[Montelago]

In one of the recent threads a comment was made to the effect that there is a lack of real professionalism among chefs. I personally feel that despite it's recent popularity, the idea of Chefs being like Gordon Ramsey storming around the kitchen berating people gives us a bad name. Considering the education, experience, long hours and dedication necessary to make it in this business, I feel that we should be making every effort possible to rise above the perception of chefs as blue collar,ranting drunks.

Any thoughts.

[kuan]

I totally agree. I also believe that there should be a way to do away with these ridiculous hours.

[Montelago]

Good luck. I have yet to solve that riddle.

[Rivitman]

Every situation is different. And at each, the stakes in play, as well as those involved are different.

In the end, outside the superstars, nobody really gives a rap about chefs and cooks anyway, they toil in obscurity. So the good rep/bad rep ideal, or the thought that any of that can be changed is a pretty thin premise. That is a cultural problem that is particularly malignant in the food business in the USA.

It's a sorry state of affairs to be certain, but it is driven usually by the business and not kitchen personnel. Owners and corperations are commited to demanding whatever generates maximum revenue with the least outlay. They seldom care about how it's done. The care even less about working conditions, compensation, employee health, welfare, and they especially could care less about turnover in staff.

A felon or addict who can do the same work for a dollar less an hour than the clean cut, freshly scrubbed culinary school grad is just fine by the owners of most establishments, and unseen by the public. There is no premium for professionalism. They generally want cheap. Professional or not.

These star chefs seem to raise the level of respectability of the craft momentarily. All to no avail, because the lot of chefs and cooks hasn't really improved at all in twenty years.

As to bad conduct, we have all seen it, many of us have done it. Very few of us have that as part of our core makeup; we were just trying to get the job done in the face of huge adversity. I'm not copping out here. I am always totally responsible for my actions. But I regret very little, because in the context of of the moment, when sucess or failure is on the line, I'll do what it takes to make it happen and explain my position and apologise later if need be.

[Jim]

You said it, 100%. The only aspect I would add, is that some form of a "suit" (you know... clean-cut, well groomed) does well to move into the corporate realm or management. Other than that, you hit it!
Perhaps the reason we often come across the chef with monster ego... it has to be, because it doesn't mean anything to anybody else.

[Salliem]

Add some respect along with the professionalism. Yesterday I got to work before everyone else and was looking through some of the job applications we have received, was not surprised to see that most had been arrested at least once..these are for the most part the people who adhere to "the no call, no show" policy.
I work hard and I take pride in what I do, sure wish some other people did as well.

[foodpump]

Interesting... We are all members of the "second oldest trade in the world" but we have no leadership, no national organization, and above we have no definition as to what our trade and title really entails. In N.America there is no proven way to reach the postion of Chef, or even of Cook, we have no national standards or benchmarks to adhere to. Private Schools take advantage of this and every 6 mths pump out "Chefs". Many businesses see our trade as a joke, and treat us accordingly, why pay someone to create something when you can buy the product ready made and frozen? All you need is an eejit to put it on a plate.

We can't enforce professionalism in our trade until we can define WHAT a Chef actually is and how best to attain it. We can't start to enforce professionalism until we have a nation-wide body to set standards and benchmarks. After that it is easy to see who fits into model and who does not.

[LogghiB]

Is this about small business independent restaurant chefs? Hotel chefs? Corporate chefs? And who is it that is applying these stereotypes to these people? How is this affecting the industry? Are we not still pulling in a ton of money all over the country?

Small private and family businesses are, in my experience, less formal and professional and larger corporations. It's true in hospitality, retail, IT services, you name it. Bookstore managers, CPAs, media directors, can all be screaming hostile jerks who will make employees work 50+ hour weeks and still take paperwork home.

Maybe I need specific examples in the problems of the cooking trade that need to be addressed, but as flawed as the system is I don't see it as being particularly more flawed than a lot of industries. Lots of people work long hours for not enough pay. The average pay for a medical resident in this country is $34k a year, and that typically includes one 24+ hour shift every week.

Again, I don't get the problem. Some law firms have reputations for beeing blood-sucking scoundrels. Others have a flair for promotion and publicity and they thrive. Almost the entirety of Gordon Ramsay's staff at Aubergine willingly followed him to his next venture when he left. He makes good money. Other chefs are seen as overpaid hacks. Some of them deserve that reputation.

If people are suggesting there should be some kind of magic credential for which all chefs must adhere and then will earn the respect they crave and deserve - not only do I not agree with it I don't believe in it. Average consumers don't care about master or executive chef certification, they care about public reputation, word of mouth, and personal experience. It's an entrepreneurial industry and if you want respect and recognition then you have to, like almost every industry ever, go out their and grab it.

[Rivitman]

Nobody is applying a stereotype, because they are not stereotypes to begin with. They are genreal facts though exceptions will always occur. And they effect every sector of the food business.

I'll leave you to look up the numbers at the U.S. department of labor's website, but you will find, if you do the research, that wages in the food business are some of the lowest and most stagnant in America.

Yet most Chef's, GM's, and F+B's will spin tales of woe about how hard it is to find solid, reliable, talented help these days.

And unlike the medical resident example, kitchen help's wages will grow little over time.

What causes all this? Greed, pure and simple. With a healthy dose of low standards for food on the part of the American dining public. American owners and corperations want riches, caring not what path is taken. Diners want cheap more than they want quality.

The local Applebees is packed. Every night of the week. The french bistro, with the school trained chef with the outstanding resume struggles to stay in business. The steakhouse with mediocre beef and cheap well drinks (and the kitchen staffed by teenagers and felons) does just fine for it's owner thank you. The local commericail strip, five miles long, is DOMINATED by the chain stores.

Meanwhile professional organizations like the ACF twiddle thier thumbs and have cooking contests, and tout certification as a path to a better life for cooks. It won't work for most, and never will.

Then you have the evil empire, AKA the national restaurant association, and it's state level chapters, lobbying state and federal governments in opposition to minimum wage laws, child labor laws, unemployment insurance laws, workplace safety and health laws, and immigration controls.

Who represents cooks? Nobody really, except for the unions that represent a very small minority of cooks in this country.

[Montelago]

I guess that maybe my question was partly misunderstood. I am not looking for legitimacy or recognition by any governing body, although that may be appropriate in our industry. I am talking more about the same problem that mechanics suffer from. It takes training and skill to be a qualified mechanic, but try to find one that is trusted and has a good reputation. I think we do this to ourselves to some extent with the unprofessional behavior that we exhibit year in and year out. I keep going back to the example of giving proper notice when leaving a job. This seemed to be a pretty hotly debated topic in another thread. I just can't help but think that a lot of the reputation we have is deserved, and able to be remedied through our own efforts. We shouldn't rely on the Food Network to stereotype us all as irritating people yelling Bam and saying EVOO and sammies. Maybe there needs to be an organized effort to create an officially recognized and regulated body for our profession.

[foodpump]

Unions? Represents Cooks?
Every Hosptiality Union I was ever co-erced into garnisheed my paycheck and then turned around and told me I wasn't available for either a) Union representation, AND b) Union benifits, for a probationary perioid from anywhere of 3 mths to 1 yr.. Quite frankly it's been my observation based on 25 yrs in this biz that Unions won't do diddly-squat for the member (or even issue them a scrap of paper acknowledging that they are in a Union....) unless there's money in it for them.

There are two ways to make an employer pay out more wages. The first way is to put a gun to the employer's head and say "or else". This is the route that the Unions inviaribly take. The second way is to take the member, give him the proper training and support that he needs and move him up the ladder, with higher salary and responsibilities. This is kind of the like th saying of "give a man a fish and he'll be hungry tomorrow, but teach him how to fish and he can look after himself". Never in my career have I seen a Union offer it's members training or make funds availabe for training. I have seen 45 yr old prep cooks doing the same job for over 20 yrs with inflated wages in a Union House and turn bright green with envy when the new guys fly past them on thier merit and not seniority.

Here in N.America we have no standards or benchmarks to govern what IS a Chef, we have everybody and his dog claiming to be a Chef, we have a public who want cheap food and don't care what they shovel down their maws, don't really care how it is prepared, and we have opportunists who take the fact that there are crappy cooks and crappy food and a market that will pay for it. The opportunists are smart, they give the people what they want.

Nothing will change untill we have a nation-wide standard for cooks, then a standard for Chefs. Remember you can't make a good Chef from a lousy cook... Nothing will change until the public is convinced that they will have to pay for good food.

[ShoeMaker]

Originally Posted by Rivitman

Who represents cooks? Nobody really, except for the unions that represent a very small minority of cooks in this country.

Unions !!! LMAO !!!!! I worked as a union baker for 11 years in MI, represented by the UAW, somehow/someway.......anyways, the deadbeats that mopped the floors made about $2.00/hr more than the bakers and cooks. Was my first union job, will be my last. They did nothing for me except withdraw union dues from every paycheck. Never, ever, again !!!

[BrooklynChef]

Sorry to chime in so late in the conversation, first let me start by responding or commenting on the issue of unions. With unions, there is too much "that's not my job, do it yourself" to maintain proper order in a kitchen.. The fact is is that sometimes a cook is in the weeds setting up his station for example, and could use an extra pair of hands from another cook or dishwasher who is done with his mise. "that's not my job," attitude just does not work.

Secondly, I think that those few celebrity chefs (Ramsey, Batali, Lagasse...) and even non-chef food celebs (Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, and the others,) do a lot of good. Forget the fact that we as chef's are largely looked upon as Gods. (walk down the street in a clean, crisp chef coat, with your restaurant's logo on it, and watch people smile and point you out to their friends) Because of the celebrity thing, being a chef has become being more than what it used to be...at least from popular general perception. It is respect. We are not perceived as the dregs of society anymore (even though many of us actually might be) But these TV chefs and non chefs have gotten people, many many people very interested in food. The more people know about food, the more they demand from our profession. That can only be good for our profession. Professionalism that you speak of? Well, its bound to show up at some point.