Posted by Francois de Melogue on May 30, 1998 at 08:17:57:
In Reply to: Re: TV Chefs: Another Point of View posted by Lorri Royle(weechef) on May 29, 1998 at 23:45:47:
: I'll tell you what I see is a direct result of TV Chefs, crowded culinary arts programs.
: Students see these guys on tv and they think they are going to be the next "Emeril". We have a
: bunch of kids in our class that have never worked in the restaurant industry. They don't have a
: clue about what to expect. Most of them have no talent or passion what so ever. They see these
: guys on tv and they say, "That looks easy, I can do that." So the next day they enroll in classes.
And a consequence you have a new group of low low grade cooks who have absolutely no passion for our industry. But the big schools take them (and their money) and pump them out telling them that they will be chefs when they graduate. And then people like me have to deal with these people who think they can just work a 40 hour week... There is a saying in France, "Si on n'est pas pourmand, on ne peut pas faire la bonne cuisine" If we aren't gourmands, then we can't make good food. You have to love food to be a good cook. I live, eat, and breathe this business. My library is comprised of 3,000 cookbooks ranging from the late greats Careme, Soyer, Gouffe, Gilbert, DuBois, Escoffier, Ali Bab, to the modern masters... I have books on everything from Indian cuisine to Southern (a recent interest due to where I currently work)to hot peppers to pastries to restaurant management etc. I do not understand how anyone can sit through that clown yelling BAM! It is a mockery of what I do. Do we need this stuff spoon fed to us? I would rather watch Joel Robuchon showing us how he makes his warm Truffle Consomme with Foie Gras Mousse then the E Man making scallops with sausage crust (and shouldn't the crust actually adhere to what you are encrusting?) with black bean sauce covered with BAM guacamole and salsa then covered in a pile of fried torillas. Who the hell eats that crap anyways? I guess I just don't ever get to Denny's to see that side of the restaurant world.
Guardian of le Feu Sacre, Francois de Melogue
(or a dirt bag who plates food for a living!!!)