Posted by Karen Upright on October 28, 1997 at 12:13:17:
In Reply to: Re: Cooking Libraries posted by Gerard on October 28, 1997 at 03:03:02:
: If you were a baker you wouldn't need to use that book.
: ..you'd already know more than it contains...more importantly you wouldn't use the info it contains because thats not how we do it.
: Someone like terry who's planning to dedicate himself to become a fully qualified pastry baker won't need it IF he does the training, you can't learn to be a pro from someone who's not.
: Its probably usefull for yourself in that you aren't specifically trained,by trained I mean at least 7 yrs apprenticed, in pastry.
: I wasn't saying you shouldn't buy it, I advised him not to bother with it.
Once again, we agree on principle, if not on the way we deliver our messages.
I am continually frustrated by people who represent themselves to be something they aren't. I don't call myself a pastry chef because that's not what I do. Chef? Maybe. I run a kitchen, I develop and plan menus and recipes, and I have trained with some good chefs in commercial kitchens. Still, the title makes me uncomfortable and I don't encourage my staff to use it. I've always felt it was something you earned, not something you styled for yourself.
Nothing embarrassed me more than the former employer who introduced me to people as his "executive chef". Excuse me? We had a staff of five in a tiny bakery and catering company. I worked every day in the kitchen preparing almost all of the food personally, not supervising a large team of cooks. I was continually afraid that a colleague would hear about it and lose respect for me, thinking I was misrepresenting myself. I use my old business cards for scratch paper now...
I hear customers talk about me at catering jobs. "Oh, she trained as a pastry chef." No, I didn't. I sometimes make tarts and cakes and other pastries, but I didn't train in pastry. I even had one client tell her guest I was a master chef! I just stood there, dumbfounded, not sure what to do. I finally told the client and guest that wasn't an accurate title, I consider myself a good cook and I am chef (in oth