Just like any other profession, whether or not being a chef is a career or a job depends largely on you. Of course, if your chef-dom is merely a job for you, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t take long to burn out. Fifty to 70-hour work weeks, high stress, and the creative brain drain all take their toll fairly early on those not entirely dedicated to their paycheck-maker.

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Culinary schools give aspiring chefs their best shot at making it to the big time, especially those accredited by the American Culinary Federation. Just like any other profession, many of the better hospitality establishments base their hiring practices not only upon the length of education the applicant provides, but also where that education was obtained. Tuition runs the gamut from relatively inexpensive courses offered by local community colleges all the way to the Culinary Institute of America’s breathtaking $40,000 price tag. And what doesn’t tuition cover? Oh, just uniforms, textbooks, cutlery, and other necessary kitchen equipment.

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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.

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So you want to do it all, do you? It’s not enough to put in sometimes 70 hours a week on your feet lifting heavy pots in 95-degree temperatures. You want more stress than that of figuring out what to do when both the sous chef and the garde manger call in sick. Well, then, you sound like the perfect candidate for your own chef-owned restaurant. Congratulations! You’ve just joined the ranks of a few crazy-as-a-fox chefs who feel just as you do – and to find out a little more about some of them, read on . . .

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The alarm clock sounds at 7 a.m., coinciding with a dream (nightmare?) of an oven timer going off. The professional chef opens his eyes to a new morning and a new workday ahead. He rises to a steaming cup of strong coffee, kisses his wife and baby, then moves on to his computer to check e-mails and do any accounting that needs his attention.

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