Welcome, foodies. By now, you’ve probably pored over the responses to our "Top Chefs Tell All" survey, in which we asked 40 of New York’s top cooks about drinking, drugs, the city’s best restaurants, the city’s worst and Anthony Bourdain (asshole or antihero?). If you haven’t seen the complete results, check it out right here. Who said what? We’re not telling. But feel free to post your gossip below, after reading a few more tidbits that didn’t make the cut:
On kitchen hazing, one chef called it fratboy behavior that’s dying out—along with slaps on the ass. "We are an extremely litigious society," he said. "Don’t look twice at a woman or you’re up to your ass in Human Resource Ghouls."
On whether or not she’s done drugs on the job, another chef shared this: "I’ve smoked pot. But I recall one time when it wasn’t so pleasant. I was the sous chef and my chef got me high. I was just going to have a hit or two but wound up getting totally stoned. (I should have known—he always had the best weed.) We were talking and shooting the shit, then reality kicks in. My chef says to me, "I’m too stoned, I’m going home, you’re in charge."
One chef’s best ethnic enclave—which didn’t make it to print—was the soccer fields in Red Hook, Brooklyn (scroll down for info).
Another tipped us off about bad food: "Clumsily cut vegetables are abundant and usually a very clear indication that whoever is cooking your food does not care."
As for how a steak should be cooked, most said medium-rare—although one chef couldn’t care less. "If you want to spend $40 on a fucking fillet and then ask for it to be cooked well done, giddyap. I’m not here to educate, I’m here to sell you food."









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