If there’s one place that knows the term 86’d, it’s restaurants, and who knows restaurants better than the world-class chef himself, Gordon Ramsey? When you watch his hit show Kitchen Nightmares it’s clear in various episodes that when some menu items just aren’t working, it’s time to send them packing. This actually happens more often than you would think, too. The Season Five episode featuring Baltimore’s Cafe Hon is a prime example. The manager starts “86ing” practically the entire menu once service starts to get chaotic; the pot pie, the steak, the fries, and the catfish were all dishes that were kicked to the curb, off-limits to the hungry customers.
Additionally, the Season Two episode featuring Flemings in Miami brought 86ing into action when a cooked duck was found sitting in raw meat juices in the back fridge. Instantly the remaining ducks were rounded up from the dining room and the menu item was unavailable for the rest of the night, creating disappointment for both the customers as well as the restaurant staff.
Clearly sometimes 86ing items is vital for the establishment, and other times it’s a process that should be avoided at all costs, not out of sheer frustration that customer’s dishes keep coming back to the kitchen. By the end of both episodes both restaurants worked out their problems and started using Gordon’s guidance to reach success, and their new menus flourished; no need for 86ing anything. They worked on their cooking techniques, made a simple, smaller menu with meals that required little preparation and learned the significance of communicating with each other, chef-to-chef, in the kitchen during a busy dinner rush. It’s practices like these that completely nix the thought of even 86ing in the first place; if Gordon Ramsey advises against it, take his word for it.
Photo Credit: Urban Gyllstrom.
