Old sous chef said 'never trust a quiet prep cook' and I laughed it off

This guy had 20 years in the biz and told me that the quiet ones are hiding something, like bad knife skills or stolen ingredients. Last week our new prep guy barely spoke for two months, then I caught him sneaking a whole prime rib into his bag after close. So is that advice actually legit, or just old kitchen superstition that happens to be right sometimes?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris5741mo ago

Oh man, that prime rib thing is wild. I once worked with a guy who barely said three words in six months, then we found out he was running a side business selling our pastry dough to a local bakery. Guess the old sous chef had a point, even if it sounds like a grumpy old saying.

ryanburns2mo ago

Quiet people are usually the hardest workers in my experience.

rowan_roberts492mo ago

Has anyone else had the opposite experience? In my line of work, the folks who talk the most usually get the credit for work they didn't fully do. Quiet people can be working on the wrong thing, or just avoiding conflict. I've seen plenty of loud people put their heads down and crush it too. Your mileage may vary, but I've found noise and output don't always line up.