Chef warns the one part of a restaurant menu you should never order from

There's nothing quite like sitting back and browsing through the menu when you are ready to wolf down a slap-up meal, is there?

A sharing platter to start things off? Absolutely. Followed by a few of those fancy sounding sides? Why not.

But according to this chef, there's one part of the menu which you want to avoid at all costs when dining out.

Dennis Chan is a whizz in the kitchen who boasts a culinary arts degree from The Culinary Institute of America, has a cookbook under his belt and now runs his own eatery in Jacksonville, Florida, so he knows his stuff.

And generously, the executive chef - who owns pan-asian restaurant Blue Bamboo - enjoys sharing the tips and tricks he has learned along the way on social media with us lucky lot too.

So even though Dennis did all the legwork, we all get to benefit from his inside knowledge. Happy days.

In one of his TikTok videos, rather than detailing a tasty new recipe, the chef decided to enlighten us about what protocols people in the food industry tend to follow while eating out themselves.

As I'm sure you can deduce, it's a bit of a busman's holiday for a chef when he visits a restaurant.

And this is why, according to Dennis, that chefs tend to follow a few cardinal rules when eating elsewhere.

For example, the Florida-based foodie never orders a steak in a restaurant simply because he is 'great at making' one himself, so he sees it as a waste.

Dennis also made a great point when he explained that chefs will never order seafood in the middle of a country either, adding: "We don't know where it comes from, and it can't be local!"

"We never order grilled chicken," he continued. "First of all, it's not good value. Second, it's a fine line between being cooked perfectly and being overcooked."

He went on to warn diners never to order anything Alfredo as well, explaining that unless you're in Italy, the sauce has most likely 'come out of a bag'. Yum.

But the most shocking revelation which Dennis made is about what chefs consider dodgy territory on the menu - as they know the real reason behind why that dish has been put there.

He explained: "We never order the chef's special.

"We know that the chef's special is something that the chef has to get rid of."

So when you're weighing up the options, just know that the dishes listed under the 'chef's specials' probably aren't specifically recommended or highlighted by the person cooking it like you might have presumed.

Dennis explained that his video was tongue-in-cheek and he does still order all of these things when he's out, but the purpose of the clip was to enlighten others who aren't armed with the same information he is.

Gordon Ramsay previously dropped some advice about how to navigate a menu too, warning that 'suspicious boasts' and lengthy lists of specials are immediate red flags to him.

But between Dennis and Gordon, I'm sure we will all be well-versed in which bits of the menu not to touch with a barge pole soon enough.