The Abuse of "Chef".

[zang]

I hate when people call themselves chefs and aren't.

I am not a chef. Even when I have my diploma, I won't be a chef.

I am a cook. I do not call myself a chefThere's a saying, "you're not a chef until someone else calls you chef"; meaning that unless you're someone's boss, you don't deserve that title

Comments

[katrinar]

growing up around restaurant kitchens, i agree with you. i know chefs. i call them chef. steven treadwell (who's kitchens i've had the honour to be invited into) i call chef. i call him chef when he's in jeans. andy dymond (prince of whales hotel, NOTL) i call chef. always.

the dudes who work in the kitchen at oddfellows, while excellent at what they do, i would not call chef. they are all really great cooks though.

i understand that ego plays a HUGE part in the roll of being at the helm of a kitchen, but some people are too full of themselves.

[zang]

Hell, I think *I* have an ego, but I wouldn't call myself "chef". :P I almost can't stand to watch Hell's Kitchen (the wife loves it), because almost everyone calls themselves chef or even worse, "executive chef" (a term denoting a chef who runs multiple kitchens, usually in a large hotel or series of restaurants). These are people who can't cook a steak properly and use that title? WTF?! Any chef worth his/her salt would wipe the floor with everyone else on Hell's Kitchen.

[katrinar]

which is why they aren't ON hell's kitchen!

like honestly, i think i'm a great COOK but never in my life will i ever think of myself as a chef. chefs can do things that i can't due to training, disposal of equiptment and the like.

[cyn]

the guy who sat in this chair before me called himself Creative Director.

i nearly puked when i saw his business card with that title.

he was fresh out of "school" (more likely three weeks at DeVry or something) and lazily threw sloppy layouts together with no design sense or precision. argh.

I shall forever call you Iron Chef because I WAS THERE.

my sister doesn't like the title Chef either because she doesn't have her papers. but she's been in the biz for many years, she runs a kitchen, manages a whack of sous-chefs, and turned what was supposed to be a charming pub into a fantastic restaurant that all of Kingston raves about.

i consider her a chef.

and i know it's just a matter of time before we're giving you the chef salute. or handshake. is there a secret handshake?

[zang]

Well, Iron Chef was for entertainment purposes, and is not a title I could use for a job interview. And yeah, your sister's a chef. She runs a kitchen.

[_inneruniverse]

Very good points. Hope your internship is going well! Also, I know you mentioned this to me before, but my memory sucks... who does the good kitchen mixers these days? I know that Kitchenaid has gone down the toilet by way of quality, so what's the new good mixer to have? Need to add it to my birthday wish-list ;)

[zang]

In a similar price range? By far the Cuisinart stand mixers. The tools themselves (whip, paddle and hook) are excellent, there are lots of attachments available, lots of horsepower and it keeps winning acclaim. The 5.5qt/800watt model is just fine. Don't bother with the 7qt/1000watt one unless you plan on doing a lot of dense breads or need the extra quart and a half.