BLASDELL, N.Y. (WKBW) — If you've been to a restaurant in Western New York lately, you may have noticed something new when you got your check: a "kitchen appreciation fee."
That's what happened to Rachel Migliaccio, a Williamsville stay-at-home mother of two, when her family went to a restaurant in Hamburg for lunch on a recent weekend.
She saw the fee and asked the server what that was.
"She said that it is for the back of the house...for chefs and cooks...and to keep them happy because there's been such a large turnover," Migliaccio told 7 News.
Puzzled by the added fee, she posted her receipt to Buffalo Niagara Foodies, a Facebook group, her post quickly sparked debate.
Kitchen appreciation fees are gaining popularity, according to Andrew Galarneau of fourbites.net, a Buffalo restaurant intel source.
He said in New York State, it's against the law for tips to be shared with back-of-the-house staff.
"People who do not serve customers face to face are not allowed under New York State law to get any of the tip money. That's a law," he said.
"On a very busy night the people out front will make a lot of money because they are paid by the number of people they serve," Galarneau said. "In the back of the house, they make the same amount of money no matter how many dishes they cook."
Ilio DiPaolo Restaurant & Banquet in Blasdell has started charging a $1 per customer kitchen appreciation fee.
They try to alert customers before they're surprised by the bill by explaining the charge on their menus and website.
"We put it on our menus. It's on our website. We put it on our specials sheet so that everybody knows," DiPaolo said.
He said paying the fee is optional.
"So if you say no, you know what, I don't want to tip it. I tipped the server enough. That's fine. That's no problem at all," he told 7 News Tuesday. "But we find the majority of our people actually tip more."
Alan Mascio, a chef at Ilio DiPaolo, said he and other back-of-the-house workers do appreciate the extra money, which can add up to $50 or $60 per paycheck.
“We work a lot long hours, a lot of hot hours in a kitchen. I put in 10-12 hour days," he said as he prepped a batch of ravioli for the next day's special. "You know, just to have that appreciation from our customers saying 'Hey, thank you for all the hard work you do,' that really goes a long way."
DiPaolo knows that some people ask why they don't just raise the prices of the items on his menu. He says that will just make meals even more expensive.
"Now you're gonna be spending $25, $30 for chicken parm," DiPaolo said. He doesn't think customers would like that.
