The Many Hats of a Chef  

By: George Karousos

      Recently I received a phone call from a local newspaper reporter who was interviewing chefs from around the area about the life of a culinary professional. Many of the chefs she’d talked to focused on the rigors of long, hard days and also how working holidays and weekends is the norm. Towards the end of the conversation the reporter asked me bluntly, “If being a chef is so hard, why do people get into the industry?”

      I had to think for a minute but my answer was actually quite simple. For someone to put that much time and energy into their profession, they either have to love what they’re doing or they’re crazy. I believe good chefs elevate the quality of life in society. When restaurants are successful, it is a good indicator that the local economy is strong. Not only are people coming to eat, but they are also coming to shop or be entertained. What florist or jeweler wouldn’t want the exposure of being right across the street from a bustling restaurant with patrons coming and going all day long?

Just as importantly, a chef who builds a restaurant with an excellent reputation is also capable of contributing to the revitalization of an area. Astute entrepreneurs who a constant flow of people going in and out the doors will capitalize on the flow of traffic, so a good restaurant can influence the development of a depressed area.

      At this point the reporter understood what a good chef could do for society but still she pressed on. “I understand long hours take their toll, but still, I want to know what makes a chef’s work so difficult?”

      It seems as though society is convinced that a chef is responsible for putting a dish together and getting it to the patron hot, and in a reasonable amount of time. Although that is an important part of the equation, simplifying a chef’s function to cooking and presenting corrodes all that we work for. A line cook is someone who shows up to work, sets up a station and cooks for 8 to 10 hours. A chef is so much more…

      A chef is a general who must prepare a plan and present orders down the chain of command, and then assist in prepping the kitchen for the appropriate amount of people expected. Finally, the chef is responsible for overseeing the execution of the plan and making changes on the fly, as they are deemed necessary. Personally, I take responsibility for the errors of my staff and will visit a table myself if something has gone wrong. I gain my employees respect by showing that I am willing to be held accountable for their mistakes and then instruct them so it doesn’t happen again.

      A chef is a mathematician because if food costs are not calculated correctly, then there will be spoilage and that eats into profits. One must also estimate what additional expenses might occur and budget accordingly. Restaurants do not have a high profit margin so if we are careless in our spending than it won’t be long before we become a statistic.

      A chef is a sculptor. He or she must carve out beautiful designs using colorful and attractive foods that are visually appealing.

      A chef is a chemist. Creating an exquisite looking dish is useless if the aroma and taste do not match the look. Knowing the right amount of each ingredient to add is key to creating good taste, and a creative mind will take chances by blending different flavors to create something savory.

A chef is a weatherman. Learning the climate of an area is instrumental for ordering purposes. Living in America, we are blessed with the ability to get almost any food any time of the year; but to create the best tasting dishes it helps to know what is in season at what time. I try to use local ingredients as much as possible and can say a strawberry will be much more luscious if served in June as opposed to December.

      A chef is a nutritionist and a dietician. Following the myriad of diet trends that pop up every year can be a full time job in itself. It makes good business sense to provide cuisine that is compatible with low-carb or glutton-free diets along with regular menu items that are tried and true favorites. One message I always convey to my patrons is that nothing can be as nutritious as a well-balanced diet with a healthy dose of exercise. It seems obvious, but trends come and go and this message will hold true no matter what pills or miracle diets emerge.

      A chef is an artist. Looking back at some of the artistic masterpieces throughout history, one thing bonded nearly all of them together, time. Michelangelo created his Sistine Chapel over many years. Da Vinci took months to create his Mona Lisa. Yet a chef is expected to present a beautiful piece of work in twenty minutes; if that is not a challenge, than I don’t know what is. We are in the business of creating memories, and if one can produce an experience where the patron fondly recalls the smell, taste and setting, than they will return and tell others. Just like a painter uses his brush, a sculptor his chisel, a chef uses his ingredients with imagination and a great deal of love to create his masterpiece

      My interviewer jokingly added that a chef must also be a public relations specialist. Perhaps my answer was a bit long-winded, but I felt it important to convey to the reporter the many hats a chef wears besides his or her toque. Oftentimes people take for granted the effort that goes into being a chef when they sit down for a meal. My goal was to counter the notion that a chef plans a menu and cooks from it by giving the public an abstract way to view the profession by using other trades.

      After almost 40 years of doing what I love, to conclude I had to share with her a portion of the speech that I give my graduating culinary students at the President’s dinner each spring. I tell them that although their formal schooling is complete, tomorrow they will have a whole new set of responsibilities as chefs. They are responsible for continuing their educations while sacrificing personal time and holidays to bring happiness to the public. And despite the relentless toiling and challenges, I make sure the students know that it takes a special breed of person to be a chef. One must be passionate and proud and most importantly, they must love their profession because if they don’t love what they’re doing then they’re crazy for doing it.

Lick finger, a cook from English playwright Ben Jonson’s satirical comedy “ The Staple of News ” gives his take on what makes a successful chef or a Master Cook as they were known at the time. This passage from 1631 still holds true today.

A Master Cook

A master-cook! Why, he’s the man of men

For a professor! He designs, he draws,

He paints, he carves, he builds, he fortifies,

Makes citadels of curious fowl and fish,

Some he dry-dishes, some motes round with broths;

Mounts marrow bones, cuts fifty-angled custards,

Rears bulwark pies, and for his outer works,

He raiseth ramparts of immortal crust;

And teacheth all the tactics, at one dinner:

What ranks, what files, to put his dishes in;

The whole art military. Then he knows

The influence of the stars upon his meats,

And all their seasons, tempers, qualities,

And so to fit his relishes and sauces.

He has nature in a pot, ‘bove all the chymists,

Or airy brethren of the Rosie-cross.

He is an architect, an engineer,

A soldier, a physician, a philosopher,

A general mathematician.

International Institute of Culinary Arts
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