On Dec 31 2008, 5:49�pm, Goomba > wrote:
> Pete C. wrote:
> > Chef vs. cook perhaps? Chef developing recipes vs. cook following them?
>
> Doesn't "Chef" denote the one that runs the entire kitchen?

Not necessarily... in large kitchens there is typically a chef in
charge of each individual area. In smaller kitchens there would be a
head chef that manages the entire operation. With very small kithens,
such as a neighborhood restaurant there would be a head cook who cooks
and manages the entire operation. A chef is the one primarilly in
charge of the economic/financial and management aspects of running a
kitchen, which includes procuring supplies/ingredients, making up
menus, hiring/firing, and directing personel. Most chefs are capable
cooks but few are expert... they don't need to be a skilled cook to
run the establishment. Typically chefs obtain a college degree in
culinary management... the duties of a chef are more like those of a
comptroller than a line cook. In lager kitchens the chef (chief)
rarely if ever does any cooking. Many in small kitchens, especially
restaurant owners, call themselves chefs, not. Anyone can own a
restaurant, most restaurants are owned by someone who can't cook a
lick, and in fact rarely if ever is present... they hire a degreed
chef to run the show... someone needs to know how to price out a menu,
they don't need to know how to cook. Tyically the best cooks are
uneducated... cooking is an artform, something one can perfect but not
something one can learn.