Why chefs hate Valentine's Day

What do the following have in common: A mother who demands to stand in a restaurant's kitchen and watch her meal being cooked. A request for 18 mini-cakes that spell "I love you, honeybuns!" And an order for a cake that resembles Engelbert Humperdinck?

They're all requests that actually happened on Valentine's Day, which is apparently dreaded by chefs as the day when the crazies come out to eat. 

"Working on Valentine's Day means to see the kind of people one doesn't see the rest of the year," writes chef Jonas Luster on Quora. "It means that the smell of flowers wafts into the kitchens and makes even the most hardened cooks want to kill someone."

The bottom line, though, is that restaurants can't afford to shut down on what's one of the busiest days for dining out. Average diners will spend $147 on their romantic dinners Thursday -- more than triple the typical cost of a New York restaurant dinner on any other day, according to Zagat. 

No matter what type of restaurant -- from doughnut shops to high-end bistros -- everyone wants to get in on the Valentine's game. 

Krispy Kreme (KKD) is selling heart-shaped doughnuts via grocery stores, for example. Denny's (DENN) is trying to lure customers by getting them to send Valentine's e-cards, which include a coupon for a free sundae. 

The romantic gestures often go awry, Luster reports. His favorite horror stories from 2011 include a man who faked a heart attack after realizing he couldn't afford the check for himself and his girlfriend. This was after he ordered an $800 bottle of wine on top of a $250 prix fixe menu. 

Another woman drank too much and then vomited at the entrance to Luster's restaurant. Her timing was impeccable: She barfed at 8 p.m., just as the rush began. 

And then there are the meals returned because they aren't "romantic enough." Luster notes one couple sent back his tapioca pearls and salted dark chocolate fondue. Why? The "pearls remind us of diamond slavery in Nigeria and we can't eat this," they said.

Folks on the other side of the kitchen door have some complaints, too. 

According to Zagat's first-ever Valentine's Day survey, diners complained about added fees, cheap dates and a mother-in-law who decided to join a couple. 

Given all the drama, maybe more people should stay at home and order in. 

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