What makes a great chef?
#17
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: CLT
Posts: 7,249
I think a lot of it is also just knowing your audience. Would Paula Deen be as successful if she opened the same restaurant in San Francisco? Maybe, but I doubt it. I'm not sure if she is a Chef or just a cook, but she is one of my favorites.
#19




Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Indianapolis
Programs: Hilton-Diamond Lifetime Platinum AA UA, WN-CP, SPG Gold.
Posts: 7,385
Most Artist think they are the best, and in theri own circle they are...
Money is just about keeping score, at the end of the day we all work to make a profit, that is what keeps us going...
No profit, no door to open...no gas for oven...
Ancient Chinese cook fact...
Money is just about keeping score, at the end of the day we all work to make a profit, that is what keeps us going...
No profit, no door to open...no gas for oven...
Ancient Chinese cook fact...
#21
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I have a plus-sized friend and chef who once told me "Never trust a skinny chef" and that motto has served me quite well so far
#22
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#24
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 334
What do you think makes a great chef? From the 3-star Michelin chefs such as Thomas Keller and Pierre Gagnaire to equally talented chefs such as Mario Batali and Dean Fearing, what exactly is "it" that makes them the take such ingredients and turn them into such extraordinary dishes on a regular basis in successful, well-run restaurants?
It's rather impossible to answer your question without more definition around what you mean by great chef. Best chef on the line? Best business manager? Best menu maker?
#25
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 5
Being a great chef is a lot about management. You have to be a great cook, great leader, great manager all at the same time. When chefs go to the top of their professional success, a lot of them rarely work the line. They mainly become overseers, but with a firm hand on the menu.
#26
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Many, slipping beneath the horizon
Posts: 9,859
A commitment to maximizing the dining pleasure and feeling of perceived value of the patrons (well, at least the relatively discerning diners among them).

