She Refused To Make Truffle Pasta At A Charity Gala, And A Woman Threatened To Get Her Fired Over It

In the service industry, it's generally accepted that "the customer is always right." And chefs are all too familiar with this, having to deal with special requests or sent-back menu items on a regular basis.

Still, there are certain situations when a patron's wishes simply cannot be granted, like at private, pre-arranged events. That's how this 32-year-old female chef landed herself in hot water with an entitled guest at a recent charity event.

For some background, she normally works at a restaurant, but she also gets hired to cook for larger events, such as weddings, fundraisers, and other galas. These contracts are much different from just working a typical dinner rush, too.

"Everything is decided weeks before: the menu, portions, prep. We don't just freestyle dishes for whoever asks because it throws off service and breaks the contract," she detailed.

She was working a charity gala about two weeks ago, though, and one guest (a woman in her mid-forties) had a major issue with that.

Apparently, the woman, who was "dripping" in designer clothing, waved her over at one point and demanded to be served truffle pasta.

However, that dish wasn't being offered at the gala, so she tried to explain that there was a fixed menu for the event, meaning she couldn't cook anything else.

The woman immediately became angry and claimed that a "real chef" would make anything guests wanted. Plus, the woman remarked, "You're just the help with a fancy knife set. Don't act like you're above me."

To her surprise, the woman's words cut deeper than she thought they would. She's spent over a decade working crazy hours in kitchens, losing sleep, battling stress, and even suffering injuries like burns due to her career.

Drobot Dean - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

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"And the woman boiled all of that down to just the help," she stated, "But I bit my tongue and kept working."

Unfortunately, the woman didn't show as much class or poise. Instead, throughout the dinner service, she was repeatedly approached by the woman, who kept loudly complaining about the lack of truffle pasta. Once, she even got cornered by the guest and accused of "ruining" the vibe.

But the real cherry on top was when the woman flat-out threatened to "make sure" that she never worked at another gala again.

"People actually overheard because the woman was raising her voice. I felt so small, like I wanted to disappear. It got heated enough that my sous chef had to step in," she revealed.

Things became so bad that her event coordinator eventually got involved, too, and luckily, they stood up for her. The coordinator said the woman was out of line and defended her for refusing to make the truffle pasta, saying that she was just following her job contract.

Nonetheless, she later found out that the woman continued to badmouth her to other people all night, calling her "difficult" and "uncooperative."

This was especially upsetting, since reputations are extremely important in her line of work. And while she knows she didn't do anything wrong, it's terrifying to her that one entitled person's opinion has the potential to seriously damage her career.

"And you know what's wild? This was a charity gala. The woman was there to support a cause but lost her mind over not getting custom pasta," she vented.

Have you ever worked in the service industry and encountered someone so entitled? Wasn't she just doing her job? Did she handle the situation well, or should she have done anything differently? 

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