New Orleans Food Questions And Comments

Tipping The Sushi Chef

Alicia asks:

When you sit at a sushi bar, the sushi chef does most of the work of serving you. But there's a waitress, too, and I never know whether any of the tip money goes to the chef, or whether it all goes to the waitress. Should you tip the sushi chef separately? I don't want to hand him cash, since he's working with raw food.

Tom sez:

In most sushi bars, the sushi chef gets a cut of the tips generated at the sushi bar. But note that while he does serve you all the food, the server is taking care of everything else, clearing the dishes, bringing the water and utensils and drinks, fetching the check, etc. And the server gets a very low wage, balanced by tips, while the chef is usually paid at much higher levels. So the illusion that the chef deserves more is a little skewed. All that said, I usually tip the sushi chef by increasing the tip on the whole check. If they needed to be tipped directly, there'd be a tip jar, which is something I've never seen.

Subscribe To The Five-Star Edition
Every weekday, I write even more articles, reviews, and recipes for the New Orleans Menu Daily. I send it to subscribers by e-mail, and make it available on a private site on the website. They also get access to all past articles, indexed for easy use. No advertising!

Upgrade to the Five-Star Edition! You truly cannot argue with the price: whatever number of dollars you think it's worth. (If you give too much, I'll extend the subscription.) If you change your mind later, I'll give you a refund.

Click here for more information and a sample.


	Click here for an index to all questions, answers, and reports on New Orleans cooking, recipes, and restaurants. Click here to ask a question or give a report.