Is the chef in?

[Zoticus]

wasn't it ducasse who famously was asked "who cooks when you're not in the kitchen?", "same person who cooks when I am".

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i think it was bocuse who first said this but it has been accredited to many others since.

Ramsay's take on it is 'do you think giorgio armani personally made your suit'

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Despite their glibness, Ducasse, Ramsay and Bocuse still skirt the main question, which asks, 'if you're so passionate about cooking, why don't you cook?'.

It is undoubtedly true that these individuals have been able to reduce their food to a set of algorithms that can be processed by a competent brigade, and still have it remain of an exceptionally high quality. However, it doesn't follow from this that were they actually at the pass the food would not be better. Indeed, the division of labour necessary to do what they do effectively prohibits spontaneity, and that, for me at least is a significant measure of a chef's worth.

So if they're not in the kitchen we not only lose a quality that any decent reputation relies upon, but we also have to doubt that they derive much enjoyment from cooking in a restaurant.

With so many chefs directing operations from their media bunkers, I prefer to spend my money supporting those that demonstrate a bit of commitment to their craft and have the decency to actually cook, than on those who need to spin their absence with non sequiturs.

[chefmatt]

i am a chef and i am with zoticus on this. i don't wish to insult Ramsay because i have massive admiration for him, but as a business man not a chef. I would certainly rather spend my money at an establishment where it hasn't been reduced to formula. just talking yesterday about food in the restaurants under the ramsay umbrella that it is hard to criticise but for me has no wow factor. I bet it did when he was cooking. When his head chefs are cooking they always have to think to themselves "would gordon approve of this?" this leads to them not to cook from the heart.

[muichoi]

The issue only becomes an issue for people insufficiently informed, such that they a) believe said proprietor is always behind the stove b) that it makes a difference.

further to point b) if it does make a difference there is something inately wrong with the restaurant setup such that it should be avoided irrespective.

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Precisely.

[Edward Quinn]

Advice update.

Young Chefs. If you are lucky enough to become successful.

Do not leave the stove! Do not write books, Do not make television or open new ventures!

You must sacrifice your well being for your craft!

You must remain poor and tired for the sake of the diners!!

And watch your creativity soar!

[minisat]

Good point well made - Bloody ignorant people who don't have a clue what being a chef is about

[Andy Lynes]

David Everitt-Matthias at Le Champignon Sauvage is arguably the chef most devoted to his craft in the UK. In the kitchen at his restaurant for every service, no outside interests, no consultancy and virtually never on TV (one appearance on Masterchef that I can recall, and even that was filmed in his restaurant kitchen!).

As luck would have it, he also happens to be one of the most talented chefs in the country. Somehow, the daily grind of running a restaurant hasn't worn him down and, rather than becoming jaded and stale, his food seems to continually improve. Crucially, he never lets his technical brilliance and encyclopedic knowledge of ingredients get in the way of a delicious plate of food.

Not every chef-run restaurant is Le Champignon Sauvage, however. And even if you passed a law forcing all chefs to actually cook for a living, the chances of producing another LCS are slim indeed. I love the idea of small, family run businesses - the restaurant as personal expression; but the reality is that you are just as likely to have a bad meal in one as you are in an outpost of a gastro-empire.

And just because a chef is never off the TV doesn't automatically mean that their restaurants are going to be crap. I've had outstanding meals at Gordon Ramsay and Rhodes W1 within the last year or so and on both occasions the names above the door weren't in the kitchen.

The pool of fully developed, top notch culinary talent in the UK is surprisingly small and spread between groups, hotels and independently owned restaurants. If you harbour pre-conceptions about what chefs should and shouldn’t be doing with their time, you risk missing out on some very good meals.