Anthony Bourdain on NPR

[foodguy]

i was responding to your original point of how the job was PERCEIVED. I think when people think of chefs, the names that ocme to mind are guys like thomas keller, tom colicchio, mario batali, etc. there is certainly nothing overtly effete about them.
i guess it comes down to what you consider to be a manly job.

 

[Roikins]

Originally Posted by foodguy

alice waters doesn't count because she has never really cooked. in fact, inside the profession, there's quite a little political tiff about this.

Ah, Santa.

Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto

Sorry, but to me a Chef, or being a cook is just a regular job, and nothing badass about it. I just don't see Navy SEAL, and a Chef being in the same bad ass category.

I guess you haven't seen "Under Siege!"

 

[Grayland]

Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto

Kitchens are men dominated, and women don't usually reach the rank of Chef because of discrimination, and all the sexual harassment from the male staff. I've worked under two female Chefs, and they were tough as nails, because they had to be to survive in the industry.

Sorry, but to me a Chef, or being a cook is just a regular job, and nothing badass about it. I just don't see Navy SEAL, and a Chef being in the same bad ass category.

I was an Airborne Ranger (1/75 Ranger Battalion) from 82-85. After that, I used my VA money to attend cooking school. I cooked for about 10 years and have been a chef-instructor since. The mental and physical toughness, in addition to the discipline, I developed as a Ranger helped me a great deal in professional kitchens. The first chef I worked for was a woman and she was excellent. The discrimination and sexual harrasment you mention is not that common in truly professional kitchens anymore. You have to be able to take some, generally, good natured abuse, but once you've proved yourself, you're in...man or woman.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

Originally Posted by foodguy

i was responding to your original point of how the job was PERCEIVED. I think when people think of chefs, the names that ocme to mind are guys like thomas keller, tom colicchio, mario batali, etc. there is certainly nothing overtly effete about them.
i guess it comes down to what you consider to be a manly job.

Foodguy, how many people know who those guys are?

Unless you're in the industry, or a foodie... no one cares.

Originally Posted by Grayland

I was an Airborne Ranger (1/75 Ranger Battalion) from 82-85. After that, I used my VA money to attend cooking school. I cooked for about 10 years and have been a chef-instructor since. The mental and physical toughness, in addition to the discipline, I developed as a Ranger helped me a great deal in professional kitchens. The first chef I worked for was a woman and she was excellent. The discrimination and sexual harrasment you mention is not that common in truly professional kitchens anymore. You have to be able to take some, generally, good natured abuse, but once you've proved yourself, you're in...man or woman.

Depends on the staff, and how much the Chef lets slide. Women, and young men take a lot of abuse from the older cooks. If you don't have a tough skin you won't last long in certain kitchens.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto

Depends on the staff, and how much the Chef lets slide. Women, and young men take a lot of abuse from the older cooks. If you don't have a tough skin you won't last long in certain kitchens.
You have to have a tough skin to make it in any good kitchen. If women, or young men, or old men, or anyone can't handle it, then they should find other work. Maybe they can be servers or FOH staff.

 

[foodguy]

foh? that's cold kylie, real cold.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by foodguy

foh? that's cold kylie, real cold.

Meh. I don't disrespect FOH staff. That's probably because the first real job I ever had had one of the most professional and best service staffs in the country. Now I don't mind foh staff b/c it's mostly comprised of hot mexican women where I work. So.... two good reasons to play nice. I think the notorious foh/boh staff debate comes down to misunderstanding and lack of proper communication. Two things which can and should be easily fixed.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

think the notorious foh/boh staff debate comes down to misunderstanding and lack of proper communication. Two things which can and should be easily fixed.

uh, that and the fact that FOH can take home hundreds of dollars a night in tips while BOH gets slightly above minimum wage and usually no tips. makes cooks bitter.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by foodguy

uh, that and the fact that FOH can take home hundreds of dollars a night in tips while BOH gets slightly above minimum wage and usually no tips. makes cooks bitter.

I guess. But that's still rather stupid. If the cook wants to make that money, they should go be a server. I would hope that someone is cooking for more than just money. If they're cooking for the money, they're pretty goddamned dumb. I mean, you're absolutely right, but it's a silly and annoying thing to get upset about. Everyone already knows that information before they become a cook.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

Originally Posted by foodguy

uh, that and the fact that FOH can take home hundreds of dollars a night in tips while BOH gets slightly above minimum wage and usually no tips. makes cooks bitter.

FOH alleviate this by telling the cooks how much they love their food... They exploit cooks egos, and get a dish in the process.

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by ErnestoG.

i saw him speak in lowell on his speaking tour last winter. huge fan of his work and have read a few of his books. really cool guy and his show was awesome. about 30 minutes was devoted to ******** on sandra lee and other food network bozos.

You're from Lowell? I lived there for a while, before moving to Winchester, interesting place.

Back to Bourdain. Yeah, I think he'd be fin to hang with. I know early 50s isn't really that old, but if I can be half as cool as he is when I reach that age, I'll be very, very happy.

 

[SField]

The whole chef as a bad ass thing is kind of lame... like when classical musicians in a desperate attempt to sell albums and broaden their appeal to crossover rock, or even worse, hip hop style music.

Are great chefs bad asses in the sense that they have worked incredibly hard, posses considerable skill and even had to overcome big obstacles to reach their goals? Yes. But not bad asses like the dudes on Deadliest Catch or like... an SAS guy. In fact, most of them are pretty nerdy. If you ever meet people like Ducasse, Robuchon, or Keller, you'll notice this.

I think Bourdain is full of ****.

 

[gomestar]

to be fair, Bourdain's restaurant life is nowhere near the likes of Ducasse, Robuchon, Keller, Bouloud, Blumenthal, Adria, etc. He isn't pretending to be like them, either, rather he speaks of the life behind the always crowded neighborhood spots serving bistro fair where the focus is on churning out good food cover after cover and never a goal of any type of Michelin stars or ****.

"badass" isn't the phrase I'd give to the cooks in his world ... I think he uses the term misfits, which I can see.

 

[Reggs]

Bourdain was on Yo Gaba Gaba, the second best show on TV behind his own, because it was his kid's favorite show. He also made a Yo Gaba Gaba reference when he was in Egypt.

 

[robin]

^ lol