Long before Halloween evolved into a celebration of gore, fright, nightmares and, of course, candy, it was an ancient Celtic celebration of the harvest of Gaelic culture—complete with bonfires and animal slaughter—to prepare for winter.
And there’s no place where gore and harvest go hand in hand better than in the kitchens New York’s fast-paced restaurants. We bored into the brains of nine chefs for a peek at their “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” kitchen moments, as well as horrific foods that they’ve scarfed down.
Michael Psilakis
Anthos, Mia Dona, Kefi
What's the most horrific thing you've seen happen in a kitchen?
There was a line cook who was “in the weeds”—the kitchen term we use for “falling behind.” He was working the fry station that night, and he put something in the deep-fryer and instead of using tools to pull it out of the hot oil, he used his hand. The oil burn doesn't come off of you. It just cooks the skin. His flesh was just burned off. He didn't come back again. I don't know if he ever cooked again.
Freakiest thing you've ever tasted?
Jellyfish. I enjoyed it, but texturally it is kind of weird. That and brains. I basically say, you can stick a straw inside a brain and suck it through, We cook it so it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, almost mousse-like. I think it’s sort of off-putting.
Most frightening food you've every prepared?
Growing up in this really old-fashioned Greek family, you use every part of the animal [when you cook]. I remember cooking a 13-course offal menu for a writer who was writing about offal. The first course was a pig’s head soup, in which you cook the head until all the meat, fat and gelatin falls off. It is chopped up and allowed to solidify.
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Alain Allegretti
Allegretti
Scariest kitchen moment?
When one of my line cooks passed his whole hand through the slicer while slicing prosciutto. He lost two of his fingers. I passed out when I saw that. There was blood everywhere. People were panicking.
What kitchen tool scares you?
Cleaver. If you are not focused, it doesn't give any chance.
What dish would you cook for Halloween?
A brain fra diavalo—spicy brain. What’s scarier that brain and spice?
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Ed Brown
Eighty One
Most horrific thing you've seen happen in a kitchen?
A guy opened up the spigot of a giant steam kettle filled with boiling consomméé. He was standing in the trough, which is there to contain any splash. As he opened the spigot, it broke and the liquid came flooding out all over his feet and ankles. He quickly pulled off his shoe and the skin came off with it like a sock. I remember it like it was yesterday, and it was a long time ago.
What about the bloodiest mishap?
I was standing next to a guy who was slicing bread and we were talking away and the bread sort of popped up and I went to put the bread back and he didn't see me and continued slicing and it cut my finger right down the middle. It took several layers. It was a lot of stitches. It was one step away from having surgery. To this day I don't have any feeling in that part of my finger.
Most frightening food you've every prepared?
Japanese river crabs. They are these tiny little fish. When you open the package, it looks like a big box of red cockroaches. They’re peanut-sized, and when you have 200 of them in a bag they do not look very good. But when you fry them they taste good.
Freakiest thing you've ever tasted?
Stuffed pig’s bladder. I thought it was pretty freaky. It was gamey and like chewing on rubber band. It looked like this big stuffed organ—hollowed out and stuffed. I’ve never had it again.
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Will Goldfarb
Pasty chef at large
Most horrific thing you've seen happen in a kitchen?
A bunch of cooks at a restaurant I working at stopping in the middle of service to look for the chef's bag of speed because the chef who was addicted was going to lose it.
Freakiest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Whale carpaccio. I can’t tell you where—it’s illegal. My daughter loved it. She said it tasted just like braseola.
What's the perfect Halloween candy?
Candy corn. They are perfect construction of absolutely nothing.
MORE HORRORS: AKHTAR NAWAB, NEIL MANACLE, SOHUI KIM, JUVENTINO AVILA, HALI HORN —>
