Been in kitchens for 12 years and this drives me mental. We obsess over heirloom tomatoes and grass fed beef but then use whatever cheap 5L jug the supplier drops off. Rancid oil sitting in clear plastic under lights for months? No worries, chuck it on everything.
Seen chefs charge $38 for pasta and use 50 cents worth of garbage oil on it. Same ones who’ll spend 20 minutes explaining their sourdough starter to customers. The hypocrisy is cooked.
Worst part? The “finishing oil” scam. Half these places just refill fancy bottles from the same bulk drum they use for everything else. I’ve literally watched it happen.
Look, I get it margins are tight. But you can find decent EVOO at reasonable prices if you actually try. We’re supposed to know ingredients. We’re supposed to care. Instead olive oil’s become this blind spot where anything goes.
Charge premium prices, use premium ingredients. All of them. Not that complicated.
Thank you for saying this. Drives me nuts when I go out and can taste the cheap oil instantly. Like why am I paying premium dollars for pasta that tastes like it came from a bottle that’s been sitting on a shelf for a year?
The finishing oil scam is the worst. I’ve called it out before at restaurants and the servers always give me this look like I’m being difficult. No mate, I just know what real olive oil tastes like because I actually cook with it at home.
What gets me is restaurants act like good oil is impossible to afford but then they’re buying fancy microgreens and edible flowers for garnish. Priorities are totally backwards.
If you’re gonna charge premium prices at least make the food taste premium. The oil touches basically everything on the plate so why is it the thing nobody cares about?
This is exactly what wound me up when my partner started pointing this stuff out to me. I used to think restaurants knew what they were doing yeah, like they’re the professionals so they must be using proper ingredients. Turns out half of them are just taking the piss.
Went to this place in London couple months back, proper fancy spot, they’re banging on about their farm to table philosophy and sustainable sourcing and all that. I asked the waiter what olive oil they use because my partner’s got me checking this stuff now like some sort of olive oil detective. Mate had no clue. Went to ask the chef, came back and just said “Italian extra virgin.” That’s it. No estate, no region, nothing.
Paid £42 for a dish and I guarantee you that oil cost them about 30p worth from some bulk supplier. The kicker? They had the bottle sat right there on the table for dipping bread, clear glass, probably been there all day under the lights. My partner nearly lost it.
What proper does my head in is you’re both spot on about the priorities thing. They’ll spend a fortune on presentation and Instagram worthy plating but then drench it all in rancid oil that ruins the whole thing. It’s like building a gaming PC with top spec graphics card and then using a rubbish power supply. The foundation matters mate.
Since I’ve gone down this rabbit hole I can’t unsee it now. Every restaurant I go to I’m checking bottles, asking questions, probably annoying the staff. But honestly if more people did this maybe restaurants would actually sort themselves out.
You’re all right but you’re missing why this happens. I run a place out here and my margins are 3-5% on a good month. Food cost can’t go over 30%, labor’s running me 35% with California wages. Something’s gotta give for most restaurants. Usually it’s the oil. I’m not defending it. I’m explaining it. Here’s the thing though - you don’t need $50 bottles to do it right. You need to stop being lazy and actually source properly. I buy direct from three producers. My cost per liter is maybe $18-20. Still way better than the Sysco drum and my food tastes like it should. The finishing oil scam Siobhan mentioned? Yeah that’s straight fraud. If I caught one of my guys doing that they’d be out the door same day. You wanna cut corners on prep work, fine. You wanna lie to customers about what they’re eating? Get out of my kitchen. And Lee, you’re doing the right thing asking questions. More customers need to be a pain in the ass about this stuff. Only way things change is when people stop accepting mediocre food at premium prices. Bottom line, if you’re charging $35+ for a plate, you can afford real olive oil. If you can’t, your menu’s priced wrong or your operation’s broken. Fix it or close.