Lieber had entirely the correct feelings and motivations. It was his handling that he fucked up. The appropriate response would have been for he and his friends to pick up, walk out, and on their way out, inform the Maitre d' that they were aghast that the chef should treat anyone that way, especially in front of others; and that not only did it ruin their dining experience, but they simply refused to eat in the establishment of someone who would treat another human being like that...and that furthermore, one of their party was a newspaper blogger, and this incident would be appearing in the press.
I have worked in a lot of restaurants, and the best chefs I ever worked under never, ever needed to yell and scream and berate their employees. A quiet, dignified manner and utterly no-nonsense professionalism stood them in perfect stead. Every place I ever worked where the chef was a ranter and a screamer, I quit: it wasn't worth my time.
Chef in question here? Loser. Lieber? Well-meaning bumbler.
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Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.
(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)
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