You probably don’t have any ladders, black cats, or mirrors in your kitchen so you’re one step ahead of the rest in warding off bad luck. However, every occupation comes with some superstitions. Here are some fun beliefs about bad luck in the kitchen.
- Garlic wards off vampires and the curse of the evil eye.
- Uneven chopsticks mean you’ll miss your ride somewhere.
- Bringing bananas on a ship means bad luck in your catch and a possible lost at sea scenario.
- An onion full of pins on the windowsill keeps away bad spirits.
- Peanuts give performers bad luck.
- When you give someone a knife it will break apart your relationship.
- If you hand someone a hot pepper it can ruin your relationship.
- You’ll have bad luck if you give parsley as a present.
- When you give someone an orange they will fall in love with you.
- If more than one person pours your tea you’ll have bad luck.
- A large air bubble inside a loaf of breads is a sign someone will die.
- If you don’t crush your egg shells a witch will use them to cause storms at sea.
While many superstitious have roots in ancient civilizations and older cultures from around the world, some seemingly sprout from nowhere. A few top chefs shared their silly worries and habits with Food & Wine Magazine:
- Chef Brian Hill says “I like to have perfectly clean sea salt on my station before every shift. I think if I do that I’ll make it through service much better,…”
- Joey Campanaro reports “if there’s a light bulb out at your station, it’s bad luck.”
- Nick Anderer says ““I always add chopped parsley along with garlic and olive oil when I start a pan sauce for pasta, even though it probably doesn’t do a damn thing.”
Whether you take them seriously or just follow them out of habit, superstitions play a role in most kitchens around the world.