FOOD NEWS
The One
Steak Order Professional Chefs Can't Stand
By Chase Shustack
While chefs may have their own opinions on what the best level of doneness is for a steak, most don’t care what you order at the end of the day. However, according to Isaac Toups of Toups Meatery, ordering a steak in between two temperatures can mess up a chef’s mood.
As Toups tells Eat This, Not That, it's a real pain when a customer tries to "split hairs" in their order, like ordering a steak that's somewhere "between medium and medium-rare." Toups explains that the difference between the two temperatures is negligible, so even if the steak was cooked to that exact elusive sweet spot, it would be indiscernible.
There is a middle ground between medium-rare and medium ("medium-rare plus"), but it is very minor, and chef Tom Colicchio explains that a chef at a restaurant can’t be expected to put in the extra time and attention required while they have other orders. You’ll likely just receive a medium or medium-rare steak if you try ordering this way.