What Makes A Chef

[Voleo]

What makes a Chef Someone who goes to school gets a Degree an finds a vacant job bounces around from job to job Then finally finds one that they dont get fired from. Or someone that never went to School but get promoted by a Chef thats a Master of his Craft.thats known all over the Country & World

[michael vaith]

vERY GOOD QUESTION! I PERSONALLY AM THE LATTER. YOU EITHER HAVE TO BUST YOUR ASS IN A KITCHEN OR BUST IT IN A BOOK. I AM MORE IMPRESSIONABLE WITH THE HANDS ON METHOD. I CANT REMEMBER ANYTHING I READ, BUT I REMEMBER IT IF I COOK IT A COUPLE TIMES. THATS WHAT I THINK ABOUT THAT. EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN WAY OF DOING THINGS. HARD WAY TEACHES YOU A LESSON THOUGH.

[Robert Gillentine]

I honestly think that all the degree does is open doors once you have excelled in your career. You are the person that makes the journey from onion peeler to chef. Whether you started off as a pot washer, like most real chefs did, or you jumped straight into a leading role after school. As a prior educator and an externship site for 2 culinary schools in Dallas I can tell you that a piece of paper does not make you a chef. The market is flooded with these culinary students that believe that they will be on tv in a year making billions of dollars in their own resturants serving the rich and famous. Get real!! Work a few 70+ hour weeks, year after year! Then you might have someone refer to you as "chef".

[Joshuah Jones]

I am a student and I can honestly say that yes I am tired of those fake people calling themselves chefs and think that they are going to land the job of their dreams after school, I have learned that nothing you truly want in life is ever going to be easy to obtain. The people out there that think they can get it all with just the education is sorely mistaken. You have to be able to put your theory and knowledge into practice and produce something that you work hard for. And another thing, all you students out there with the attitude problems, just remember that you were also once in mod one with the rest of us too.

[Jase]

i think it goes hand in hand, a piece of paper doesn't mean your going to be a top chef right out of school, nor does it mean you know everything. I think the best way to get to a "chef" one must work from the bottom up, and go to school. Because in this day an age there are so many people going to culinary school, that the restaurant business is full of people that have degrees. O yes it is also doesn't matter if one goes to CIA, or a local community college. You still learn the same things, but CIA offer a little more, but it doesn't matter where you get your degree, it's how you use your degree and how humble one can be.

[Mark Webster, CEC, CCE]

Not all Chefs go the Culinary school route for one reason or another. I will say depending on where you are trying to land a job, a diploma gets you in the door. It's your skills and work ethic that keeps you employed however.

[Paul Niles]

In this day and age I feel for someone starting out that a healthy mix of both is the best route. Go ahead and get some education either a certificate or if you can a degree. Then find a job and realize that you are not the cat's pajamas. There is way to much information out there for anybody to know everything. start off as a prep cook and work your way up through the brigade, become well rounded and be more willing to listen than speak. Work with diffrent chefs and learn from each.

[Nancy L. Geddes, C.E.C., C.D.M.,]

What is a Chef? Someone who has devoted years to transforming food product for the enjoyment of others. Someone who has given up much to take on a leadership role in the kitchen on holidays, evenings, double shifts - and still derive satisfaction and pleasure being there. A Chef is a person who gives of themself being a role model, teaching and willingly reach out to all members of your brigade. A Chef is a person who stands as a pillar of professionalism to her/his community helping those less fortunate, standing in front of classrooms and inspiring industriousness in others. Yes, I have the education, certifications and such - but I also have heart, soul and many moments of hard-earned joy.

[Edgar Jacobs]

I think that ALL education is good and get it any way you can. The French word "chef" means "Chief" or the "person in charge". It actually has nothing to do with cooking. It is another American bastardization of a term. In this country we call all cooks "chefs" but all cooks are not the person in charge of a large brigade of cooks. So you see, it takes many years of hard work as a "cook" to finally be able to take charge of a culinary operation and be a good leader, a "Chief of cooks" ...a Chef.

[Andrew N]

Well, my main and only problem with this post is the deliberate loaded question. What you are saying pretty much is that any culinary student is either a slacker or has poor work ethic compared to someone who doesn't go to school....

First hand I have witnessed both ends of the spectrum on both sides....people who could care less and people who couldn't care more. Watch how you word your questions, is all I have to say with that.

In response to the true vague question you are asking, "What makes a Chef?" The answer is someone who knows how to handle every situation placed before them. Doesn't have to be Famous by any means, and lord help us if all the foodies and culinarians believe that someone is only a chef if they are on food network or on any TV in general. Network Chefs are great, but there are plenty of chefs that don't have the goal of being in a spotlight. A chef has worked his way up to earn respect, whether through apprentice, culinary school, or starting at the bottom of the barrel.....they are all just the beginning, everyone in every career has to work up on their own accord.

It is kind of like asking what makes a CEO, what makes an Administrator, Doctor, Electrician, Executive, they all are different career paths that have diifferent paths to lead up to them.

That's all

[Voleo]

It wasnt ment to be a Loaded quesition but It was a great answer

[Paul Thomas]

I believe what is in a person's heart is what makes a chef. It's not necessarily how many onions they have peeled or a degree from a culinary school. I believe if a person has a passion and desire to cook and constantly learn and perfect their craft, they can call themselves a chef if they so desire. I have seen many "onion peelers" who could cook much better than a culinary student and I have also seen a culinary student win competitions against seasoned (no pun intended) chefs. I have seen culinary students right out of school as well as weekend home cooks start catering companies and do a wonderful job without working on a line for years. I have also seen culinary graduates that don't want to cook for a living after school. Like I said, it's the passion one must have in their heart in my opinion.

[Edgar Jacobs]

"A good cook is the peculiar gift of the gods. He must be a perfect creature from the brain to the palate, from the palate to the finger's end." ---Walter Savage Landor

I agree. There has to be an innate love & respect for the food. A Chef is in awe of a perfectly ripe tomato. A Chef wants to use all the senses when he or she cooks. A Chef has a "spiritual" connection with the food that drives he or she to lift it to a " higher level" than someone who is just heating and serving raw ingredients. A Great Chef has mastered the techinque of preparation and moved on to culinary "Art".