I have just been reading DoveGreyReader's post today and had to laugh at the kitchen practices described therein. It brought back fond memories of my culinary days - I hasten to add that there was no fag ash dropped in the soup, or sausages reconstituted from left overs on plates, but we had our fair share of funny happenings.
I can understand the recycling of the food in many ways because anything you chuck in the dustbin is your profits down the drain (sorry about the mixed metaphors there) and so wherever possible you do try to use every scrap. When I first started cooking for a living I literally learned as I went along, the amounts, the portions etc as though my partner and I cooked for our families we were not professional 
cooks. I always maintain it was St Delia Smith that got us through. Her cookery course was my Bible. I have yet to try one of her recipes that did not turn out right. They are idiot proof so they served me well.
One day I decided to try a new recipe (not Delia) which I think rejoiced in the name raspberry surprise. In my case the surprise was that when I made it I did not read the last line of the recipe correctly which stated 'must be consumed within three hours'. This recipe contained semolina and when I poured it into a lovely pink bowl and put it in the fridge to take into the gallery restaurant the next day, I found it had set rock hard, and I mean rock hard, I actually turned the bowl upside down and it did not move an inch. I took it into the kitchen where my assistants all made extremely rude remarks to me and laughed at what I deemed an inordinate length, and advised me to chuck it out. Instead I determined to save this disaster and literally carved it out with a knife, bunged it in the Magi Mix with a pint of single cream and put it on high. Lo and behold, within three minutes I had a beautiful frothy pink raspberry mix which I decanted into some wine glasses, sprinkled chocolate on top and we sold every one. I only hope that it did not re-set inside somebody's stomach but we had no complaints. Of course, they might have been unable to speak.
Another time, we had a beautiful tray of piping hot, home made cauliflower cheese which normally sold well, but this day, nothing, nada.. Again, reluctant to throw it out, the Magi Mix was called into service once more, in it went with a pint of full cream milk, whizzed up and next day sprinkled with Stilton we sold every drop as Cauliflower and Stilton soup and somebody actually came into the kitchen and asked me for the recipe. I told her it was a closely guarded family secret.
I don't eat our very often (a) because I find it expensive and (b) I often wonder what goes on behind the scenes. OK I am no Carluccio or Gordon Ramsey and I am sure they wouldn't dream of doing anything like this, but you never know......
