Working for David Chang : KitchenConfidential

Stumbled across a thread full of upset kitchen workers sharing experiences working with a well known chef with many series and specials on Netflix - David Chang.

He recently popped up in news over attempting to trademark his version of a commonly used condiment (chili crisp - the most well known brand is Lao Gan Ma) as “Chili Crunch” and has been aggressively litigating against anyone attempting to use that name for their version of the condiment as well.

Here is the thread of various opinions on that particular incident

That thread does have a few references and an article about his dramamaxxing and love for punching holes in walls

Some fun excerpts of the perfect scary asian husband from the article:

“The slightest error or show of carelessness from a cook could turn me into a convulsing, raging mass”

Dave's rage for cooking what was deemed a subpar family meal: “I will scalp you,” Dave screamed. “I will murder your fricking family!”

“It didn't matter to me what your personal needs were. Any needs were indicative of frailty and I was of the mind that there was no place for weakness in our company.”

Various Chang seethe threads:

I knew David Chang was an butthole, but this is ridiculous…

David Chang buying the company that sued him for using their trademark, then proceeding to sue small businesses. Frick this guy.

PBS on David Chang's ‘Chili Crunch'

A review of David Chang's memoir by a former sommelier who suffered his abuse during his early Momofuku days

Young . Big Ego . Narcissist. Well you need to work with the shit heads before you appreciate the nice bosses you meet further down the road . Character building ! . Why you guys get so worked up anyways ? He's just a tv chef. Commercial money . Strip away all the glitz and glamour and social media tv validation . Not much of a chef there . Agreed ? Be happy for him he's succeeding at something . Somewhat like a Jamie Oliver . Not too much of a skilful chef but plenty of success . He found his niche .

David, it's time to put the internet down for the night.

Nobody liked him at work, everyone actively tried to stay out of his warpath. His whole m.o. was to “catch” any minor mistake in the name of quality assurance and then proceed to throw a level 10 tantrum. Swearing, death threats, throwing shit, kicking/denting anything in sight, it was a common occurrence. His style is 100% combative, he would never pull you aside to teach/train one on one. It was always a public humiliation, simply put he enjoyed being the victimizer/chief overlord.

Honest question, did no-one at any point just punch the fricking guy's lights out? Back in the day I worked with some genuinely scary, ex-con types who would have zero issues with fricking up an Asian Napoleon with a sautee pan.

I'd just wait for or even bait him to throw something my way so I can claim self defense and beat the ever loving shit outta him. Frick it if I'm gonna be blackballed anyway might as well be the dude who broke some ribs.

CHANG BANG'D

I worked 4 months as a dishwasher and it convinced me to never work professionally as a cook. It was so fricking toxic and I, at 16, was treated so horribly I had to blackmail my way into quitting

As someone with Korean heritage and the Asian flush gene I've been wondering - was he also half drunk all the time? Every time I happen to see a second of his cooking show he's always red. (I never watch that crap deliberately it's like stumbling on someone's home security feed)

I saw so much racism, bigotry, and homophobia from him. We would call it Chang Banging when he'd scream at someone. He would belittle the CDC in front of the cooks completely undermining their authority

I timidly ask, “hey chef can I get a picture with you?”

He stands in the dining room and shouts into the kitchen space, “who are you?” (He knew who I was as we had interacted multiple times and call me by my name)

I tell him I'm an intern. “No, why are you here?” “To learn under you.” I respond.

He asks about how long i have before i leave, and i tell him. To my surprise, he actually then offers me a job right then and there. He talks about the grandeur of taking me under his wing and will teach me everything he knows. Only catch is, I will not go back to school. I have to break up with my girlfriend (now my wife) and work for him. As temping as it was, I fumbled my words spitting out, “I have to talk about this to my girlfriend”.

3 management level chefs stood by me as this conversation continues. David points to each of the chefs and asks them if they have girlfriends. They all basically say no because they have no time for relationships. “If these frickers are willing to sacrifice their relationships to achieve this level of cooking, you should too if you will ever amount to anything.”

He loudly shouts for someone to get a timer and then says that I have 5 minutes to decide. I run downstairs and run into my chef. Explain the situation as fast as I could as I'm freaking out. Once in a life time opportunity but also the terrible feeling of leaving behind my girlfriend , friends, and potentially letting my family down by not finishing out a full ride scholarship.

I ultimately decided that I will not take his offer. Before I finish thanking him for the opportunity, he yells at me and tells me “good fricking luck. I can't wait to see you on an employee of the month placard in a motel 6 in bumfrick Wisconsin. And no, you don't work for me anymore, so you will not get a fricking picture.”

He left an oven door open without calling "oven" and one of our line cooks walked into it when trying to get out of his way and got a serious burn on their leg from the over door. Chang laughed at them and told them to "get over it."

He sounds dreamy.

As a bonus, here's one of my favorite of his recipes for mul kimchi.

• 1 head napa cabbage, roughly chopped into 2 inch pieces

• 1 tbsp salt

• 2 scallions with bulbs trimmed & halved lengthwise

• 1 thinly sliced carrot

• 2 large red Fresno chiles, seeded and thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 1/2 cups 7UP soda

• 1 bunch of watercress, leaves only

Toss together cabbage and salt in a large bowl, and squeeze to slightly soften leaves. Place a small plate, weighted with a heavy can on top, directly on cabbage to release liquid. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Drain and discard cabbage liquid. Add scallions, carrot, chiles, and vinegar to cabbage; toss to combine. Pour soda over vegetables, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Mix watercress into kimchi just before serving.