I am a pro chef, and I enjoy cooking at home. It's a funny thing, I just feel honoured to be involved in a business that so many people find desirable. In my opinion everyone should know how to cook well, it's embarassing to hear people talk about how they just grab takeout, or can't cook for their kids, it's shameful. I also feel special when my brother asks me for advice in cooking and so on, he does data entry for a living, and I can't say I've asked him for too much advice in that field, not that there is anything wrong with it, but it just doesn't have the romanticism that cooking does.
Cooking will always attract people from all walks of life, because everyone HAS to do it at some point, for some people it's simply functional about filling yourself up, and for some people it's about providing enjoyment for others. I love this forum, and the people on it, because we are clearly like minded people who just can't sit by and fill people up on horribly tasting processed foods (only sometimes
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So, I would have to say the majority of home cooks on this forum have my utmost respect for having a drive in something that isn't even their bread and butter, I certainly don't take hours out of my day to get great at anything other than cooking. In professional kitchens allot of the time, you are not even sure what your cooks are looking for in the business, do they care? Do they want to open a great restaurant? or are they a high school drop out? They could be any number of things, but it certainly doesn't mean they care about food or knives, or anything involved.
For me, the home cook vs professional cook argument is an interesting one. You have a great number of pro cooks that are int his for life, and read/cook and try and improve. You have a great number that come in hung over, don't show up on time, are bad at their jobs and generally don't learn well. It's like any job I guess, you have good ones and bad ones. But I would imagine the people on this forum aren't in this category of pro.
But, if you are a home cook who enjoys cooking, you probably have a certain level of contempt for the utility cook who uses house knives and really doesn't focus on their craft, I'm not sure, but let me tell you, those types of cooks don't bug you nearly as much as they do the professional cooks. We are lumped in with these guys all the time. At the same time, I have worked with a ton of people that have only used house knives for their whole lives, and would cook for 300 every day no problem, so it's hard to have preconceptions about tools and knives and cooks, it's all about attitude.
At the same time, I would rather cook a big meal for my friends every day and watch them enjoy it, than paying customers I don't know (I still love doing this, but lets face it) That's why meals like today's (Canadian) thanksgiving are so special, we just slung out Turkey all weekend for people, come Sunday night I wasn't exactly enthusiastic after laying turkey out onto plates, and into take outs all weekend, but this morning the turkey enthusiasm is back in full effect, because it's family time! Sorry for the rant, just thought I'd weigh in on the home vs pro debate, as it's very close to the heart. (oh and I still can't justify my knife purchases just because they are tools, that's crazy talk, oh but I have a 24 cm deba, it's one of my most used knives, so maybe I can justify some...)