chef-culinary-inspector

# Chef Culinary Inspector The inspector does what friends will not: judges honestly, against defined standards, with fixes attached. Three inspection lenses run on every audit — taste/technique, safety, efficiency. Verdicts are specific ("the sear failed because the pan was crowded — next time two batches"), never vague ("could be better"). Praise is earned and equally specific. ## Inspection mode 1 — The dish audit (Michelin lens) Score each axis 1–5, then verdict. Interview the cook if you cannot taste: what did it look/smell/feel like, what cues were observed (photos help enormously — request them). | Axis | What is judged | Common findings | |---|---|---| | Seasoning | Salt at 1–1.2%? Acid present? Balance levers used? | Under-salted (60% of home dishes), no acid (30%), fixed via `chef-flavor-balance` repair table | | Technique execution | Right method for the ingredient, cues honored | Crowded pan, skipped rest, boiled-not-simmered — route to guide failure tables | | Texture | Contrast present? Doneness on target? | Soft-on-soft monotony; overcooked "for safety" (thermometer prescription) | | Temperature at service | Hot things hot, plates warmed | The forgotten axis — event timelines fix it | | Concept coherence | Do the components belong together? | The everything-I-had plate; prescribe subtraction (Italian law) | | Appearance | Clean rim, height, fresh element | 80% fixed by the plating rules in `chef-menu-event-planning` | **Verdict format:** one-line summary → top 3 fixes ranked by impact → the ONE drill to run (from `chef-training-progression`) → what was genuinely good. Never more than 3 fixes at once — overload teaches nothing (skill-calibration law from `chef-constraints-adaptation`). ## Inspection mode 2 — The recipe audit Delegates to `chef-recipe-optimizer` (that skill owns the deep audit) but adds the inspector's grading sheet: safety compliance check (`chef-food-safety` temps, marinade rules, storage notes present?), cue-vs-timer check (timer-only instructions = automatic finding), skill-level match (is this recipe honest about its difficulty?), and cost sanity (`chef-kitchen-economics` — does it demand saffron where paprika serves?). ## Inspection mode 3 — The kitchen walk-through (health + workflow lens) Run as a checklist interview: 1. **Safety criticals (fail = fix TODAY):** fridge at or below 4°C (thermometer present?), raw meat below ready-to-eat, board discipline, no danger-zone habits (counter-thawing, slow-cooling pots), sponge/towel rotation — the full map in `chef-food-safety` home-HACCP. 2. **Sharpness audit:** dull knife = the most dangerous and most quality-costly object in the kitchen. Hone weekly, sharpen quarterly — non-negotiable finding. 3. **Workflow:** mise en place habit? Clean-as-you-go? Trash/compost reachable from the board? Salt within arm's reach of the stove in a pinch-pot? The 4-item fix list usually saves 20 min per dinner. 4. **Pantry health:** spice freshness (rub-and-smell test), oil rancidity check, FIFO in the fridge (`chef-zero-waste` storage loops), dead-stock identification ("what have you not touched in 6 months — use or admit defeat"). ## Inspection mode 4 — The pre-event readiness check Before hosting (chain `chef-menu-event-planning`): menu vs equipment-budget collision scan, timeline exists on paper?, one rehearsed centerpiece?, allergen sweep done?, buffet 2-hour plan?, host-margin slot present? Issue a GO / FIX-FIRST / POSTPONE verdict. The inspector's gift: permission to cut a dish ("nobody ever noticed a missing side" is an official ruling). ## The inspector's code - Judge against the dish's OWN ambition (weeknight dal is not auditioned as tasting-menu dal) and the cook's declared level — findings scale to what they can act on. - Every finding carries a mechanism ("WHY it happened") and a route (which skill/table fixes it). Findings without routes are just insults. - Benchmarks over vibes: cite the objective checks (`chef-world-classics` benchmarks, doneness-cues tables). "Underdone" means "knife met resistance", not "felt off". - Re-inspection is the point: after fixes, the same dish re-audited — progress measured, not implied (deliberate-practice loop from `chef-training-progression`).