Chefs reveal the worst mistakes people make in the kitchen

'I could rant about poorly sourced food forever'

(iStock)

From needlessly binning perfectly edible food to using scallops from a tin, top chefs have revealed the mistakes that fellow professionals and amateurs make that make their blood boil.

We asked a handful of chefs whose specialisms range from French haute cuisine to sushi to get the most infuriating kitchen mistakes off their chests. Failing to communicate properly and leaving a trail of mess also got under the skin of professionals. Read on to find out more.

Tilesh Chudasama, founder and chef at London’s Indian street food restaurant Chai Naasto

Buying more than is needed and wasting the surplus. There are plenty of little tricks we can all do to avoid this: buy less, freeze surplus, share it, take a doggy bag, use the leftovers, give it to someone who needs it, make compost. Just don’t throw it away!

Richard Bainbridge, chef and proprietor of British restaurant Benedicts in Norwich

Time management. People usually don’t take the time to organise themselves. It only takes a couple of minutes to give yourself a rough time line of when and how to do things and overall makes your cooking far more relaxed and enjoyable.

Lee Skeet runs a self-titled pop-up restaurant. He is based in Cornwall


 Lee Skeet (left) and friend Dan Harding pictured at a pop-up at The Shop in Kensal Rise, London. 

Poor sourcing. This applies to professional chefs even more so than home cooks. I cannot understand why chefs don't realise the difference in quality of produce. Chefs that don't realise that scallop meat in a tub isn't the same as live scallops, or who don't buy whole fresh fish because they've “got no time to fillet.”

It's something that will always pisses me off. I could rant about it forever but I just can't understand how someone could call themselves a chef and knowingly serve guests anything other than the best produce they can find. For me, if I couldn't get live scallops, I'd rather never serve a scallop again.

Ani Arora, the head chef at Nirvana Kitchen, an Asian fusion restaurant in London

This biggest mistake people make is not being organised and not cleaning as they go. The other thing I don’t like is overcrowding the pan when cooking as the ingredients don’t sear well.

Dan Doherty, chef director of Duck & Waffle and Duck & Waffle Local, which specialises in British cuisine with continental European influences

Following recipes to the letter and thinking it'll all go wrong if they don't have the right type of parsley or the right leek. Aside from pastry and baking, recipes are there to be tweaked, changed and evolved - that’s the fun part of cooking.

Paul Wedgwood is head chef and co-owner of Wedgwood in Edinburgh, which specalises in Scottish produce with occasional Asian touches

Not tasting the food they are making, even if it's something you make time and time again you still need to taste it every time!

Daniel Fletcher, head chef at Fenchurch Restaurant, in Sky Garden, London

Not listening! Following instructions is such an important skill in the kitchen that is sometimes overlooked.

Dave Rann, head chef at Juniper Tree, an organic restaurant in London

At work, any lack of attention to detail makes me crazy. At home, cleanliness: not doing the washing-up promptly and well.

Eric Guignard, the head chef at The French Table in Surbiton

The most common mistake I find most frustrating is when people do not season their food properly.

Hamish Brown, the group executive of Japanese restaurant Roka

Cooking a recipe by the gram and not to their taste, food is natural and varies in flavour dramatically. When you cook you need to taste, taste, taste and cook to the flavour you like adjust seasoning and balance the flavours

Andrew Dargue, the head chef of vegetarian restaurant Vanilla Black in London

(Vanilla Black)

General lack of communication. The kitchen is a busy place and communication is very important. Passing on details of progress, requirements and updates is imperative yet it’s surprising how many people just don’t communicate.