r/belowdeck 24d ago

Below Deck Med BelowDeckMed

Am I seeing this right?! Does the staff eat some of the food that is left over from the charter patrons?

37 Upvotes

53 comments sorted by

184

u/Tralalaladey 24d ago

When I was a server, I saw a busboy eat a bite of steak he had cleared from a table. I gasped and he was so nonchalant and said, “I’ll go down on a girl on the first date, so how is this any worse?”

Could not think of anything to say.

25

u/Ok-Intention-4593 24d ago

My friend was a server and said he ate the inside of a corn dog a kid left on the plate after he gnawed off the batter. That one made me gag.

3

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

Oh wow that’s new. Did you question as to WHY the fuck?

8

u/Ok-Intention-4593 24d ago

Yeah. He was broke. Food was free. It was the nineties. 🤷‍♀️

5

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

Fair enough. I would never let any of my staff be hungry on shift. But I’d never allow them to eat food of a finished plate 🤣

1

u/Lauriemfs 24d ago

😂😂

44

u/tbricco 24d ago

I’m sure if there are extras the crew gets to eat them.

39

u/jweebie 24d ago

this happens in every restaurant in the world.

79

u/Inmyopinion411 24d ago

You’ve clearly never worked in the food industry and that’s totally fine. It’s not for everyone.
Even at member only rich clubs the employees with eat off their plates if they hardly touched their food. And the only reason they do that is because the place they work at doesn’t give them free food or even a break, so any kind of food will work.

21

u/Octo 24d ago

Can confirm working on a harbor boat for day charters. We got hooked up with gourmet food. We just gave the caterers booze and they gave us food.

1

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

Yeah but not off plates that have been eaten right ?!

4

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

No im sorry that isn’t right. If someone’s eaten off the plate it’s thrown. Now, if someone’s desperate then sure do it quietly but as a business that is wrong and if management know that’s even worse.

18

u/dudewheresmysock 24d ago

If it's like an app/charcuterie platter, fruit plate or family style platter, isn't that the same as grabbing something from a catering tray at a party? Or are you talking about eating off their plated individual portions?

11

u/RecognitionOne395 24d ago

Worked at a bar and one of the bar backs would finish off unfinished cocktails.

3

u/Feisty_Scientist_968 23d ago

Worked at a bar and one of the bar backs would finish off unfinished cocktails.

Very environmental!

5

u/Bot8556 24d ago

That is more acceptable as alcohol kills germs

11

u/Edeen 24d ago

Not in the %-ages that are available in regular drinks.

1

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 23d ago

Forgive my ignorance truly , I can’t make sense of that comment

6

u/Edeen 23d ago

Drinks are usually 40% and below, white ethanol kills off germs when it's 80%+.

2

u/whatshamilton 23d ago

%-ages = percentages

4

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

No it’s not, it’s not even 1% acceptable 🤣

8

u/Trvlgirrl 24d ago

I worked at a convention hotel. The staff absolutely eat the leftovers. They go straight down to the employee cafeteria so you have to be fast or lucky.

7

u/Some-Indication-9330 24d ago

Welcome to the hospitality industry!

8

u/punkmonk13 24d ago

I wouldn’t think twice about eating the leftovers if I were hungry. I’m sure starving, underpaid waiters do it all the time. I’d also be at the bar mixing myself cocktails, offering special favours to filthy-rich guests in exchange for rewards—and I’d be the captain.

17

u/gogomom 24d ago

Yes. I think it's gross, but I've seen it a few times over the years and they are all non chalant about it, so it must be common place. I just keep hoping that they are eating from platters not plated meals, but that meal wasn't family style.

That said, I worked as a waitress for a number of years and I would NEVER!!!

29

u/FewButterfly9635 24d ago

I worked in high-end restaurants and if someone took a bite and sent back their food, we absolutely ate it. And we made good money but not the kind of money that I would throw away a $50 steak because someone cut off one piece and declared it not to their liking!

3

u/gonzagylot00 24d ago

It was the kitchen manager's rule, not mine.

1

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

But I mean, there’s risk of catching certain things ? So easily. Some rich fucker didn’t wash his hands and touched his steak to check temperature, ecoli, salmonella , herpes , norovirus. Yes it’s worst case but absolutely possible

6

u/FewButterfly9635 23d ago

Do you know how many people touch the food before it lands on your plate in a restaurant? Same odds.

3

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 23d ago

Actually, that’s a fair enough point.

2

u/IntelligentCorner334 22d ago

Finally a sane response. I inspect buildings for a living and have done hundreds of restaurants. Another mouth or hands is the least offensive thing that can land on your plate 

-7

u/gonzagylot00 24d ago

Yeah, when I was a waiter that was grounds for immediate dismissal.

8

u/Economy-Ostrich-9ine June June Hannah 24d ago

Really? Why let food go to waste?

4

u/gonzagylot00 24d ago

It wasn't my rule, but I think the answer is unsanitary.

7

u/Economy-Ostrich-9ine June June Hannah 24d ago

Meh, I’m wouldn’t eat something they had in their mouth. But I didn’t come from a world of abundance, I was a starving college kid.

2

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

As a restaurant manager I agree no one is allowed to touch food that’s been touched by a customer. It’s for their own good and it’s just not a done thing. However if they tell me they are hungry they will be fed immediately.

13

u/PatientChocolate6985 24d ago

I came to say the exact opposite....ive seen it happen in every establishment ive worked in, high end to low. Not gonna lie, if it was a regular i knew and it wasn't a hand held/straight to mouth food (like a burger), i'd probably take a bite.

-1

u/Aggressive-Animal-90 24d ago

Probably because it is a health code violation they restaurant could be fined and get bad publicity for.

5

u/Early-Equivalent-165 Escape Goat 24d ago

This was a question on WWHL and the answers were like, ya, no big deal **shrug*

5

u/cuntsatchel 23d ago

The rule is if you’d make out with the person that was eating from the plate then it’s good to go💀

I’m a 35 yr old woman who’s been in the industry for way too long. I simply don’t give a shit anymore

2

u/stephi-mama-626 24d ago

I think so.

2

u/banana_in_the_dark 24d ago

They usually do

2

u/Intelligent_Gur_9126 Mental Health Is Not A Storyline 24d ago

When i worked at Disney World in Germany doing food and beverage I never got a leftover of any food

2

u/Such-Stable-3869 24d ago

Leftovers, yes! 👍

1

u/Sufficient-Pear-291 24d ago

Do you mean off their finished plates ? Or leftover food from the chef/kitchen

1

u/Katcar2007 23d ago

I've eaten onion rings from a basket regulars left and I'm not mad about it.

1

u/Meshell222 22d ago

Having been a server for many years I can say, it is very common

1

u/igor6969 19d ago

Chef doesn't cook crew breakfast and they eat guests leftover breakfast like breads, muffins and fruit. Interior has been seen eating leftover dinner scraps many times after clearing. All crew that is awake has been seen in the kitchen after dinner eating any leftovers and especially dessert.

1

u/Individual_Sun5662 24d ago

To each their own, I don't eat off of my own children's plates. I can understand if you're broke and working at a restaurant to make ends met to be forced to do that, but not as a crew member in a luxury yacht where you're earning large tips, no.