[ED BUCHANAN]

Jim! agree !
I have been in this business for over 45 years , have worked in the worst and the best , for the worst and the best The US and Abroad. I still learn something new every day. The day I don't then I won't do it anymore or I'll be deceased.

[foodpump]

Me too.....

I remember watching Vancouver's Rob Feenie win the "Iron Chef" in Japan a few years back. Watched him put raw Kiwis in with gelatin, knew it wouldn't gel. Knew this from exprience, the hard way, same enzyme in fresh Kiwis, figs, pineapple, and papaya that stops the gelatin from gelling.

Knowledge is NOT finite, there's somethng new every day to learn.

The day I can say I know everything pertaining to food or cooking in general, is the day the doctors strip my body of usable parts, and stuff what's left of me into a coffin.....

[chefa1a]

an old boss years back told me:

it takes all your life to learn how to cook

and 15 minutes to become a chef (basically a job interview)

anyone can hold the title ,

whether they are slinging buffalo wings in their small make shift kitchen in a pub, pureeing soup and entrees for people in a nursing home or commanding the brigade in a Michelin restaurant

but having the skills to perform your job well and command respect is what makes a good chef

there is definitely a blurred line now everyone thinks they are a chef

and anyone armed with a few squeeze bottles and the latest Art Culinaire
is a dangerous combination with out some solid training

now more than ever it comes down to can you balance your food and labor costs

with operating expenses higher than ever , it is crucial to run a tight ship

I tell young guys getting in the business expect alot of hard work before you become a chef

[R HIll]

Originally Posted by Schuster

Even when I was the exec at my previous job, I never considered myself a chef. To me, a chef is the guy who always has the answer to everything and knows how to make anything and make it well. I still feel slightly uneasy when servers at my current job refer to me as a chef (I'm not the exec there). I'd guess that I will never willingly call myself a chef, no matter how much I learn, because there is always something I don't know, and by my own criteria, I'll still just be a cook.

That said, I have met exactly two people in my life who I would willingly call "chef". The exec before me at my previous job, and the exec at my current job. I will not even refer to the sous at my current job as "chef". Respect for tradition is one thing, earning respect through a very high degree of ability is another. The sous is very good, but I still know quite a few things that he hasn't grasped yet. If I know something that you don't, you don't deserve to be called "chef" in my eyes.

Hold on Buddy,
I'm a retried chef of forty-five years of dedicated service with a very strict respect for tradition that is hardly known today, I have worked 15 years of my younger life in France to learn the old ways and have fought my way all my life. I have been cooking most likely before you were born and It's pretty sad you think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I love what I have done and I support all the new and upcoming chefs.

R Hill
Oceanside,Ca

[Schuster]

Originally Posted by Schuster

If I know something that you don't, you don't deserve to be called "chef" in my eyes.

Wow I started up a bit of fireworks with this one. Fitting for the holiday I suppose? I was coming off a rough day and didn't really think about what I was saying....

What I meant was "If I personally know something that you don't at this point in my career, you don't deserve to be called "chef" in my eyes."

I'm a good line cook and ok cook otherwise, but I don't think I'm at all the best thing since sliced bread. Pretty far from it. At this point in my career, I consider myself a growing novice. I know a lot, but I have at least 100 times more to learn. If a chef doesn't know something simple that should be common knowledge to a "chef" such as temperatures of proteins, the difference between various common herbs, basic flavor pairings, stuff like that... then they don't deserve to be called chef, even if their position says they are.

Does that clear the air a bit?

[ED BUCHANAN]

What I meant was "If I personally know something that you don't at this point in my career, you don't deserve to be called "chef" in my eyes." Schuster'

Making a blanket statement like this on this site could possibly get you into trouble. Some people on this sight could possibly ask you questions that you may not even have heard of, never mind answering. Ego is both bad and good. No one knows everything.

[jimmyb.]

A few responders to this thread have touched on the "definition" of Chef. I'm a culinary school grad, also with an advanced degree in hospitality management; have 15 years on the line and in the kitchen. Do I call myself a chef? It depends on the job description. The word Chef is French for Chief, or person in charge. Nothing more, nothing less. So, the person in charge of a particular kitchen is the chef of that kitchen; likewise, the person in charge of a station is the chef of that station. Therefore, if using proper grammar, one should ask: Are you THE chef vs. A chef? One may be the chef of their restaurant or kitchen, but once they step into someone else's kitchen, they are no longer "the chef". When I meet people for the first time, and we get to "What do you do?", I am often asked: "So, are you a chef?" If I try to go through my little explanation, I usually lose them. So, I'll sometimes just say "Ya", and save the stress. To answer the question that I posed at the top of the paragraph: "Do I call myself a chef?" Currently the answer is no. I'm now in F&B Management for a resort and therefore not currently active in the kitchen. Even though the entire kitchen staff is under my direction, I don't use the term. Because of my years in the kitchen, some staff refer to me as chef. I try to correct them; sometimes with success, sometimes without. We have a chef de cuisine running our kitchen...we call her "Chef".


For those who dance: Sissonne Greetings.

[ChefRAZ]

this has been discussed countless times on this forum, and with nothing new being added. So I won't be adding my 2 cents. But Just want to say hi everybody.

[foodpump]

Shuster, we're going around in circles here.

Look, I'll ask a quick question and I need a knee-jerk answer, ok.?

What's the capitol of California?

Knee-jerk answer: Sacremento

No one's asking if Sacremento should be the capitol, or why L.A. or Sanfrancisco isn't.

A Chef is the boss, the manger, period.

In highschool I had some good teachers and some really lousy ones. Ones who couldn't control a class and would hunker down in their desk, afraid to move or talk; ones who had the entire semester of physics on 4 rolls of overhead projector film and would mumble infront of the screen with the lights off--a 15/30/30 record. That is to say, within 15 minutes the teacher had the entire class of 30 students asleep. Yet, I still refer to these teachers as teachers--incompetant as they were. They were hired as teachers, paid as teachers, and expected to teach the curriculum.

A Chef is the boss, the manager, period. Whether they are good or not doesn't affect their title--thier length of employement, sure, but not the title.

Am I making any sense?

[olliensam]

OK - there is the chef - generally titiled the Executive Chef. Then there is/are the Sous chefs. Would you call them 'chef' as well??? In many cases the Sous Chef shares responsibilities with the Executive Chef so how can you justify calling one Chef and the other by, say, their first name? Just curious.

[ED BUCHANAN]

Originally Posted by olliensam

OK - there is the chef - generally titiled the Executive Chef. Then there is/are the Sous chefs. Would you call them 'chef' as well??? In many cases the Sous Chef shares responsibilities with the Executive Chef so how can you justify calling one Chef and the other by, say, their first name? Just curious.

Under the Brigade system in the classic French kitchen , the sous chef is in charge when the exec. or chef d cuisine is not there. He is always second in command at all times . He also assist the chef d partie(station chefs) or in some cases he is also the chef d partie depending on size of kitchen. n the classic french kitchen every one in charge of a station is called chef, example. Chef Garde Manger, Chef Potage, Chef Saucier , Chef Poissenierre and on and on, as each one is a recognized specialist in what they do. Each one has assistants depending on volume of kitchen. Hope this helps..

[foodpump]

Originally Posted by olliensam

OK - there is the chef - generally titiled the Executive Chef. Then there is/are the Sous chefs. Would you call them 'chef' as well??? In many cases the Sous Chef shares responsibilities with the Executive Chef so how can you justify calling one Chef and the other by, say, their first name? Just curious.

In virtually all the places I worked at in Europe--some of them 5 star with the Exec. Chef highly decorated, it was expected for the entire Brigade to address the Exec. as "Herr Gothuey", the Sous, Herr Lichtenberger", etc. In other words, "Mr." no title.

Even after 14 years back in N.America, it still is strange for me to address the Chef as "Chef", Or "Chef Smith". In such cases I usually adress them as "sir", but that's just me.

[Bazza]

Don't call me Chef, I work for a living

[electricputa]

I work in a small town family dinner. We make almost everything from scratch and do some pretty aggressive specials (for our restaurant type) . I have just been promoted and put in charge of the kitchen. IM NOT A CHEF! I'm not debating the definition, i'm just saying i'm not one.