Photo Credit: NYDailyNews.com

Chef and restaurateur Andrew Carmellini is an Italian American chef based in New York City. Well known for his restaurants such as Locanda Verde and The Dutch, chef Andrew shared his experience as a line cook serving the notorious mobster John Gotti.

Photo Credit: www.grubstreet.com

The story itself is quite intriguing. The fact that it is based on a real life experience in the 90's which was John Gotti's prime. The "Dapper Don" made back then "line cook" Andrew drop everything in the middle of a Saturday night dinner service run down the block in search for some "sole" for the mobsters to consume.

Photo Credit: community.qvc.com

The story ends with Chef Andrew Carmellini learning a valuable lesson that night with him stating "big lesson... doesn't matter who is coming into your restaurant... you have to treat them with respect!"

Another lesson should be embraced as well. At the end of the meal John Gotti's associates went around the restaurant and personally tipped each employee from the waiter to the pastry chef $50 and saying "Mr. Gotti would like to personally thank you for tonight"

We may not have the finances to tip every staff $50 every time you go out to eat, but maybe we should take a page from John Gotti's book and show other ways to appreciate BOH (back of house) staff. Some restaurants are even offering options like a round of beer for the line cooks on their menu's.

A round of beers doesn't sound so bad after all, but can they drink it after they serve us? 😂

What do you think?

Story Time: What Do You Do When John Gotti Comes to Dinner? | On The Line

NoHo Hospitality Group - Chef Andrew Carmellini

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@renatapdx

As time passes our passion for cooking at home continues, but shopping for certain ingredients lacks hope due to inconsistency of sourcing products. So what does one do when they want to cook a delicious meal for their loved ones while in quarantine? The answer is... think locally!

Thanks to companies like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron who paved the way and became pioneers for home cooks to produce quality meals with the convenience of not only having it delivered to your front door, but have all the ingredients measured and ready to throw in the pan. Now, local restaurants are taking a page from that book and starting to supply their neighborhoods with meal kits in both savory meals and sweet treats ready to cook and consume.

@bratobk

Listed below is Paris Gourmet's recommendations of where to get your local "mis en place". So start clicking and planning your meals for this week... bon appetit!

***Did we miss a neighborhood favorite spot of yours? Feel free to comment below where to go and what you suggest to order.***

APPS & MAIN COURSE MEAL KITS

Brooklyn Benchmark Brooklyn, NY

COTE NYC, NY

Sous Vide Kitchen NYC, NY

BREADS & DESSERT MEAL KITS

Plum and Honey Brooklyn, NY

L' imprimerie Brooklyn, NY

ARTICLES THAT FEATURE MORE MEAL KITS

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livescience.com

When someone mentions lobster, you automatically think, "we are eating good tonight!" Lobster is known to be an expensive item on the menu and no one questions the price unless its cheap. Then it is considered fishy! What consumers don't realize is how lobster was once considered " peasant food" or the "poor man's protein" and my favorite, "the cockroach of the sea". At one point, it was the standard diet of prisoners because it was so inexpensive! In the colonial times, lobster would be washed ashore in 2 foot high walls where everyone can take as many as the please. Native Americans used lobster as fish bate and fertilizer. The question is how did it go from one extreme to another? Watch these YouTube videos below. Each video has a unique perspective on the topic and discuss different details on how the history of the lobster has controlled our stomachs and wallets. So the next time you eat lobster, it will taste much better because of the knowledge you have learned!

YouTube Video Links:

Why Were Lobsters Once Prison Food? - The Infographics Show According to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit publication that covers the criminal-justice system in the US, the budget per meal in jails and prisons in the United States is as little as $0.56. An example of a meal from a state prison might be something like 2 to 3 ounces of meat or meat byproduct, half a cup of vegetables, three-quarters of a cup of a starch, and three-quarters of a cup of salad with dressing. That doesn’t sound too bad but then on such a low budget the prison kitchen is never going to be serving up a Masterchef meal. However, there was a time when some items on the prison menu looked more like what you would see on a 5-star restaurant menu. And that’s what we’ll be looking at today, in this episode of The Infographics Show: Why were lobsters once gruel and prison food?

Why is Lobster so Expensive? - Business Insider

Lobster went from prison food to a well-known delicacy. Seafood was left out of rationed foods during WWII, and with the advent of railway transportation, lobster became known as an exotic delicacy.

This History of Lobster in America - Now This News

Lobster used to be the least classy food in America.