Discussion»Questions»Human Behavior» In your opinion, is the title “chef” thrown around a bit too easily these days? Shouldn’t there be definite criteria for the definition?
The definition remains, a professional cook, typically the head cook and boss of the kitchen in a restaurant or hotel, generally proficient in all aspects of cuisine. Many become specialists.
When I hear the term "chef', I think of a guy at a high class restaurant in some city. Too expensive for my tastes! And they always have a funny, puffy hat.
From what I understand if a person has earned a culinary degree and/or has trained under a notable chef and have moved up the ranks, you are typically considered a chef. What those ranks are that they have supposedly moved up on I have no idea. I have eaten in restaurants that sported chefs and others had what they called cooks. They both used the same ingredients and to me, they both tasted the same. To me personally, a culinary degree is good if you want to demand more money but the food remains the same. :)
No. Anyone in charge of a kitchen is a head chef. Chefs do not have to be licensed but they can get an associate degree in culinary arts and/or work to get certificates and the more exclusive the restaurant the more likely a host of degrees and certificates will be represented. The top chef is the head chef. Others include sous chef, line chef, butcher chef, fish chef, fry chef, grill chef, pantry chef, pastry chef, roast chef, swing cook or roundsman (fills in where needed), saute chef, and vegetable chef. A comis chef is an intern working under a chef. I didn't know all of these titles but found the article interesting. It is from a European site but seems to be the same here. https://jobs.morningadvertiser.co.uk/article/kitchen-hierarchy-different-chef-titles-explained/
This post was edited by Thriftymaid at September 21, 2019 2:45 PM MDT
inky 