Beef Stroganoff A'La Tete

Beef Stroganoff A La Tete is not a dish you will find on any restaurant menu nor is it one I recommend that you order.

The original 'Beef Stoganoff' is a traditional Russian dish that dates back to the 19th century as is reputed to be named after the Stroganov family. The dish consists of strips of Beef sauteed with mustard and finished with sour cream. The dish has changed over the years and almost every Chef has his own interpretation of how it should be made. There are numerous cook books where the recipe can be found and most will have a different interpretation of Beef Stroganoff.



Larousse Gastronomique is a classic encyclopedia of gastronomic recipes and one of the first books I bought along with ' Le Guide Culinaire ' by Georges Auguste Escoffier. Every budding chef was told to get a copy of these books to complement their obligatory copy of 'Cessarani and Kinton's - The Theory of Catering ' and in these you will find a traditional Beef Stroganoff recipe. I bet you will find at least one of these books in every chefs kitchen.

To quote Frankie Howard "And so it came to pass"

Beef Stroganoff A La Tete is a very funny story that happened in the kitchen many years ago and I still can picture the waitresses face after she foolishly dared the Sous chef. For those who are not in the know, a Sous Chef is usually the second in charge in a kitchen brigade and is the right hand man to the Head Chef or Chef de Cuisine. The Sous Chef looks after the day to day running of the Kitchen and also is in full charge in the Head Chefs absence.

It was a Sunday and the Sous Chef was in charge. Sunday is usually quiet after Sunday lunch service is over and many of the kitchen staff headed for some after service R&R. This mainly consisted of a quick change and wash up and head to the nearest alcohol available. If the pubs were shut we would have an impromptu party in one of the staff rooms or several rooms as the frequently happened. We were young and worked hard and after work we played hard. It was not unusual to find many of the hotel staff feeling the the affects of alcohol when they returned to work for the evening session.

This particular occasion was no exception and many of us had had cracking afternoon of relaxing, boozing and foolish horseplay. The time to return to work was approaching and many of us were a little vibrant and set about preparing for service. The Sous Chef was late arriving for work but we just got on with our jobs. Service time was fast approaching and in staggered the Sous Chef. He was well and truly sloshed and the first thing he did after he got changed was to hit the kitchen drinks cupboard for anything he get his hands on.

The service started and the Sous had still not come out of the office but we just carried on as normal. After about half an hour had passed by the Sous came out of the office and had a grin like a Cheshire cat and was a little unsteady on his feet. He took over from the veg chef who was calling the meals away and propped himself up at the hot plate. Meals were ordered and sent and service was plodding along slowly when a waitress who had come to collect an order refused to take a dish to the restaurant.

Instantly a silence fell on the kitchen and service ground to a halt. A waitress or waiter refusing to take a dish to the restaurant was not a usual occurrence and we all come to to the hotplate for a nosy. The dish in question was 'Beef Stroganoff' and the waitress was adamant that she was not taking it to the restaurant because she said " It looked like a dogs dinner" Everybody in the kitchen and most of the waiting staff had gathered round and waited for the Sous chef to explode as he had a fair temper and when drunk he was unpredictable. The Sous chef just gave her a drunken smile and very quietly said "Take that dish to the restaurant now or you will be wearing it on your head"

What happened next was probably one of the funniest things I have seen in kitchen. The waitress put both hands on her hips, tilted her head to one side and with a cocky voice she said "I dare you." To dare a fool is silly, to dare a drunken fool is asking for it and the Sous duly obliged. Quick as flash he pick up the serving dish and tipped the Beef Stroganoff all over her head and selected a fresh bunch of watercress and plonked it on her head for garnish. The place erupted, the chefs burst in to laughter, plates, trays and crockery fell to the floor with a deafening crash and the waitress in question started screaming as she attempted to remove the Stroganoff and at the same time throw the serving dish back at the Sous. The scene would not look out of place in that well known comedy about a crazy hotel set in the English Riviera in the mid 70s.




The screaming was clearly heard in the restaurant and the restaurant manager came rushing in to see what was wrong. He took a look round and saw the aftermath of what had happened and started a big argument with the Sous. The duty manager came down and he took one look and did a runner. The Sous and the restaurant manger were last seen heading down the corridor where the carried on their heated argument. We quickly cleaned up the mess around the hotplate and set about getting the service back on track. Meanwhile the waitress went to clean herself up and normal service slowly resumed at the hotplate.


I can still see the scene clearly in my mind as the Beef Stroganoff and saffron rice dripped of her head and shoulders and sprigs of watercress got lodged in her hair. I laugh myself silly when I recal it. Thats probably why you never see ' Beef Stroganoff A La' Tete ' on the menu and if it was would you order it?


There was another incident involving Beef Stroganoff involving me and .....maybe later!

Until next time.

Au Revoir


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