Have you found chefs or restaurant owners to be superstitious in any way? —Rob C., St. Louis
The same question was asked—and answered—in this space seven years ago, and the responses were amusing, to say the least. (The “most afflicted” title went to chef Gerard Craft. Read about his superstitions here.)
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Since Friday the 13th occurs during the month of October only every 11 years or so, we thought we’d take the opportunity to query a different set of chefs and restaurant owners. Their superstitions were all across the board, but if there was one common theme, it was “don’t jinx it.”
Steve Gontram, 5 Star Burgers: “As I grow older, I notice my own small quirks that I absolutely know someone on the ‘outside’ would find downright silly. I handle all of my own accounting, typically always sit in the exact same seat in the morning, always align my software windows in exactly the same fashion, and always complete my tasks in the same order. I bank-face all currency and count to the penny. Not to do so would surely result in a terrible day. Never should anyone prognosticate on the business volume that day—certainly never exclaim, ‘It’s gonna be a busy one today!’ as it most certainly won’t be. And the same is true about how the day will progress, as everything will certainly hit the fan the moment someone says, ‘Boy, today is going great!’”
David Sandusky, BEAST Craft BBQ Co.: “I don’t really have any superstitions I follow, but I know a chef who wears his best socks at Saturday night service and another who never wears socks that match.”
Brant Baldanza, OG Hospitality Group: “Before the pandemic—and even more so after it—I would say out loud, ‘We are finally fully staffed’ or ‘We finally found our manager.’ After I said this, it would remain so for maybe days or a week. I am now banned by all admin to even whisper anything regarding staffing. Anytime that Brad, our IT guy, would say, ”We haven’t any [point-of-sale] issues this weekend,’ the internet would go down or the POS would just completely just shut off. Now he says nothing. When my partner and I catch a drink after work or celebrate an opening, if we do a shot, we bang it on the table first, which releases all the ‘bad juju.’ And we have all refrained from saying, ‘This new hire is going to be a rockstar and put us in a good spot,’ because the stars often don’t make it a month.”
Rob Connoley, Bulrush: “Before service, we’ve learned never to say the words, ‘There are no dietary accommodations tonight.’ Without fail that leads to a handful of unexpected restrictions that will leave the team racing to accommodate. My favorite such incident was the dietary restriction for ‘nothing blue,’ which included anything in the hues of blue, purple, dark red… The list went on.”
Zach Dale, Robust Bistro & Wine Bar: “I have several. Regarding knives, it’s bad luck to put away a knife that someone left out. I will move it off of my station, I’ll clean it for them, but I’ll never store it. Regarding salt, it’s considered bad luck to spill it. When it happens, any spills are cleaned up right away, and that salt is thrown into a trash can over the left shoulder. Sweeping across someone’s feet is bad luck, too, as it hinders personal growth. I will leave the room—if I’m not the one in control of the broom—as opposed to letting my feet get accidentally touched by a broom. And having been trained in a Southeast Asian kitchen, I was always taught that eggs are good luck. so I slip them in anywhere I can and often add an extra one into batters and the like.”
Kevin Brennan, Brennan’s, Maryland House: “I don’t have an opinion about superstitions, but the ultimate jinx is when someone walks into the space as we are setting up and then proclaims, ‘We have plenty of time.’ As soon as you hear those words, you know something out of your control is about to set in. One time, our GM had orchestrated a couple of parties at Brennan’s and then was just beginning to start a catering event at another location when someone chimed in with that phrase. Next thing you knew, the GM’s wife went into labor.”
Pepe Kehm, Peno, Rosé by Peno: “I was born on the 13th so it’s a good luck day for me!”
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