Food related TV shows

The latest phenomena: TV Chef shows, wanna-be-a-cook TV shows, and "Whom is the best chef show." Ok, I get it. People want the reality TV cooking shows so that is what they are producing.

However, I must seriously ask... What. The. Hell?? I just tuned in to a new TV show called "Chef Academy." Apparently there is some dude with a French accent trying to whip up some students into chefs. I have no doubt that these people are talented. Yes, the "head chef" dude has a French accent too. But could we seriously feed the cooking-chef-teacher stereotype anymore? There is more to cooking than some dude you can barely understand preaching how to make meringue.

Some of these "contestants" do seem to have talent. Certainly, I admit that. Some even went to "chef school." I do use the term "school" loosely. There seems to be a school of culinary arts in every major metropolis center now. Can you really learn how to be a true chef from some no-name "academy of culinary arts?" I mean, a serious chef?

I doubt it. I really, really doubt it. One certainly can learn the basics and perhaps even step up to mid-level techniques. For the most part, however, I think you are learning how to "cook." Being a cook and a chef are not the same in my book. A cook certainly can wow the crowd, follow a recipe, and even be in the know creating his own dishes. But a "Chef?" No. Jim Bobs school of cooking is more like a Home-Ec class in the chef world.

A chef, to me, is a person who is an artist. They understand the food. They know the reasons behind why a+b=c in the recipe. Cooks can do that too, yes. The chef, however, goes beyond this. The chef understands what is in season. He understands what the local fare is. He knows how to manage people, manage the line, manage his customers, control the flow of product. He doesn't hold back and lets you know when you screwed up. He also will sit down with you and talk about your future.

Chef has scars up his arms from the hot oven doors and callouses on his index finger from the knives. He doesn't care if he has his own TV show (not to take away from those who do, however). Eager to further his knowledge, chef travels the world from time to time to see how it's done over there. Never a master, always learning, a chef is.

He has two jackets. His favorite has beet juice splashed all over it. Paprika smears across the arms. Singe marks from the grill up the sleeves. A pen and a thermometer in the sleeve. The thermo probably doesn't get used often because he presses on the meat or just listens to the pan sizzle...that's how he knows it is done. The second jacket is for when he walks the restaurant because he can't button over the double breast on his other one any more, it's just too dirty.

All this being said...none of these people on this show are going to be a "chef" at the end because Mr. French dude says they are. Educated beyond the average layperson, definitely. A chef? No. Go travel to France and study. Study hard. Become sleep deprived. Boot camp for chefs; There will be yelling and belittling. You will screw up...alot. Chef will try and make you cry. You will have to shoulder everything.

Do all of that for a long, long time. A Soux-Chef you will be! I mean, heck, you probably could even open your own restaurant on the block and do pretty well for yourself. Are you a master chef? Probably not until you can gain the trust, respect, and half the knowledge as some of the greats like Eric Ripert, Robuchon, or Gagnaire.

I don't want to take away from people who certainly are excellent chefs that you see on the television. Ramsay, Bourdain, Lagasse, Jean-Christope Novelli...yes, they all have their own TV shows and have achieved "celebrity chef" status. They have put their dues in. And yes, they are awesome. They know their stuff inside and out; They have lived the life right side up and upside down. I certainly hold nothing against them for wanting to teach out what they have learned. I'm just annoyed with the fact that anyone who spends two months on the set of one of those shows gives the public the impression that this is all there is to becoming a "chef."

Some of you might be asking "well don't you like to cook?" Duh, yes. No, I have not gone to culinary school. Yes, I have read almost all of Child's books and watched all her shows since I was about 4 years old. Yes, my mom taught me all the home-cooking techniques she knows. Yes, I have greatly expanded my knowledge of not just how, but why the food is doing what it is doing. I'm probably almost reached "expert home-cook" status. True "chef?" Nope.

I certainly could work any line of any chain-restaurant out there, at any station, or as a manager (and be quite bored because that isn't cooking, imo) and have no issue. I could hold my own as an entry-level student in school. Saucier? Sure, I'm actually somewhat of a specialist in that area. Demi-chef or chef du partie? Not even close. Plongeur? If it gets my foot in the door, certainly. That's how some of the greats got to where they are. It puts you in a spot where you can observe everything. Absolutely everything. I've got no problem being the lower than low man on the totem pole with respect to leaning the food.

But please...just because you learned how to make salmon tartare because of the TV please don't forget all the work that it takes to be able to call yourself a true chef. Those people you are seeing on the TV didn't get to where they were after only 4 years of school.