What makes you a chef?

I have been in the kitchens for 15 years, I run a whole food kitchen at a coop now and have been there 5 1/2 years, I get interns from a local culinary institute and I swear over half of these kids come in with their heavy German steel chef knifes acting like Gordon Ramsey... point is what do you think makes someone a "chef"?

Public Comments

1. I think that both education and having experience make you a chef. Someone straight out of culinary school is probably eligible to BECOME a chef, once hired at a restaurant and after gaining the experience and respect of others in the field. I think that the interns are arrogant and don't understand that being a chef takes time, and you can't base everything on what you learned at school - there is art and innovation that makes you a chef. You have to have the palate and the gift of creating unique food. I would never, ever call myself a Chef, for instance, because I've only taken one cooking class (laughable!) and I know I don't have a refined palate, and I'm no more creative in the kitchen than the next person (though being vegan has made me think outside the box more than some). I think you're more a chef than any of these interns are because of the years of experience your mind and your palate and your hands have had in the kitchen. They're nothing, totally green to it, and think it's all about what they learned in school, when it is clearly not.