The difference between a cook and a chef ? - Page 4

chefboy2160 · #46 07-23-2004, 10:06 PM

commisdotcom , welcome to cheftalk and great response to this thread!
As far as the knowledge in a kitchen goes well the chef delegates! Heck, I am no pastry chef even though I love baking!I just do not have the patience for the finer arts of this craft so what do I do?I hire a pastry chef and a baker!
A chef is the best politician!The chef works with the customer who actually pays the bills for the property, the hourly help down to dishwasher,the mid level managers (Sous chefs, Pastry chefs,assistant restaurant managers) as well as restaurant managers and owners or companies with a much heavier structure such as Regional Director of operations,corperate chefs/consultants,vice presidents of regions, as well as stockholders!So its easy!All you have to do to be a good chef is to make the customer happy,your employees comfortable,your mid managers stroked,and your upper echilon happy with numbers(not to mention the health inspections)!Oh yeah, the meetings suck so who realy wants to be a chef? Keep cookin , Doug...........

koen · #47 08-02-2004, 07:50 PM

when I and my staff finished a hectic evening service,and the patron comes in the kitchen and tels me that everybody is content and happy,I feel proud
Then I tell my staff that we won the battle,that they did good and give them tips or remarks on certain points that can be better.
Then we have a beer ( one ! )
then we talk about food!
sometimes all night long and I tell them my view of things ,we discuss certain ways of doing things,new ways,old ways ,styles , cultures,the evolution in the culinairy landscape...And we disagree sometimes;
the next day when we start mise en place and preparations , everyone is running on the tips of their toes , or trying ( I always say,you can drink at night but when you walk into my kitchen...I want you focused !)
I don't throw things at them , only questions, and when they feel it's time to move on,say goodbye and tell me that they liked working with me ,despite the rude words during service and that they actually learned new things....
Then ,I dare to think of myself as a Chef , and i'm happy that I won another soul for this cruel but rewarding craftsmenship.
Being a chef has nothing to do with anything that happens outside a kitchen,
Its what you are and do with food,adding value to a product and showing people how.

Fay Olinsky · #48 09-07-2004, 02:29 AM

Chef from French Chef de Cuisine
A professional cook
A culinary expert. The chief of the kitchen.
A cook in charge of a Brigade of other cooks
A chief or head person.
The head cook of large establishment, as a club, a family, etc.
Same as Chief.
In culinary terms it is wrong to use the word chef without the full Chef de Cuisine from where it originated.
Otherwise one should really say Chief of the Kitchen.
It is a matter of affectation.
After all we are all cooks!
Some of us manage, some design, some present but most of us work!
Fay Olinsky
PersonalChef.uk.com

yanick · #49 09-07-2004, 09:24 AM

what i like to say to my staff is: I'm a cook with an higher salary due to the responsability who goes with it!!! Because when something goes wrong the bosses don't talk to the cooks they come and talk to you about it. A chef should perform no matter what and make to get the best of everyone. A good chef will manage all the cost and problems in the kitchen...even on the waiters side!!!

we may say: A cook does the dirty job and the chef make sure that is well done!

lifer · #50 09-08-2004, 12:17 AM

i think it's more of a work ethic thing than anything else. working hard, focusing, inspiring co workers. working smarter not harder. showing people how to move. teaching. while i am not chef where i work ,most co workers come to me (even the chef) for ideas on specials or solutions to problems. i can work any shift any station and do it well. people recognize that and respect my abilities. i am chef .get out of my way.

T.Haws · #51 09-08-2004, 07:26 PM

I can't understand all the confusion between the two titles. The chef is the one who leads the kitchen, hires,fires, establishes the theme of the kitchen and ,if there are staff, directs and delegates. He's the one in charge. Everyone else are cooks, sous, de parties, etc. kitchens are not democracies, at least not successfull ones I've been a part of.

T.Haws · #52 09-11-2004, 10:19 PM

Every one with a great idea is a chef ?

chefmikesworld · #53 09-11-2004, 11:28 PM

Often times I have been faced with the dilemma of this question in introspect...I have come to the following conclusion...

I am highly motivated, truly dedicated, , rompin', stompin, a** kicking bomb a tickin', rondo slingin, saute pan flingin, number punchin', percentage crunchin', always trying to improve on somethin'. I am food lovin', vittle grubbin', I can develop art outta nuttin', I can wow, I can pow, you can ask me why as I explain to you how, I can teach, preach, watch your moves and develop you without a word to speak, I can be as calm or as wild as the ocean on the beach, but always, and I mean always, perfection is just beyond my reach...

Am I?

Bet your butt...

Lovingly in Garlic and Basil,
Cheffy

kuan · #54 09-12-2004, 08:27 AM

You know the scene at the end of the Godfather where all the henchman are in the office to pay respects to Michael as the new Godfather? It's like that. Once you've proven your worth and people recognize you as chef then you're the chef.

Actually, when you find yourself doing dishes to "get away" for a while then you know you're the chef.

chefmikesworld · #55 09-12-2004, 10:07 PM

Kuan,

Sometimes your introspect is quite enlightening, not to mention humorous...

I told this story once before, but I used to have a Columbian dishwasher that would love it when I went into the dishtank. I used to tell him "I didn't become a kick a** chef by being a shi**y dishwasher..."

LOL
I loved that line...

Cheffy

cheflayne · #56 09-12-2004, 10:16 PM

What is the difference between a chef and a cook? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Mere words fail at describing chefdom. It just is.

hans.schallenbe · #57 10-09-2004, 11:06 PM

a cook is a young chef or an old chef without will to become a great chef. a cook just cooks and does not challanges himself academically. however there are excellent, good, midiocre and lausy cooks.

chef is a title of achievement, a title of respect, a true, culinary achiever and trainor of the next generation. just to name some of the gratest chefs!

Antonin Carême [1783 - 1833] chef of the kings
August Escoffier [1847 - 1935] king of the chefs

i hope all chefs know the biography of our true culinary heros.

hans schallenberg
iscahm.com

hans.schallenbe · #58 10-09-2004, 11:16 PM

a cook is a young chef or an old chef without will to become a great chef. a cook just cooks and does not challanges himself academically. however there are excellent, good, midiocre and lausy cooks.

chef is a title of achievement, a title of respect, a true, culinary achiever and trainor of the next generation. just to name some of the gratest chefs!

Antonin Carême [1783 - 1833] chef of the kings
August Escoffier [1847 - 1935] king of the chefs

i hope all chefs know the biography of our true culinary heros.

hans schallenberg
iscahm.com

smiley · #59 10-22-2004, 04:52 PM

A chef is driven by a desire to learn more and one who appreciates the entire scope of the food realm. A cook desires to be a chef... in essence a chef is one who admits he is only a student of a large topic that has been around since the beginning of man (it is the oldest proffession hands down!)

When I was a young arrogant cook out of school I knew it all, boy was I wrong.... it was 22 years ago (That long?) I Learned to wash dishes, then line cooking, meat cutting, then pastry work... then baking , onto chocolate and sugar work, throw in some ice sculptures then learn how to lead a team to do banquets for up to 1100 people then off to a camp environment to cook soul food for meat and potatoes types, now cooking for elite clientile in remote locations, off to home I can't for some reason cook the right amount for three people yet I can cook a banquet for 350 and hit it dead on.. no waste..... Am I a chef? no. not yet after I learn Asian cooking and master the art of vegetarian cooking (ever make an eggless souffle?) and perfect having my terrine be unform all the way through just maybe I'll be a Chef ask me again in 20 more years...

kibbymaster · #60 12-07-2004, 10:34 AM

right now i would be a line cook, because im not in charge of the kitchen but i still call myself a chef because ive devoted my life to cooking ( 20 years so far) and can do anything in kitchen have been chef someplaces, only diffrence now at my job i dont have to mess with paper work. ive worked in places where i knew a lotr more then the chef i was working for. just because you have a paper saying you graduated school dont make you a chef,.