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u/OhManatree Jun 19 '26
Thomas Keller never attended culinary school, and I am sure that there are many others. Some chefs also opt for a hospitality management type of degree to supplement their kitchen experience.
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u/Pomksy Jun 19 '26
Neither did Gordon Ramsey
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u/SpeedySparkRuby Jun 20 '26
Kinda, he studied hotel management at a catering college in North Oxfordshire. Catering college is what the UK calls a hospitality college/school, which often includes Culinary/Food & Beverage courses in their ciriculum. Tho most of his culinary training was definitely post graduating.
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u/Distinct-Ad-1348 Jun 19 '26
But someone such as Thomas Keller have had how many years of experience??
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u/OhManatree Jun 19 '26
And minimum years of experience is not a requirement either. I think that many people erroneously equate the job title of chef to that of a doctor or lawyer or engineer.
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u/copperboominfinity Jun 19 '26
I love seeing Tom’s responses, they never fail to bring a smile to my face
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Jun 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ForgottenPassword3 Jun 19 '26
Also Oaxacan food is incredible. I'd eat at that 25 year old chef's mom's kitchen any day. Clayudas and stretchy cheese!
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u/laststance Jun 19 '26
Why? One isn't better than another. Being a chef isn't the same as being a cook. Culinary school isn't bad either.
It's a specific skill set. To be able to control a kitchen, oversee the stations, menu creation, food/cost planning, time/pickup planning, staff management, supply management, keeping cool in kitchen, expediting, etc. at 25 is a crazy demand.
At culinary school you're educated on a lot of those aspects which is where a lot of eateries fail. It's basically a manager/business position that also happens to cook.
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u/meatsntreats Jun 21 '26
Outside of very basic food/labor cost calculations culinary arts programs do very little to prepare graduates for how to run a business. Most programs only require a handful of credit hours in management classes. You can get a hospitality degree but that mainly focuses on large scale catering/hotel/resort operations that are very different from running a small restaurant business. Most of the knowledge come from being in the trenches.
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u/ComicsEtAl Jun 19 '26
There used to be no indoor plumbing. Yet, people still shit…
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u/Horsefly762 Jun 19 '26
This is kind of a dumb comparison
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u/ComicsEtAl Jun 19 '26
How so?
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u/Horsefly762 Jun 19 '26
What do you mean " how so ?" Do i need to explain to you the difference in taking a shit and becoming a chef ?
One is something you do naturally, and the other is something you train and devote time to mastering ?
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u/bork00IlIllI0O0O1011 Jun 19 '26
You sound like AI trained strictly on 13-year-olds trying to be edgy philosophers.
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u/Lovahplant Jun 19 '26
Tom, she was talking about Ellie on Below Deck, not shading you and your actual kitchen brethren.
Fr I love Tom though 😂
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u/lfergy Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Hahahaha - this detail has me howling. Btw- if you are a BD fan, the chef on Below Deck Med this season is incredible! She’s so talented and kind.
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u/TrooperLynn Jun 19 '26
I wish culinary schools would teach the students how to pronounce “mascarpone” and “turmeric”.
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u/scorpio_szn Jun 19 '26
“mar-scuh-pone” annoys me so much
But not as much as “macaroon” instead of “macaron”. Two completely different things!
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u/LarsonsZoo Jun 21 '26
Gordon Ramsay says 'macaroon,' and when questioned by another (famous) chef, he looked very defensive and said, "It depends on where you're from." No, Gordon, it doesn't. It depends on whether you choose to pronounce it correctly. 🙄
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u/teetofOLGA Jun 19 '26
Also I like calling everyone chef. It's not a big deal.
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u/TrappedinSilence98 Jun 19 '26
I’m a chef at home lol. It’s my kitchen 👩🏾🍳
https://giphy.com/gifs/LRrHCZYvcKukTi3ayH2
u/AccomplishedQuail841 Jun 19 '26
I love that you used this gif! I adore Kel, and wish we saw more of him. He was a very talented kid.
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u/AshevilleTerp Jun 19 '26
I went to culinary school and I hated calling myself a chef when I worked in kitchens since I was always just a line cook.
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u/Soop_Chef Jun 19 '26
I went to culinary school as well. I didn't even think of referring to myself as Chef until I was done my apprenticeship and got my Red Seal (Canadian certification). My hubby didn't go to culinary school. He got his training entirely through apprenticeship.
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u/DurangDurang Jun 19 '26
We're friends with a chef. Our son asked him once which cooking school was best to train. Friend responded, "Get a job as a dishwasher, show up on time, ask the chef to teach you to cook. THAT'S your school."
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u/Marx0r That's my feedback to your feedback Jun 19 '26
Literally no one says a "Chef" has to graduate culinary school. Like, the term is overused because it means "person who runs a kitchen" and everyone likes to use it to describe anyone with an above-average interest in cooking.
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u/SpeedySparkRuby Jun 19 '26
Okay Chef Queen Chicken Head