Posted by Glenn Messick on January 10, 1999 at 21:44:22:
I give full credit to the Food Network in general, and to Emeril Legasse in particular, for the recent surge in culinary school enrollment, and the subsequent surge of inexperienced dreamers recently unleashed upon the restaurant world.This is no way an indictment of Mr. Legasse, but these poor folks (some old enough to know better ) see all the beautiful presentations and eloquent gastronomic soliliquies these TV guys manufacture , and think " Oh, I can do THAT!!, I'll go get a little piece of paper from that CIA place, and I will be an executive chef, pulling in $90,000 a year, and dazzling people with my magnificance. What these shows dont show is the 10 years of work, from scrubbing sheet pans in an old Portuguese bakery to Exec. at the Commander's Palace that preceeded Emeril's rise to his present glory.They have no idea, til I throw 4 cases of chickens at them, what its all about.Sure they can produce a plate that would would shame Fernand Point , but it'll take 8 hours and 12 textbooks.I just wish there was a class titled Culinary Reality 101, and maybe there wouldnt be so many dissappointed "stars" out there.