Being a Chef: A Sweet-Smelling Savor

If I had a nickel for every time I heard the following statement, I would be very, very wealthy: “You're a chef? Wow, that must be neat!”

Don't misunderstand me. A career in the Culinary Arts is an awesome vocation, a calling many aspire to but few excel at. Being a chef has been elevated over the last few decades by a select group of chefs who have become not only household names, but have established a new benchmark for all those who have come after. I am proud and honored to call myself one and be associated with such individuals. I'm also blessed to be part of an industry that is so essential, and following in a history that is so rich.

The truth is, however, that being a chef is anything but easy. It takes a rare breed to answer the call: you need a passion for the art of creating delicious food, the endurance to work long hours on your feet in a hot kitchen, the skill and finesse to cut, carve and cook, the strength of will to lead a kitchen crew like a general, the desire to satisfy even the most discerning palette and a personality that translates into every unique dish you serve. You need to be hard as steel, have a fire in your belly that never quits and have more spit and polish than a shoeshine.

And in today's world, a world where the Chef de Cuisine and Master Chef has been replaced with the Executive Chef and the Kitchen Manager, you better have the wits and savvy to work in an office environment and weather more meetings than you can shake a whisk at. You need to be part culinarian, part purchaser/receiver, part health inspector, part manager and 100% Chef.

Still Sound Neat?

Working as a professional chef, you soon come to understand that the phrase “if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen” is anything but a metaphor. And it applies to far more than merely the physical environment you work in. Being a chef is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding. All the time.

And thanks to the image some of my more popular colleagues have portrayed about being a chef, you're expected to perform under these conditions with a smile on your face. The days of the tyrannical, totalitarian Master Chef, screaming obscenities and throwing pots and pans while he throws a temper tantrum are gone (well, almost. I'm not mentioning any names). Not to mention the fact that the kitchen environment used to be like Las Vegas: what happened there stayed there, behind closed doors. Today, many fine-diners wants to see the chef in action: and with many restaurants and restaurant concepts opening up the kitchen to the dining room and the guest, everything you do and say can be seen and heard. It's like a cross between live dinner theater and being on display in a fish bowl.

It Gets Even More Glamorous

You'll be plying your trade whilst everyone else is enjoying themselves. Days, evening, weekends, holidays, special events, weddings, birthdays, super bowl parties, graduation balls. Don't ever expect a great deal of leisure time. Being such a key player in making someone else's meal, party or event special and unforgettable simply doesn't lend itself to copious amounts of spare time. It has a high cost.

But Nothing Good Comes Easy. Or Cheap.

The cost for comments like: “That was the best filet mignon I've ever had. Thanks for an unforgettable birthday dinner.” “My wife thought the salmon was delicious. It made our anniversary so special.” “I've never seen such a beautiful wedding cake!” “This is the best bisque ever!”

I'll be completely open for a moment and tell you that some of the best encounters, some of the most memorable occasions, some of the greatest blessings that have ever come my way have been from what I will call the Perfect Plate. The Perfect Plate isn't a specific dish. It could be a bowl of lobster bisque or a cup of chicken noodle soup, filet mignon béarnaise or macaroni and cheese. It wasn't necessarily cooked perfectly, or presented perfect---but it was perfect for the person who ate it. And that person made sure that they called this chef out from the kitchen to share the smile, the joy and the comfort that Perfect Plate gave them. It's come from retired couples on vacation, it's come from 8-year old children, it's come from complete strangers, it's come from my best buddies and it's come from my wonderful wife (which is very, very special).

I Never Tire of Those Glorious Perfect Plate Moments

Of course, the truth is I've also had more than my share of Imperfect Plate moments, and so will you. They come with the territory, though, and I took most of them with grace, humility, and a few choice words (under my breath mind you). You'll learn to weather them like a passing gale, since most of them are rarely a testament to your skill, just a difference of taste. Of course, you always have those rare few owners, operators, Food and Behemoth Directors and General Whatever-They're-Calling-Themselves who see fit to call these disasters. They're all working on the same premise: that you have to please everyone.

As a chef, you better get over that presumption. Because you'll never accomplish that kind of total satisfaction. Ever.

Not that you shouldn't strive to do what you do with excellence, or that you shouldn't always seek to improve your methods and perfect your skills. I'm not saying that at all. Nor should you fall back on the arrogance and complacence of “That's just the way I make it, heathen. Only a sophisticated palette can appreciate that” That's the kind of hubris that sets you up for failure and unhappy customers.

Your Sole Purpose as a Chef is to Have Happy Customers

Many chefs become chefs for various reasons. Some look at having a successful and prosperous career. Some think it's glamorous and fun as it's often portrayed on countless cooking shows and networks. Some get into it for the love of food and the art of cooking for their own sake (I did). But the bottom line is this: as a chef, you are in Food Service. You serve, not just food, but people. You may serve haute cuisine or a family style buffet, you may serve thousands at a banquet or simply two for an intimate private dinner, but you serve. It's the highest calling one can aspire to, and it requires the deepest humility and commitment to be able to serve others. It also requires a heart-felt passion for people.

For me, it has been a heart-felt passion for going on 20 years.

I hope to be a chef for 20 more.