Why are some chefs so anal when it comes to cooking steak?

Question

I want my steak well done. I don't want any pink in it. Some chefs think the only way to have steak is medium and so they refuse to cook it any other way. I'm payin' for it. I'll have it cooked any way I d**n well please. What gives them the right to tell me how to eat steak.

Answer 1

Because I'm sure they have had customers who ask for something well done and then complain that it is burnt and ask for another one.

You can always throw an undercooked steak back on the grill, but you can't uncook an overcooked one.  So, best to err on the side of undercooked and wait for the person to send it back.

Answer 2

well first off, i find that men in general are the royal pains when it comes to steak. i think it goes back to the whole caveman days thing, the hunter thing, bringing home the carcass. i think that chefs who believe the only way to cook, serve and eat a steak is medium...should get together and open a chain of restaurants, and see how long that lasts!  but, i digress,you are actually 100% correct in that you and only you should decide how your steak will be prepared. last but not least, we vote with our feet and our dollars! when all else fails...take it somewhere else !

Answer 3

Medium Rare is the only way to cook a steak.

Answer 4

I would like to mention that I agree with you.  I think that (IN GENERAL, MAYBE NOT ALL CASES) many chefs are used to cooking medium rare steaks, and when they have to cook the steak well-done, they do not know how to work with it; or they may burn it.  Anyway, it is healthier to have it well done, because you can be sure that e-coli, and other forms of bacteria, are cooked out of it.  Also, I think many chefs/cooks put bias into what they believe is "the perfect steak," when in fact, you ARE paying for it, and as long as you are not asking for it raw, or any other way a franchise/chain/organization cannot legally cook it (due to risk of illnesses and/or death), then I don't see a problem with it.  If I were you, I would complain to the restaurant chain/franchise about this problem.  Good luck!  You should not have to have it put back on the grill.  I'm sure if you are dining out with other people, especially, you would probably want to eat WITH them.  Like you stated, YOU ARE PAYING, if it weren't for you, they would not have a job!!

Answer 5

I agree with Amanda O, I have been cooking at Ninety-Nine Restaurant for about 15 years now, and I ALWAYS witnessed a few chefs/cooks who were uncomfortable with not cooking it medium-rare.  Anyway, I ALWAYS cook it the way the customer wants it; after all, they are paying for it.