Eh, I was not as high on it as you. She’s clever and some of it was funny, but the interviews were pretty dumb IMO.
Just powered through The Bear and it did one of the most accurate jobs of depicting a real kitchen I think I’ve ever seen in media. Really fantastic show.
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I never worked in a commercial kitchen, but per my chef-brother: The Menu is everything about working for a guy like Thomas Keller, The Bear is all about working in a kitchen.
I’ve only seen the first 3 or so episodes, thanks for reminding me to watch the rest.
I’m really enjoying the Last of Us
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It reminded me of what I loved about working in a kitchen but also the intense pressure and stress I endured.
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“Shrinking” on Apple TV+ is amusing.
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Very good friend is a former chef here in Napa. Immensely talented and has worked in several Michelin starred restaurants, the first of which was a great experience but he was also paid sweet fuck all (which is an unfortunate, but much longer conversation about the hospitality industry). His last gig was with Richard Reddington, a famous chef who is also an absolute cunt. My friend was fired when tore his ACL on a hike and couldn’t work. That was enough for him to stop cooking professionally.
ETA: Another friend worked Keller at the Laundry. Said he’s incredibly demanding, but isn’t a complete asshole.
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During the Bear my wife asked if he’s a world famous chef how come he’s not rich and I was like that’s not usually how it works in that world. Accolades do not necessarily equal money.
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Brother says his introductory meeting with Thomas Keller was while doing constant work on a weekend morning, and he gets a tap on the shoulder “chef…show me all of the quiche that you have” with a deadeyed expression on TK’s face.
Brother said he was instantaneously equal parts terrified and in awe.
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Is he no longer a chef? Do you have to be actively working in a commercial kitchen environment to claim the title? Not being snarky, really would like to know why or how one gets to be called chef. Thanks and I’ll hang up and listen.
A chef is someone with managerial responsibilities in the kitchen. If you run the line, run the kitchen, are responsible for the food coming out of the kitchen, you are the chef, or ‘chief.’ It helps if you have elevated training and skill but the only real responsibility for the title is that you’re responsible for the cooks or the food or both. The term has been elasticized greatly, maybe like ‘genius’ has, but it’s a term of respect for the authority.
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In summary: I’m a cook, my wife is the chef.
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Interesting question. Connor no longer cooks professionally and generally refers to himself as a former/recovering chef if the subject comes up. And I’d agree with Ron’s assessment. Chef is French for boss and in the French culinary hierarchy it’s the person who manages or runs the kitchen (at least, that’s how I’ve understood the terms from conversations with my friends who cooked professionally).
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But it can be bestowed to non-chefs by the chef as a sign of respect. I worked as a banquet “chef” at the Woodlands Conference Center and the real chef would call us chef and we were supposed to refer to each other as that despite the fact the food we were making was basically mass produced bland garbage.
Makes sense. I know Connor was referred to as “chef” while he was cooking professionally, and he was definitely not the one in charge. Which I think speaks to Ron’s point about the elasticity of the term.
Yeah and I remember the head chef tearing a few people new assholes for joking about us being called chefs. It’s all part of the trust and cohesion of the system. Sure I’m cooking bulk lemon pepper chicken breasts for a Shell Oil banquet but goddamn it I’m saying yes chef and following the system.
I watched the first season of Your Honor last week. It was okay but as usual, Bryan Cranston is a tour de force in a demanding role. The story is not very satisfying but, man, that dude can act.
I really want to like Bryan Cranston, but his incessant whining about the 2017 World Series does my head in.
And his performance as LBJ was fucking mediocre.
I don’t know anything about him outside of a few television roles that I thought he was great in. He might be the biggest asshole in the world for all I know and him as LBJ seems like bad casting.
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