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Is it just me? - Page 3

post #61 of 78
9/17/07 at 3:34pm
Also, not considering yourself a chef doesn't necessarily equate to thinking on the level of a cook.

BTW, I would disagree with Larousse.
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post #62 of 78
9/17/07 at 4:32pm
It affects how you lead and manage.
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post #63 of 78
9/17/07 at 6:58pm
Were do you disagree??? It's nice to know how others think?
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post #64 of 78
9/18/07 at 3:16pm

nice thread

Personally, I agree the term is abused. But, as long as my customers and staff learn, enjoy my food, and have a great time when they are there(and think about it when they are not), you can call me "cook", "chef", "hey buddy", or even "a**hole" for all I care...... I haven't heard "poele" or "matignon" for a long time- this site is great, I love talking shop!
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post #65 of 78
9/20/07 at 5:59pm
By Larousse' definition, a chef is anyone that prepares food as an occupation. Fast food workers fit that, but they are hardly what I would consider to be a chef.
Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
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post #66 of 78
9/20/07 at 6:08pm
How so? Some qualities that affect how you lead and manage would be organizational skills, confidence, ability to get along with others, ability to persuade others and ability to motivate others. These qualities are either inherent in a person or learned throughout life. The consideration of oneself as a chef or not don't even enter the picture, I'd say.
Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
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post #67 of 78
9/20/07 at 7:06pm
It's like the difference of working in your business versus working on your business.

If you've got a chef that just wants to be a cook, he'll end just doing a cooks job and let the chefly duties slide.
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post #68 of 78
9/21/07 at 12:10am
While that statement may be true, you're reading meaning into what was said that isn't there. pjaveni never said he just wanted to be a cook, he said he didn't consider himself a chef. It's not the same thing.
Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
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post #69 of 78
10/8/07 at 10:34am
I've been cooking for 20 odd years. As a "Chef" I've cooked in my own restaurant, been a Sous Chef and Assistant Room Chef in Las Vegas, a Chef de Partie in Manila. Now I'm line cooking at a small restaurant in Wisconsin. I also do some ordering, menu development and the evening specials, I really don't know what catagory I'm in at the moment. Frankly I don't need to have anyone or any organization to tell me when I've reached the once lofty position of "Chef." I know it takes years of hard work and a bit of talent. I'm looking beyond having a title and looking forward to improving on my skills and knowledge of my chosen craft. :eek:
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post #70 of 78
10/15/07 at 2:17pm

I'm with jigz369

I have been in this industry years now and have to say I didn't do 3 years hard slog at college and then get my butt kicked for many more years to be lumped in with burger flippers who call themselves chefs. I would prefer to work alongside someone who has always had a love for food and is passionate about making a difference than some idot who just talks the talk and their food is crap and tasteless.
I have a for instance at present I am working with a right plonker who is 22 wants to be a michelin star holder and he can't cook worth a ****, he told me he has been to college ( in a pigs ear) when offered help, he says I won't listen to you ( screams) the title chef for is like an extension of his penis, he hates women in the kitchen and feels totally threatened. REAL CHEFS work as a team, I love my past mentors who have given me time and encouragement. Get rid of the ego trippers I say.
=^..^=
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post #71 of 78
10/15/07 at 2:28pm
My two cents: My bet is that chefs are not paid very well, so the title becomes more important. I can't imagine being paid six figures and then quibbling about my job title. ;)

PS the job of chef and the job of cook are both extremely important. They handle the very sustenance of life... our food.
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post #72 of 78
10/18/07 at 7:37am
I'd have to agree with the general consensus here. The title of "Chef" is earned not given. Just cause the uniform requires a chef's coat doesn't make you a chef. I find the ones that really get under my skin are the freshly graduated culinary students that think cause they've spent the last 15 to 18 months in culinary school gives them the right to be called "chef". I never went to culinary school, instead I opted for earning my title the hard way, 2 long years of apprenticeship under a very demanding chef and then I still had to earn the right to be called "chef". In my opinion a chef is a leader , a mentor, a teacher, and most importantly a creative force.

Best Regards
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post #73 of 78
10/18/07 at 10:03am
my definition

chef=one in the kitchen who is the bottom line....how they choose to be the btm line is their deal.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #74 of 78
10/18/07 at 10:11am
Some consider not being certified, or not having a formal culinary education, as not deserving of the title.

As with any profession, with a few exceptions, the guy that has been doing it for 20 years has probably already forgotten more than a fresh culinary graduate will ever know.

I went to school, the school of hard knocks.
I started out as a dishmeister, slowly working my way up, sometimes sideways, and occasionally backwards, then up again.

I'm currently an Executive Sous Chef, which we all know translates into "the Executice Chef's Main B!tch".

I've been the Exec. Chef a couple of times, the Chef named Sous a few more, and many lower positions.
I'm not above jumping in wherever needed, be it the dish pit or the line.

The only downside for myself is that the school of hard knocks isn't always the most well rounded of educations.
I'm always learning, whether from my chef, books or my staff.

I call myself Chef because that's what I do.
What I am is a cook, and proud of it.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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post #75 of 78
10/18/07 at 9:33pm
Here's a question:

You work your *** up (from whatever background) to an executive chef's position of some fancy restaurant in wherever. The restaurant gets bought out (or closes or whatever) and you lose your job. You take another position (not a chef's position) at another restaurant.

You're not THE chef, but are you still A chef? Would you prefer people you address you as Chef, whether inside or outside the restaurant?
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post #76 of 78
10/18/07 at 10:42pm
For me, in that scenario, I'm not a chef.
You can title me whatever you want, but I am a cook.
If I am not titled chef at the new job, I'm not a chef.

I prefer to be called Jim away from work.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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post #77 of 78
10/19/07 at 7:43am
Let's invent our own definition, the Cheftalk definition of a "chef". If the ACF can invent the term "culinarian", we can steal back the definition of "Chef. I offer this definition up to be slashed apart, changed and redefined as seen fit.

A "Cook" is one who prepares food. A "Chef" is one whose responsibility is to see to it the cook a) knows what s/he are doing, b) have the right ingredients and equipment for the cooks to do thier job properly, c) ensure that the food prepared is sold at a reasonable profit, and d) ensure that the kitchen is run cleanly and effeciently.
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post #78 of 78
10/19/07 at 8:54am
With that definition, I am still first and foremost a cook, regardless of title or responsibility.
Although, even as a Line Cook, I exhibit the same qualities as the Chef, whether given the responsibility or not
Of course I don't act like I am the head honcho, but I still look for the same results he/she does.

So, while holding the position of Chef, I am the Chef, and act accordingly.
While not holding position of Chef, I still hold myself to the same standard.
(just do it without the $$$ and, typically, the recognition).
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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