The Letter C

Today we address the letter C!

I decided to look up the history of the word "chef" (natural choice, right?) We learned it in cooking school, but only broadly.

Here is what I found...

According to Wikipedia it is basically a bastardization of the word chief...I can fancy myself a chief. However, wiki also notes that it has become a term used to indicate skill set rather than position...so maybe not a chief after all.

Since I trained through the Cordon Bleu program (at CSCA), I feel I cannot contemplate what it means to be a chef, without mentioning Escoffier , who is widely considered to be the father of French cooking...however, I also wanted to mention some of my own personal favorite chefs.

So...first and foremost for me has to be Thomas Keller. I WILL eat at the French Laundry one day before I die. And I will pay several hundred dollars for the chefs tasting menu, and I will attempt to be there on a night when Chef Keller is in house so I can meet him. The man slays me, brilliant brilliant brilliant. Incidentally, his cookbook is the only one I own just for show, the food in it is not practical and some of it truly beyond my tastes or abilities...but as a foodie, it is one you just have to say you have it (you can find it here or here.)

Next...Anthony Bourdain. I know, everyone knows who he is now that he struck himself up a deal with The Travel Channel, but for a long time he was simply a "chef's chef", he cooks the kind of food I strive to cook, and he is funny and real (on a side, I LOVE his show). His book Kitchen Confidential was recommended to me when I started cooking school and it is on of the only representation (I will talk about the other in one moment) of what it is like to be a chef that I have ever found to be even close to true.

Third on my list...Michael Ruhlman. He wrote my other favorite "chefs" book, Soul of a Chef. Besides being a great author he is also the kind of chef I wish I were, and hope to be someday. He cooks for the love of the cooking, and the food, and nothing else. He gets huge respect from me.

You may notice that my top 3 are all men. While huge strides are being made, this is still mostly a man's world. Women are still expected to be pastry chefs and relegated to making things "look pretty". In that world, there are a few women who stand WAY out against convention.

Sara Moulton is one of them. She is the reigning executive chef for Gourmet Magazine, as well as being a world class chef, author, and all around great person. When I was in cooking school we had to do a project for one of our classes, a big presentation. My group and I chose to tackle the subject of female chef's and the dichotomy that exists between us and "the good ole boys" in our profession...we sent out DOZENS of questionaires to female chef's that we respected, and the ONLY one (outside of the female chef's teaching at our school) who returned it was Sara Moulton. Probably the busiest of all the women on our list, and yet the only one who took the time out to lend her thoughts to some budding chefs. I will never forget that impression of her.

Also on the list of great ladies, Cat Cora. Before becoming one of the few female Iron Chefs she popped up here and there on various television shows and honed her cooking chops at a few different restaurants, and she also founded Chefs for Humanity, which is a coalition of culinary pro's geared to fill the food needs of those affected by emergencies, as well as working toward eradicating hunger. Anyone who founds a humanitarian agency is A-1 in my book!

Since I listed 3 men, I guess I will keep it to three cool female chef's, and close it off with Alice Waters, as it is nearly impossible to have a real discussion about the great women of our field and not come around to Chef Waters. If you have not heard of Alice Waters, it is likely you have heard of Chez Panisse, her first restaurant, in Berkeley CA (she also had Cafe Fanny, also in Berkeley.) Chef Waters has long championed fresh, locally grown ingredients, and her fantastic food is a testament to just how good those things can be. She totally inspires me to hit the streets and head to the farmers markets in search of inspiration to make amazing food.

OK...enough about chef's I think!