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chefcomesback

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Hi everyone,
This is a topic I would like to discuss with you or at least vent off some of my frustration .. I hope I will not get crucified for my comments but this is what I feel like .. Had a rough week maybe that is sinking in now , anyway time to spill it out:
Before I start I would like to clarify I don't envy any of the "famous young chefs " In contrast I am happy for them .
But I have a problem with what I see as a cardinal sin in kitchen: Pretending to know everything! For god sake just say I haven't done this or I don't know how! Some chefs start their career in restaurants and only see certain type of cooking. There is nothing wrong with that. You may be the strongest guy in the expo , grill , pans etc.. Or you may have worked in hotels where you serve all kinds of food to satisfy all the guests needs. But it comes cyrstal clear when You watch a " TV cooking competition " and when some of the chefs are of full of S...!
I see a new breed of them:young, high ego, no experience of running a kitchen (not talking of supervisor role) and pretending to know everything from high volume a la carte to degustation style banquets...
One specific incident angered me quite a bid . I have watched an episode of popular cooking show where one of the chefs got kicked out within the first five minutes of the show before they were able to name one of their sponsors...
The reason the contestant was kicked out was , the chef pretended to know a certain critical aspect of being chef and had no f...n clue about it.
For some reason I saw the contestants interview afterwards and started to google about some for info . I found out the chef (22year old back then )managed to use this "embarassment" for selling merchandise which includes some Japanese knives under chefs name....
I am trying to be politicly correct but the kitchen I worked at we call those chefs "shoemakers" No disrespect those actual shoemakers :)

Anyway this shoemaker branded knives are oxymoron to me .There is a product clearly made by a master who has done many of these products and probably know his ****.. And You are putting Your lame name on it to call "shoemaker gyuto!!! "
Maybe this chef is a knifenut and has many knives . But in real life I wouldnt let this chef work as my dishwasher.
This chef may be a member or heck maybe a senior member of some knife forums and maybe recommending knives, and telling the newcomers in forums how they f....d up with their last knife purchase...
I don't have any custom or $1000+ knives , my limited experience is from 7 gyutos and some other 10+ j-knives I have owned and used throughout professional kitchens
I am happy to give my personal details next time I make any comment on any knives or any kitchen related materials. If anybody has any doubts where my experience may come from they can check my work out and they can decide themselves.
But this young breed of cocky shoemakers : :curse:You are no different than Rachel Ray in my view
 
Thanks guys,
no more entries for me after "some "red wine now..:wink:
 
Honestly I think Rachel Ray is better than them. She doesn't say she does bla, bla, bla. She tells you that her parents, grandparents taught her like this.(haven't watched anything new tho.)
 
i agree with op. the problem is these persons come in for fast fame and money.
mainly industry's fault IMHO. false promesses. the main reward for me is to be able to be proud of my plates and to make sure the very small bit in cooking science i know can be teached and shared.

IMO experienced cooks (including chefs) know that they know nothing regarding the imensity and veriety of human cultures, and technlogy evolving bring new means every day, and that a long life wouldn't be enough to know everything about the complex subject of every product and how to add value to it in various manners even if technology could be "frozen".

the very best chefs i used to work with and learn from (and get my ass kicked by back then) were very humble and didn't recognize their mastery.
 
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