Tempers boil over in sticky moment

This was not a moment perpetrated by myself, but rather one where I was the victim. Several years ago, a young commis chef came to work with me straight out of college. It turned out he was an expert on everything, with a knowledge of nothing.

Time passed and he slowly worked his way down to kitchen porter. One of his jobs was to boil cans of condensed milk - about 30 at a time in a large pot - for about two-and-a-half hours until the contents turned to caramel for use in a dessert on the bar menu.

I was constantly drumming it into him to make sure the pot did not boil dry. He, of course, would never be so stupid as to let that happen…!

On one particularly busy lunch, I had just turned away from the stove when there was a huge explosion.

At first I thought it was a gas burst and leapt for cover. Then I felt a burning sensation all over my head and back. I was covered in boiling caramel - and so was the kitchen.

And worse, a chain reaction had begun and can after can started to explode in the pot.

Eventually, we managed to get close enough to put a lid back on the pot and get it to a sink to cool. Luckily, I had been saved from severe burns by having my back turned and wearing a hat.

After finishing lunch and viewing my kitchen, which now resembled a bomb site, I proceeded to tear our ex-employee off a strip!