Welcome to the club. This is a N. American problem, as only in N. America a "chef" is any eejit in a poofy white hat, kinda like any eejit with a camera is a "professional photographer"... We have no trade qualifications that other (electricians, gas fitters, doctors, etc) trades use and that Gov'ts--both Federal and Porvincial/State will use to distinguish between eejits and real cooks. To compound the problem there are alot of schools that pump out "chefs"--not cooks mind you, but "Chefs", sometimes in as little as 3 months--with no previous industry experience required. Many schools feel that calling students "chef" encourages professional behavior, and once again, "cook" is a dirty word.
Deep down in the mire I think the "Chef" term was supposed to seperate the hash slingers from the other cooks. Problem is that in order to become a Chef, you need to become a competant cook, and "Cook" is a dirty word here in N. America.
On a llghter note, I hear that places like Apllbees now call they guy whyo dumps stuff in the deep fryer the "Drop-Chef", and it has become very chic to use "chef" as verb, as in "I chef at X's and I wear a Chef's coat when I'm cheffing"........  |