Jason Howard: “He said he shat himself in his dream last night and feels uncomfortable riding the train to work”
Chefs discuss the best (or worst depending on how you look at it) call-in excuses they’ve heard from colleagues to get out of attending work.
What’s the best call-in excuse you’ve heard?
This was the question asked by chef Jason Howard, Quarter-finalist of MasterChef: The Professionals 2015, to his followers on Instagram.
We’ve compiled our favourite answers from Jason’s Instagram post, showcasing some hospitality’s most creative chancers.
Dave Critchley, Executive Chef of Lu Ban Liverpool and Mei Shi By Lu Ban, commented: “One chef had his coffee ‘spiked’ at 9am in the morning by his flat mate and was too baked to drive to work.”
Vegard Følstad, Chef at The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Italy, revealed his best excuse he used to get out of a shift.
“I might top this one for myself, I called in to say I would be late, reason being I was too hungover to understand how the newly installed lock on my door worked,” said the chef.
Instagram user, Zachery Elbourne, said: “Had a roommate call out of work once because she was scared to take the bus because there had been a murder at her bus stop the day before... on General Hospital.”
Chef Christopher Mayhue commented: “I had a line cook call in on December 26th, saying he couldn’t come in as he had too much Christmas.”
User Madison Cowan admitted that: “As a young cook in 90s Europe, I rang in 10 times over 3 years saying my dad died.”
@el_gordondito on Instagram said: “On time I called out because I thought my apartment got broken into but as the day went on I realized it was me drunk the night before kicking my front door in” Robert Morano of
@everydayisfeast day revealed: “I had a guy use me as his one call after being arrested, to tell me he wouldn't be making it to work.”
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.