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If according to the Food Network where "chefs" are ill mannered, foul mouth or covered head to toe with tattoos and piercings, I proudly consider myself a cook.
Yes: when I was in the Seafood business as an Excutive Account Manager for a major Seafood company I had the "pleasure" or working with some of the major restaurants in Seattle and let me tell you that some of the
Chef's were just great and very understanding about either not getting what they ordered or it was not as "fresh" as they wanted..
BUT: some of the "Chef's" were just NASTY...cussing, demanding, and threating to cancel contract, service etc.
On more that one occassion I would have to stop what I was doing and put in a reorder and pack it myself and then tell my boss what was going on AND THEN drive it the 35 miles or so in Seattle traffic to the restaurant so the restaurant would have it for lunch or dinner....(that is if we still had the product on hand).
There were times that I/we would have to have a driver in the field go to "another" provider and buy the needed product and then make the delivery
Just some of the little things about the food service biz and chef's.
Being a chef requires formal training or in certain cases year and years and years of experience working in the food industry. I'm not a carpenter just because I like to build things out of wood on my own.
Yup. I'm just a cook with no delusions of grandeur - and an occasionally, foul-mouthed, ill-tempered cook at that.
Yup. I'm just a cook with no delusions of grandeur - and an occasionally, foul-mouthed, ill-tempered cook at that.
Pretty much the same for me as well. If by some stroke of luck I found myself on "Chopped" or ANY like FN show, I would be the first off. My presentation is ... well ... rudimentary and my technique would not draw any "oohs" or "aahs" from anyone. I just concentrate on making the food taste as good as I can make it, and I learn new things all the time.
I've met the OPs definition of 'chef' for a few years running a small scale cafe with lunch and brunch and some catering but never considered myself anything near a chef. I would, however, make a pretty good garde manger. I can make something tasty out of any scraps of just about anything.
Still, I doubt I could've handled being on the line at a busy upper-end resto. I hate repetition.
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people.
The term is shortened from the French term Chef de Cuisine, meaning the Chief (or Head) of the Kitchen.
So if you are a professional cook, and particularly if you are in charge of a kitchen, or in charge of a department in a larger kitchen, then it's fair to call you a chef.
I always thought I wanted to be a chef. When I worked as a chef, I was an excellent chef. I didn't like being a chef as much as I thought I would so I decided to become a businesswoman instead and made a heck of a lot more money and less stress than a chef. I'm now chief cook and bottle washer, with a bit of chef thrown in.
I always thought I wanted to be a chef. When I worked as a chef, I was an excellent chef. I didn't like being a chef as much as I thought I would so I decided to become a businesswoman instead and made a heck of a lot more money and less stress than a chef. I'm now chief cook and bottle washer, with a bit of chef thrown in.
sounds like a lot of us, doesn't it. Yep, in one way or another we are all chefs if we are in charge of the kitchen and most of us are. I am the head cook, the meal planner, the caterer when we take food somewhere, like a pot luck or the kids for the holidays. I do the shopping, generally, the clean up and the baking; if that isn't a chef, I would like to know that is..I don't mean the best chef, but as I said earlier I am either a chef in a cooks hat or visa versa.
I consider myself someone who is forced to cook under duress, not even a cook and most definitely not a Chef. I loathe cooking with a passion but as I love eating and Hubby works and I do not I feel responsible for most of the cooking, which I do with gritted teeth. I enjoy eating far more when someone else has made the effort.
If I ever won the lottery I am not even sure I would bother having a kitchen at all ! That's what excellent restaurants are for. Breakfast, lunch and dinner...
It's pretty simple, actually. Do you get a paycheck for cooking? If so, you're considered a chef.
Even that is not a sufficient description, though it would at least (thankfully) disqualify some of these home cooks who want to claim the title. But you can get a paycheck for cooking, but if you are a line cook you are not a chef.
Just like playing paintball doesn't entitle you to the term "General", cooking does not entitle you to the term "Chef". Chefs have had either professional higher education, and/or years upon years of working their way up through kitchens and are now in charge in some way of a professional kitchen. Maybe you are the executive chef, maybe a sous chef or some other.
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or working with some of the major restaurants in Seattle and let me tell you that some of the 
Yup. I'm just a cook with no delusions of grandeur - and an occasionally, foul-mouthed, ill-tempered cook at that.
I enjoy eating far more when someone else has made the effort.
