So for context: The owner of the restaurant where I am the Executive Chef was contacted about 3 weeks ago by a woman who claims to have once been a regular with her husband who is sadly about to pass away. Before he goes he wants to eat my food again as takeout. They mentioned a salad I did years ago with grilled peaches and burrata and a dish that I had on the menu at the time of the call- a handmade tortellini filled with mortadella in a robiola cream sauce. Ok, sure no problem. They also mentioned that they’d like a few additional peaches. Why not? Ordered peaches as I currently wasn’t using them. Well on the day of the pickup they called and said that they’d need to postpone a week. Alright. They then sent this new order by email to be picked up today. We are now at 12 total sandwiches somehow. I highlighted them in pink for my staff to read. They now want the tortellini on a sandwich-topped with peaches. They want macaroni and cheese on their fried chicken sandwiches etc. Read the order to try to understand how bizarre this all is. Today they canceled the order and want to postpone yet again. Since they have not yet paid we are done. But it seemed legit. This is an old woman calling who just seemed lost. Bizarre.
by FonzoLatrundo
33 Comments
What are you gonna do with the peaches now?
can’t lie it all sounds pretty tasty lol
What a wild ride honestly
Certainly sounds like it’s getting close to the we’d be happy to accommodate your order with a non-refundable deposit good for x date to y date.
I got out of the restaurant business but these people are the same when it comes to the line of work I currently work in. All the sudden this week isn’t good enough or they want to add a bunch of stuff and then no one to pay for it,
Suddenly when you start asking to pay for it they start verbally abusing you, or shut up, or actually keep their timeline. It’s one of the three.
Three reschedules over 3 days maybe, but 3 weeks and changes to the order isn’t reasonable if you’re making stuff custom and ordering product
Get them to pay your material expenses up front and then the rest on delivery. You’ll find out pretty quick what kind of client / customer they actually are.
Edit: thanks for the upvotes which I attribute to “running a business” category. Many other comments are much more sympathetic to the client / customer’s situation and are worth reading.
The husband may have been deteriorating quickly and no longer had the manual dexterity to use a fork and knife. Hence asking for everything Primanti’s style.
I’ll also mention that the only focaccia on my menu is homemade (like most of my bread) and sourdough. It’s only on one sandwich so I don’t need a lot. It takes me all day to turn out 12 orders because of long fermentation time. So I brought in the focaccia for all of this as well. So- $30 invested in focaccia and another $15 in peaches and not dollar one recouped. The amount of time my boss spent on both the phone and returning emails was way more time than he spends to book a $20k event. He was sympathetic to her plight and we all got hosed.
Yeah just cook an entire pork belly dish and send me a photo 🥶
Fuck me I want some mortadella tortellini now
Almost sounds like the guy is NPO and they’re only gonna let them eat it when they know he’s gonna die because of the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
Perhaps… dementia? Or… is she trying to translate oddly specific requests from her dying husband that has dementia and was perhaps, once a chef himself? The Mac and cheese on top of a sandwich with breadcrumbs to keep it tight is pushing me in that direction.
I cooked what I knew would be someone’s last meal a few years back and because I knew them (as a neighbor who became a friend) it’s become something I think about somewhat often.
“Breadcrumbs to keep it tight” I beg your pardon?
If I was the family of that dying man. I’d like to cook it all ourselves. wtf they really want that inheritance with minimal efforts. Guilt tripping a restaurant to do it for them. Either that or it’s made up
Why did I think this was someone on death row’s last meal? Lol
End of life care can be really chaotic, and if she sounds lost, she may be deteriorating as well. I cared for someone who had a craving for his fave restaurant meal, and got it for him, but he was at a point where he couldn’t have more than a couple small bites. I think there’s that desire for normal pleasures, for things to be like they were when life was better, even if it’s no longer possible.
I love how the mistake in spelling burrata makes it mean “cheap Mortadella” in spanish
This is dementia territory with that last sentence. I had a great aunt who started cooking her ice cream by placing the cardboard half gallon on the stove and lighting the burner.
Peaches on a tortellini sandwich. Do I need to say more?
Thank you for being compassionate and patient. Your kindness with these people as they face and try to manage s good death may be one of the most important meals you’ll ever serve. Much respect to you for your good deed. I hope someday when you need help, someone like you is there to provide it. 💐🫶 ✌️
Hi I work in the kitchens in an aged care facility and this sounds similar to what I deal with.
Old mate will be getting fed if he’s in care (imagine that’s why its takeout) and it’ll be a textured meal most likely can’t have things he can choke on. Wife is trying to feed him what he wants (maybe what she wants for him)
Good luck, I’d be asking for a deposit to arrange special orders like that, or you’ll be doing this dance forever
Good on your for entertaining. Too bad they sucked.
Sounds like dementia calls to me. You say she sounds old. Her husband is probably passed. Its just her, and unfortunately due to USA healthcare is not getting the care or supervision she needs and is placing these orders. Which I bet her family is then cancelling.
If she calls back maybe ask her to put a family member on the phone. Maybe someone more lucid can clear things up.
Assuming its real since lots of places dont offer MAiD you just dont know. People start hospice when the Dr is like “you have a couple days, tops” and next thing you know they are clinging. Ive watched people who would be dead without oxygen start rigging concentrators together hoping they would die in their sleep. Instead they keep waking up into a body that cant move because its not getting enough O2 for stuff to function, but heart keeps pumpin and brain keeps thinkin.
They dont want to suffer dying awake, so they wont take off the mask themselves, and since they are concious, its illegal to pull the plug on em. They ask for dignity but instead their death gets to be prolonged and nothing but fear, pain, and embarassment because of the law.
Until you tell her no, shes gonna keep calling until the end. If you dont mind eating a bit of losses, keep doing it but be like “im only doing food for you 2. No 12 sandwhiches you are going to quarter for his wake”
fwiw OP, you have my admiration for your desire to help someone who is suffering
It almost sounds like he no longer can hold a fork or spoon, so everything needs to be in a form he can just pick up and eat?
Bro mortadella filled tortellini sounds amazing
i hope you’re able to accommodate. I did read the post, I do understand it’s frustrating. end of life care is exhausting. maybe ask for a non-refundable deposit or something?
Mortadella/Burrata on foccacia with grilled peaches sounds actually really good to me if you threw on some balsamic. Maybe Im a nut. Not a chef, take pity on me.
How bad of an idea would arugula be on top of that…
Tbh I hope I die during peak peach season, I would order half a bushel from Pearson’s in GA. If I were ordering off your menu I would also get the mortadella tortellini.
Maybe she’s actually the one who’s sick and there is no old guy. Probably her dead husband.
Yeah, tell them if they want all this they need to pay in advance and then once you have their credit card info you’ll make the order. When I catered we never took an order without a credit card first
Send something over as a courtesy until they place the big order. It’s a rough time for families and also a time they may be generous with those that reach out.
For my mom, she really craved those orange sherbet push up popsicles with the flinstones on the tube. I searched everywhere and could only find this knock off purple packaged ones. She would eat those when she would come to in the middle of the night.