A basic thing in a restaurant kitchen is never to seal up a hot or even warm dish and put it in the cooler.
A soup or any dish will become toxic if you cover it and refrigerate it before it cools. Supposedly, it’s because of the bacteria laden steam condensation that drops down if it’s in plastic wrap.
But even if it’s not, a hot or warm dish raises the temperature in the walk in and this can mean that other things will spoil too.
So, yes, he was in a hurry and probably his restaurant would have been upset had he thrown out the dish or left it on the counter to cool all the way...but what he did wrong was basic Cooking 101 What Not To Do.
This applies to home cooking as well, btw.
Oh crap, then I should have been dead a long time ago.
I guess whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.