My sous chef of 7 years quit last month and his goodbye advice is messing with my head

Olivia Chen · 2026-09-28T18:05:05.492868+00:00

So my sous chef Marcus gave his two weeks notice last month after 7 years working next to me at our spot in Austin. On his last night we sat at the bar after close with two cheap beers and he told me straight up, "Chef, you plate every dish like you're still trying to prove something to somebody who already left the building." I laughed it off at first because who says stuff like that, but then I started thinking about how I've been running my kitchen for 12 years and I still refuse to let anybody else do the sauce work on the tasting menu. Last Tuesday I actually let my new guy take over the scallop crudo and he plated it in a way I never would have, and honestly it looked better, and I literally stood there with my hands at my sides feeling weird about it. I have been telling myself for years that holding every plate to my own standard is just what a real chef does, but now I'm wondering if I've been confusing control with quality this whole time. Anybody else had a longtime crew member leave and drop some truth on the way out that you couldn't shake? How did you deal with the urge to keep grabbing the tongs back out of everybody's hands?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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My sous chef of 7 years quit last month and his goodbye advice is messing with my head | Chefs - Pinecone Attack