Try sorting by the year you bought them instead. That's what I started doing after my third failed attempt at alphabetical. It takes the pressure off because you're just going by memory and vibes instead of some strict system. Plus it's kinda cool to see how your taste has changed over the years when you pull out that stack from 2019 and realize you used to be REALLY into that weird britpop phase.

Did you ever check if the pan had any old seasoning that was still good underneath? I left a thin layer of carbon on mine once and just scrubbed the flaky parts off, then went straight to seasoning with grapeseed oil. Three rounds later it was black and slick, no rust issues at all. What kind of oil did you use?

Doesn't this kind of overcorrection happen everywhere though? People act like if you don't prepare for the worst, you're reckless, but reality usually sits somewhere in the middle.

Oh man, I did the exact same thing on my last build... worked like a charm.

Oh man, the leather shoe thing is real. We had a similar disaster with a rack of lamb once, seared it all ahead thinking we were geniuses. Ended up ruining a whole service because the crust just got this weird soggy-chewy thing going on after sitting too long. It wasn't even warm hold either, just ambient temp for maybe twenty minutes. The fat rendered out funny and it felt like chewing on a tire. For me personally, I think the key people miss is that searing isn't just for color, it's for that specific texture you get right before serving. Holding takes that away, no matter what cut you're working with. We started doing a quick flash sear per order with a blowtorch setup and it saved our sanity. Not perfect but way better than pre-searing.