of food, adding that when they have a lengthy selection of specials, it isn't special at all. Another thing to avoid is hollandaise. Anthony Bourdain once wrote in his book, "Kitchen Confidential," that diners should never order this sauce, as it is a haven for bacteria and rarely "made to order." And one food that Wolfgang Puck wouldn't cook as a young chef and, likely, wouldn't order as an adult is a well-done steak. In a TikTok video, the master chef confessed that as a young chef, if someone ordered this beef atrocity, he would suggest they have chicken instead. 

Which brings us to the bird at hand. Many chefs won't order chicken at a restaurant and they cite several good reasons. 

Perhaps the best reason for avoiding chicken is for your safety. Professional Chef, Raymond Neil, told Eat This, Not That that chicken is easy to cook either too much or not enough. And not enough is dangerous. If you've ever watched an episode of "Hell's Kitchen," you know just how often the chefs send out pink and potentially hazardous poultry. On the flip side, Executive Chef Ryan Ososky, shares with Reader's Digest that he avoids chicken as it is almost always cooked to death. Perhaps, some chefs live in fear of giving diners a dose of chicken salmonella and err, instead, on the side of shoe leather. Mark Ladisky, a seniors operations consultant for Synergy Restaurant Consultants, confessed to Taste of Home that it is not only an inexpensive protein with a huge markup, but he finds most chefs fail to think "outside the box" when it come to chicken. 

Many recommend that you stick with a dish that you likely wouldn't (or couldn't) cook for yourself at home — a dish that's worthy of getting excited about. As long as it's not a well-done steak special smothered in hollandaise sauce, you should be good. Unless, of course, it's chicken.