when can you call yourself a chef?

[Pete]

Well said Jim!!! As you all can see, this debate raises some hot issues. What it comes down to is this, professional "chefs" work hard and spend many years honing their craft (notice I don't say art, but that is a whole other topic, one debated even more hotly than this one). In this field, where most of us are way overworked and way underpaid it's one of the few things that we hold sacried. To many of us "chef" is a title of respect. One given to a person because they have achieved a certain level of knowledge and experience, and it bugs many of us when nonprofessionals toss the term around so carelessly. This in no way reflects what we think of "amateur" cooks, foodies, or gourmets. I know many "nonprofessionals" that can cook killer meals. But are they chefs? No! Using the definition I gave a few posts ago, they don't fall in the catagory, and when you heap all the baggage that us "professional" cooks put on the word, it definately doesn't. There is much more to being a chef than just cooking. It's being a mentor, a babysitter, a dishwasher, an accountant, and many more things. All these as they relate to a "professional" kitchen. The home cook has none of this to contend with. If you still don't understand this, then a challenge you to go observe a "chef" at work. Spend the day in a high-volume, fine-dining restaurant, and watch the chef. Whether he/she is one of these calm chefs, that nothing phases or a psycho chef that is everywhere at once yelling and screaming. It is this person that keeps the whole machine running. It is this person that forces the line (cooks) through an almost impossible dinner rush. Watching a true "chef" work, at his craft, is a thing of beauty, and what he/she creates, through his/her cooks, under less than ideal circumstances, is amazing.

[eds77k5]

a chef is the person in charge of the kitchen, as kuan said, the leader, but keep in mind that there are a lot of kitchen managers out there, for some reason they get paid less. can you be the chef and be the only one working in the kitchen? a lot of gray areas i guess. i respect the title and position even if i do not respect the person. i get called by my given name and out of respect for my position i get called chef. good luck on your venture

[burnvictim]

youre a chef when your employees call you "chef."

[Rivitman]

When push comes to shove, when all is said and done, if you bear the final, ultimate responsibilty for the plate that is set before the guest...You my friend, are the chef.

[crusso]

You can technically call yourself a Chef the minute you are the person responsible for everything that goes on in the kitchen you are in charge of.

Another thing many Chefs do is get professional certification. By doing this you don't have to wonder if you should call yourself a chef, you have a professional organization who will do that for you.

Two organizations come to mind, although there are other options.

The American Culinary Federation has certification levels. See their web site at: www.acfchefs.org

CC = Cerified Culinarian
CSC = Certified Sous Chef
CCC = Certified Chef de Cuisine
CEC = Certified Executive Chef
CMC = Certified Master Chef (only 59 in the U.S.)

There are also certifications for educators, and in Baking and Pastry, i.e.
CEPC = Certified Executive Pastry Chef
CPS = Certified Pastry Chef
CMPC = Certified Master Pastry Chef

Generally, you couple at least three years of working in the industry with the title you are attempting to become certified in, and couple that with classes in Sanitation, Nutrition, and Management (all of which you will have had from Johnson & Wales University). You don't have to become an ACF member to do this, but it cost more if you are not. You arrange to take a written test, and a practical test. All the information about what to study and how to do this is on their web site. They also have a toll-free number.

Another organization with certification is: International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA). The offer several levels of certification
including: CFM [Certified Food Service Manager], CFE [Certified Food Service Executive], and CMFE [Certified Master Foodservice Executive] (I'm not sure if this last one is correct). You can visit their web site at: www.ifsea.com

Having a professional certification (letters after your name), can be a good thing, and does tell people that you have '*****strated' that you are a chef, and are not just calling yourself a chef.

Obviously, there are some people who call themselves 'chefs' after working as a line cook for a couple of years. That would be a 'cook.' As we know, being a chef involves wearing many different hats, certainly knowing how to cook and bake, but also how to develop menus, purchase, inventory, make a profit, market, solve problems, hire, train, motivate, fire, and much much more.

There are Working Chefs, and Executive Chefs, and Sous Chefs, and Banquet Chefs, so learn which kind of chef you will be and label yourself accordingly.

Certification is certainly a recommended activity for you, and it will keep you learning long after you leave J&W.

Good luck to you!

Chef Carmine J. Russo, CCC, CCE
TVI Culinary Arts (New Mexico)

PS: There are plenty of fabulous chefs in the world who are not certified, and in many cases, they are as knowledgable and talented as any of the certified chefs; a person can have a successful career either way, but certification is something to achieve and be proud of.

[DanBrown]

Guys, I think you've forgotten something very important. In the classical system, Chef de Partie was a title given to line cooks, as the person responsible for the production in that station, and those titles still exist in European kitchen today. Therefore any professional cook who has graduated from the ranks of being a commis has earned the title Chef. As to Executive Chef, that's an American invention, and speaking as someone who has held that title, you wind up being an administrative paper pusher, at which point it's better to have the title "bean counter" since that's quite literally what you're doing.

Quoting the ACF guidelines may be a very good point, but remember, the ACF isn't the institution responsible for every chef's certification in this country, and with what's happening in their guidelines (lower standards to make more chefs) I'm not sure the ACF should be garnering the level of respect it has in the past. A Chef is a reflection of their committment to excellence, and one's quality of life can be seen as a direct equation to that committment. The semantic question is, for all intents and purposes, silly. Wether or not you treat the title with respect determines how seriously you feel it should be taken. If you are the person that everyone comes to with food related questions that need definitive answers, and you're the one responsible for every error that occurs in your kitchen, and you are the creative driving force behind your food production, and you are leading by example, not voice, in your kitchen, then you are the Chef. But realize, that just means head dishwasher, so you'd better be the best dishwasher you employ.

Flame away.

[Al_Dente]

If I was to ponder my position to such a heavy degree, then dinner would be late and I would be a ditch digger. Get the job done, do it with heart and feeling and understanding. If they call you chef...smile and accept the compliment.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by DanBrown

Quoting the ACF guidelines may be a very good point, but remember, the ACF isn't the institution responsible for every chef's certification in this country, and with what's happening in their guidelines (lower standards to make more chefs) I'm not sure the ACF should be garnering the level of respect it has in the past.

Disagree with the lower standards point Dan. Today's CEC's run circles around the last generation of CEC's. In the past, you were awarded your CEC based solely on ACF participation. Then they introduced classes, tests, and experience points. Now they have practicals. To me it looks like they're raising the bar.

[ChefOliver]

When you learn not to lean but rather to stand.

[JT]

As i'm based in the UK so i'm not sure whether my views would be as valid as others. However, it looked as if your question was concerned with the kind of establishment you will be working in rather than your level of skills.
Am i wrong about this?

In the UK you can call yourself 'chef' when you get up in the morning and say to yourself "i think i'll try the catering industry today" and others will call themselves "chef" who had completed a five year apprenticeship and been in charge of a brigade of 60 chefs (like a friend of mine i currently work with on vairous projects).

In these cases the term becomes minimal and is more influenced by the place of work than the persons' skills. In the UK if you work in a cake shop, or bakery etc you would be less likely to use the term.

Having said all that my advice would be "do what you want to". Market forces will show you the way in the future maybe!

Hope all goes well.

Jerry

[DavidSL]

I always thought that the one who runs the kitchen, creates the menus, completes the ordering, and takes ultimate responsibility for the food in the establishment's kitchen is a chef. Based upon that determination, I call myself the chef and my wife the executive chef at our restaurant. My wife gets the executive nod because she has been designated as the one who make final decisions when we have an opinion difference. (It is important to have this agreement to avoid drawn out arguments in our busy kitchen.) We both have cooked since childhood but do not have culinary school degrees.

Reading some opinions would lead me to believe that I can only be a chef if I have a culinary degree and cook French food at my restaurant. I don't agree. The food we serve is a choice and does not represent our maximum ability. It represents the type of food that someone would come to my establishment to purchase -- and we are doing OK. The food that I cook for myself at home and at my restaurant can be quite exotic (or quite simple.) I don't choose to offer these things to my customers. I don't choose (right now) to have that type of restaurant.

My wife has a friend who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu who runs a BBQ corn stand at fairs. Is he a chef? Yes. Another friend without a culinary degreee cooks food for wholesale distribution in a commercial kitchen. Is she a chef? Yes.

The culinary institutes that charge 40K are trying to make many people believe that that is the only way to learn to cook and become a chef. I read books, watch TV chefs (dating back into the 1970's) and experiment. I know what taste combinations work and which ones don't. I don't need a degree to substantiate my tastes or my dishes.

Just my opinion.

[JT]

Hi

Somewhere in the replies someone suggested coming up with a definition of a chef.

That sounded a good idea but before a definition we need to identify what the job entails?


I've started a list for a theoretical head/executinve chef and wonder what else could be added.

Cooking!
Budgetary control and costing.
Management of Chemicals
Equipment purchase and maintenance.
First Aid.
Food safety.
Forecasting.
Health and safety at work.
Induction of staff.
Menu planning.
Pest control.
Personnel issues.
Portion control.
Purchasing.
Quality control.
Recipe creation.
Security.
Storage control.
Staff care.
Staff selection.

Jerry

PS, there is a related issue of what i think is called job title inflation.
I was working in a four star hotel in 1964 and for the first time ever i met someone who described himself as an executive chef. He didn't wear a hat because i think that he thought his job was administrative. As far as the UK is concerned we've had job title inflation for years. Chef instructors now Directors! I do still feel however that the description CHEF should convey some level of skill.

[michalik]

I am not a chef,just a dedicated home cook(35y).When at age of 16 I expressed my interest in professional cooking ,my aunt who was the sous chef in a parisian brasserie,took me with her on a education tour.After being tucked out of the way in a tight place(don't move,don't talk,just disappear)I witnessed a very impressive rendition of Dente's inferno complete with flames,screaming & tears.Useless to say my dreams of chefdom came to a screeching halt.But I learned aw,fear&respect for the peoples working in professional kitchen.I also understood why she refused to cook for the family when asked.It would have been like asking a front line vet on r&r to go target shooting to relax.Hats off to the heroes.

[poobear01]

well i would say you can call your self a chef once you have had more experiance in the trade. im known as a second chef and it has taken me 13 years to get there and it wont be long till i get to head chef but for now i would say you were just a cook but i might be wrong.

[CulinaryGeek]

I found that when I had to fire the dishwasher on a Friday night for stealing and whole PSMO, then had to work the dish pit for the next 6 hours, alternating between the line, the dining room and the dish pit (changing jackets between of course), that is when my staff starting calling me CHEF. You have to earn that title. Many of the people I went to culinary school with (CIA '03) thought they would be a chef the day they graduated, but that is just not the case.

From day 1, walk into any situation, roll up your sleeves and get in it with the prep cooks, the dishwasher, the line cooks, and the weird guy that does the breads. You will find you will earn their respect very fast, and with it the right to call yourself "Chef"

Good Luck, Chef, and God Speed

Chef Bill