There was a time when working in a restaurant you could eat and drink your heart out. The cost of doing business and having low wage employees.
I never order from a menu. I either ask the waiter or waitress to order me what they like best in steaks, pasta, or fish, etc......or even better yet, ask the waiter to ask the chef to make whatever inspires him or her? You're guaranteed a fantastic meal.
I was the bar manager at a country club for 10 years. We had meals automatically deducted from our paychecks according to the number of hrs worked. They just assumed we were eating there so we did. We ate whatever was served at the banquets and if it was just a regular shift with no parties the chef or linemen would cook us whatever we wanted.
Yes, we got a free meal at the end of our shifts. Sounds like that guy was saving the company some money.