Becoming A Chef
Because of the French domination of the culinary scene since time began (or so it seems, anyway), it stands to reason the most famous chefs in history are – what else? – French, with the exception of one American woman (discussed later), who was, nevertheless, trained in classical French cooking.
Known as the “King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings,†Antoine Careme went from being an abandoned child left at the door of a restrauteur in 18th century Paris, to become the father of “haute cuisine†– the high art of French cooking – in the early 19th century. Chef to then-world movers and shakers such as diplomat Talleyrand-Perigord, the future King George IV, Czar Alexander I, and the powerful banker James Rothschild, Careme is noted for his voluminous writings on cooking, including the famed L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise (The Art of French Cooking), a five-volume masterpiece on menu planning, table settings, hundreds of recipes, and a history of French cooking.
To all these great chefs, we owe a debt for their giftedness and tireless contributions that have truly turned cooking into an art form. It does make one wonder, however, if ever the temptation arose with any of them to ever dine secretly on a lowly peanut butter and jelly sandwich or to toast the evening with Kool-Aid and crackers. We’ll never know, but we’ll surely speculate – as we take another bite of quiche Lorraine.
What is the difference between a chef and a cook? As in the yet-to-be famous, (un)known saying, “You can take the chef out of the cook, but you can’t take the cook out of the chef.†In other words, being a cook is not synonymous with being a chef. A chef is a cook, but a cook is not necessarily a chef.
Yep, it’s true that your mom, your Uncle Pete, and your friend can cook – Mom’s pancakes are wonderful, Uncle Pete’s barbecue makes you drool in anticipation, and your best friend’s spaghetti sauce should be patented – but alas, they are still merely cooks, not chefs.
Chefs must not only be wonderful cooks, they must also develop menus, stay on top of food costs, manage a staff – plus wear the hats of human resource professional, accountant, teacher, sometimes Mom and Dad, and sometimes friend (or enemy), as well.
What does a chef earn? Today, chef’s wages vary considerably. Wolfgang Puck’s 12 restaurants brought in $12.2 million last year, The Food Channel’s Emeril Lagasse made $7 million, and the “enfant terrible of French cooking†Jean-Georges Vongerichten went home with $3 million.
And then there’s the “real†world: The median hourly earnings of chefs two years ago was $13.43, with the lowest 10 percent making less than $7.66 an hour, and the top 10 percent plucking down a healthy $25.86 hourly wage. So – there you go: Unless you’re one of the blessed food wonders of the world – with plenty of backing from top sponsors – you’re most likely going to fall in the latter group of those head chefs making anywhere from the unacceptably low, “you gotta be kidding†pay scale to the, “yeah, I can get by on that†wage.
A lot depends on what part of the country you’re working. Executive chefs in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are going to make significantly more than those in Mobile, Alabama or Mesa, Arizona. Population aside, it’s the deep pockets of the customers in those former locales that make the difference.
