Photo by Donna
So many people commented on the distinction between foodie and cook in my post responding to the Michael Pollan essay, I wished I'd used it for its own post. Then I realized I could! And then from out of the Twitosphere came a lament from someone who didn't like to be called a home cook, feeling, I think that the term was inherently condescending. And another who thought my description of what defined a foodie to be condescending. (Guilty.)
Judging from those who commented to me, people were evenly divided between those who were proud to be called home cooks and those who felt, I don't know, as if being a "home" cook were akin to being a pretend cook. But I liked what Chef Pardus had to say—on my facebook page (I can't keep track of all this stuff, facebook, twitter, email, blog, the center can't hold!)—it was right on the money, and I'm glad I didn't miss it: he says that he writes and he skis but he doesn't call himself a writer or a skier.
I think that's really all the distinction there needs to be. I don't like the term home cook for the very reason the Tweeter seemed to indicate. There's something precious about it, and it grates. Unless you work in a restaurant, where where else are you going to cook? Why do we even need to call ourselves cooks, home or not. Pardus doesn't say he's a home writer. A guy who makes Shaker boxes on the weekend doesn't call himself a home carpenter. On the other hand, if we're asked whether we cook, we say, Yes. Cook is a verb. It's what some of us do. Not what we are. Unless we are, in which case we can pay our rent with the result of our cooking. I'm for abolishing the term "home cook." Or at least not using it.
If you're not allowed to call yourself a cook, then how to distinguish between those who are foodies and those who love to cook? That as I mentioned in the earlier post, is an important distinction. What is a foodie? I like the Miriam Webster definition: a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads.
Foodie has only a tangential relation to cook. Foodie is not an act, like cook. Foodie declares specific interests. (Food enthusiast is a good attempt at making the idea palatable, but it's too cumbersome.) Who first used the word foodie? Well, Paul Levy, an American born journalist working in England makes the claim that he coined the word. Is this something to be proud of? You're almost forced to wince when you say it.
In fact, and Levy notes this, the first person to use the word foodie, according to Barry Popnick, a guy who studies origins, was none other than Gael Greene in New York mag in 1980.
True, Gael? (If so, it's still not as cool as being able to tell people you slept with Elvis.)
All this writing so early in the morning has made me hungry. Think I'll go cook....
Kristine
This will be interesting. I just like to cook and read about food. I don't really care what you call me, just call me for dinner.
katedecamont
My French friends make teh distinction by introducing me as a 'good cook'. Actually they say a 'good cooker'! Either way you got it right- we cook.
Marc b
What does the "home cook" have to be ashamed of? Am I now less of a cook because working in a kitchen paid for my law school? At the time I was cooking for a living, eating at anyone's house was cool and usually an adventure. A cook is a cook no matter where they cook.
Tags
I think the PBS show "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie" actually lends the word some class, though I'm not sure I'd watch a show called "Gourmet's Diary of Those Who Slept with Elvis."
"Home cook" is precious, and as such, belongs in a museum.
clotilde
I don't have a problem with "home cook" myself, because to me, a cook is someone who cooks for a living, at a restaurant. (Of course, now that everyone claims to be a "chef," the word "cook" is up for grabs.)
I don't find "home cook" to be condescending, because I think it's a good qualifier for the sort of cooking I do: simple, humble, but (hopefully) good. I practice home cooking, as opposed to restaurant-style cooking, which I don't try to emulate, so yes, I'm a home cook.
I also use the term "food enthusiast" (although I agree it is a bit clunky, it's infinitely less grating that the "f" word) to describe the fact that I'm not just interested in the cooking part, but the world of food in general -- all aspects of it, including the cultural, historical, political, and anecdotal ones.
ABC Dragoo
Many foodies have no interest (at all) in cooking for themselves. They'll proudly call themself a foodie because they go to all the hottest new NYC restaurants and appreciate the food.
Why all these labels anyway? It's like being a 38 year old self-professed "geek." By the time you are that far out of school, you are YOU! You're not the slot your classmates filed you in.
If you enjoy preparing food to share with others and to nourish yourself - you're a chef who cooks.
BobR
How about stay at home chef, or meal maker? I think there are some parallels to be drawn from the stay at home mom/home maker labels that once caused a similar stir. What's so wrong with saying your a Chef? Perhaps not a professional one, but I'm still the Chief in my own kitchen.
Adrienne
I think Clotilde's comment is fitting for a lot of us: "I practice home cooking, as opposed to restaurant-style cooking, which I don't try to emulate, so yes, I'm a home cook."
I agree, and I think the distinction is often in the finishing. My plating and knife skills can't stand up to those of a Chef, but the food I cook and feed to friends and family is as good as a lot of (and I dare say better than some) food you get in restaurants. I don't care how clunky it is, I refer to myself, when asked, as an enthusiastic home cook.
joelfinkle
I'm sort of partial to "amateur chef" -- although chef implies I get to boss a cadre... and that's not especially true.
However...
After reading books such as Buford's "Heat", I realize that although I have a wide cooking repertoire, and pretty consistently come up with tasty meals, there's a huge disparity between my skills and experience, and the cook at the lowest station on the line.
A lot of it boils down to the 10,000 hours/10,000 times needed to become an expert.
So is "Cook" appropriate? "Home cook" still sounds lame. "Amateur cook" sounds more inexperienced than "Homemaker" and doesn't seem to capture the love of a hobby. So I'm sticking with "Amateur Chef" even if "Chef" isn't an accurate description of who I am.
latenac
I don't have a problem with home cook. Probably b/c I've known people I would call chefs insist that they weren't chefs, yet, they were cooks and chef was something they aspired to. And these were people who are chef probably any measurement except for their own and some technical kitchen hierarchy criteria. I cook at home, I make good food at home but I don't do some things that are better done at a restaurant. I don't have chef or professional cook's training, I am a home cook.
George Jardine
How about "amateur cook"? I myself am proud to be an amateur cook, even tho' I've done the culinary school thing. I find a lot more pleasure in taking the time to craft interesting dishes for my friends and family with as much love as I can, rather than slamming out dishes professionally night after night as a "cook". The beauty of being an amateur is that I simply do it because I love sharing the fruit of my craft.... which is a much more interesting distinction (to me) than that of "foodie or home cook".
Monsieur Ghislain
If I agree with your points, and I do, then what do I call myself? I'm neither a gourmet, an epicure, a foodie or a food snob. I may be a gourmand, but I don't have a gourmand's budget. I know I don't need to call myself anything, but what do I say when someone calls me one of these words? I like to cook and eat, and I'm curious and enthusiastic about all things food, but I don't do fancy or trendy.
So what do I answer when someone calls me a foodie?
clotilde
Originally, the word chef is short for chef de cuisine, which means "head of the kitchen." Of course, you can be head of your own home kitchen, but it's a bit like calling yourself "the boss" when you're self-employed. 🙂
To me, a chef is the head of a professional kitchen: it's the person who gives it a sense of direction, plans menus, places orders, and manages the kitchen staff.
It's a difficult, demanding job, and when the word is overused -- as it tends to be nowadays -- I find it loses significance, and takes something away from the actual chefs who wake up at dawn and toil at the stove until late at night for our dining pleasure.
Alex M
Whatever happened to the title Gourmand
1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking
2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink
Or Epicure
1 : one devoted to sensual pleasure
2 : one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine
Or my Favorite
Hedonist
1 : the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life
2 : a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of hedonism
It is not the knowledge, or skill, or even the latest trend that draws us to preparation, cooking and sharing with others. Food with its abundance and possibilities is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
I’ve been a card carrying Hedonist for over 40 years enjoying all that life offers.
elizabeth
I prefer the simple, concise term "cooking enthusiast"--I found it in a research report on the subject, and I really enjoyed the term because it really is what it is.
Scordo.com
I studied philosophy as an undergraduate and my professors would always be very adamant about telling the undergrads that we were not professional philosophers with Ph.ds and published work. And I couldn't agree more.
Obviosuly, there's a distinction between someone who has been trained to cook and who has had a series of professional cooking jobs and someone who cooks at home. It's akin to the amateur versus professional philosopher example above.
In turn, I actually like the term "home cook" and think it's a pretty accurate description of what goes on with folks with cook at home!
ruhlman
I'd like to reiterate what clotilde said: chef means leader of a kitchen. You are not a chef if cooking is a hobby.
Kat D.
Until now, I do not think I have ever referred to myself as a home cook, but if I have to be called either a foodie or a cook, I choose the latter. My point is that I do not want to be called a foodie just because I like to eat (verb) and like to cook (verb). Although there is nothing wrong with foodies I am not one. Further, I am not persuaded by the point that a cook has to get paid. Many writers write before a publishing company cuts them a check, yet they are still writers, and many "home cooks" run circles around those who consider themselves professional chefs. My grandmother never worked in a professional kitchen but I can assure you that she is a great cook. 3 meals a day for 10 family members over 60+ years equals a lot of experience and if she cannot be called a great cook what should she be called, "maker of food." I will stop there since these distinctions are making me dizzy.
Badger
I have to agree with Clotilde and Adrienne on the use of "home cook". That's what I am, and I have no problem saying so. I'm not a frustrated celebrity chef wannabe. I have no professional training and no professional aspirations where cooking is concerned. I just cook food at home from scratch every single day, and most of the time I really enjoy it and think about when and how I can do it again. What ELSE am I supposed to call myself?
All this hair-splitting over semantics! I think maybe the food cognoscenti are overthinking things a bit. Or maybe some of the folks who object to being called home cooks have aspirations beyond the home kitchen?
JB in San Diego
I am almost used to the informal nature of blogs, but I still had to do a double-take when I saw that Gael Green had coined the word "food" in this entry. Ha!
Wm Morris
I stay away from the nouns and simply say: "I like to cook" and "I like food."
Phil
I don't have a problem calling myself a home cook, and sometimes just say "amateur cook." My friends are proud of my cooking and sometimes tell others that I'm a gourmet chef, but I immediately correct them, telling them that I'm not a chef, because I don't do it for a living.
And I don't have a problem calling myself a foodie either. If people don't like that word, that's not my problem.
Laura
I think that there should be a distinction between those who cook professionally and those who cook for their own pleasure and for that of their family and friends. They are two completely different activities. But I have to say, I think that expending too much effort trying to describe those who cook well at home is probably misguided. I, like many of the readers on this site, am one of those people who love to cook in my own kitchen and fancy myself to be pretty good at it. I personally don't feel the need for a title. It is a hobby after all (much like skiing and writing) and so I think doesn't need a formal descriptive title. Like the first commenter, my friends and family just know me as a "good cook" and that to me seems to be the most apt description.
Kathie
People call me Kathie, which is my name and it is an easy acronym for my food/cooking enthusiasm. Kitchens Are The Havens I Enjoy (KATHIE). Works for me 😉
carri
I'm a food geek and it's a term I will happily take credit for... (even though I did not sleep with elvis)
Nicholas Hall
Ruhlman - not to disagree with the statement regarding "chef" being reserved as a term for the head of a professional kitchen, but what about those who cook at home, but who consider their cooking to be more than a hobby? I, for one, consider cooking and food as more of a philosophy and way of approaching the world. Much as you have described the personalities of professional cooks in your triology on the subject, the act of cooking bleeds into every aspect of my life, changing the ways in which I perceive and react to my surroundings. Ultimately, it is my desire to become a cook professionally, and I think everyone would agree that there is a significant distinction to be made between chef, professional cook, and one who cooks only outside of a professional setting. Until I reach that goal, I choose to refer to myself as an "aspiring cook", as I feel "aspiring chef" is too lofty, and a bit pretentious. One question nags at me, though. If the term "cook" ought to be reserved for professionals, what exactly does THATmean? Is a fry "cook" at McDonald's a cook, simply because they prepare food for a living?
FrankN
“Home cook” is only two syllables, it’s easily spoken, it’s descriptive, it’s accurate, and it can be qualified with any adjective that’s appropriate. I don’t think you’re going to do much better than that. FWIW, I’d guess that anyone who thinks the term "home cook" is condescending most likely spent WAY too much money on their knives, pots/pans, etc.
Ben
Why must the qualifier be put on the lesser experienced person, or the person with less skill? We don't do this with other activities. If I golf, I'm a golfer. If I golf competitively, I'm an amateur golfer. If I make my living from it, I'm a professional golfer. Yes, some descriptors imply profession (such as writer). Personally, I don't feel that cook fits into that category. I cook at home. Whether I do it because I must or because I get immense enjoyment from it (which really depends on the day), I'm a cook. If I did it for a living, I suppose I'd be a professional cook. The term home cook adds nothing to the equation. It doesn't distinguish between one who cooks from necessity or for enjoyment. If we need to distinguish between the two, we need a different term. Amateur cook seems silly to me; cooking enthusiast, cumbersome. Foodie, as has been discussed encompasses more than just cooking. I have no solutions at the moment.
kevin
Michael,
I describe myself as a profesional cook (as well as a professional writer) meaning I earn a fair bit of my income from both activities. But I don't call myself a "chef" because I have no formal training and have never managed a professional kitchen.
Carrie
When I read the comment Pardus left on facebook I was initially offended, honestly. It seemed condescending - the thought of little ol me ever having the nerve to call myself a real cook! LOL
After reading through it again and thinking about it this morning I've realized it's actually dead on. I spent years and lots of money in school getting a graduate degree in viola performance - I am a professional violist. If someone who truly loved to play viola and worked on it at home when they had time decided to also call themself a professional violist, I would be pissed. I earned the right to call myself a professional. Labels may seem silly but they carry weight.
I am a home cook. I absolutely love food - love to read about it, cook it and eat it. But I will never work in a professional kitchen, will never attend a culinary school and will never rise to the level of the Parduses and del Grossos of the world. I'm not a cook - I'm a home cook. I'm good with that.
Dan cooks for friends
Michael,
Didn't you call yourself (or someone else) a "hobby cook" in one of the " ... Chef" books? I found it very apt, and now use it often to describe myself.
todlie
I just refer to myself as "an avid cook"...
clotilde
For those who wonder why we're even have this discussion, I agree that we shouldn't feel the need to label ourselves -- I know very well what I do and why I do it -- but for writers and journalists who try to analyze and discuss food matters, it would be handy to have a generally accepted term to describe us non-professional, enthusiastic cooks and eaters.
clotilde
(Should be "why we're even having this discussion" of course. Sorry!)
I cook at home and at work
A few months back, after wrangling with myriad fears, I moved from the cooking-very-well-at-home/food-enthusiast realm into the cooking-for-a-living one. A chef friend called me and said, "you can't be called a foodie anymore, now that you're actually being paid to feed people". It was a good feeling.
Before, however, I would usually just tell people, "I cook... a lot." "Home cook" isn't really pejorative, as far as I'm concerned, but it does seem to imply a certain measure of... wholesomeness, rather than... I don't know. Perhaps there's a bit of an issue with being too confident in one's abilities, some kind of forced humility. "I cook well" is something I know, and am proud of, but perhaps not something most people are ultra-comfortable blurting out...?
Kristi
Like Pollan, I also write and ski. But I 'cook' three times a day everyday and I love it. So, I'll stick with 'cook' thanks.
I have worked in a restaurant in the past. Does this negate the 'cook rule?'
I can't put my finger on whose being the snob here, but it's somebody...
Karen
This is all so silly, at least in my opinion. "Cook" is either a noun or a verb. Just like most words in the morass we call the English language; it has more than one meaning, depending on context. If I call my mother a good cook, most people understand that I'm not saying she dices onions for a living. If I am talking about the cook who made my sandwich at the deli, most people understand that I'm talking about someone who cooks for a living.
So what's the problem? I love to cook (verb). It's a hobby of mine, just like any other hobby, it requires some dedication and practice. My husband thinks I'm a good cook (noun). I also love to photograph (verb) stuff. It's a hobby of mine. My husband thinks I'm a good photographer (noun). Is anyone confused by these statements? Does anyone think I actually cook and photograph for a living?
What the heck else are we supposed to say? Do we need to invent new words so we can be sure people don’t make assumptions they aren’t going to make anyway?
digraph
I enjoy reading blogs and books than can help me cook better. A little technique in the scheme of making a meal takes no appreciable time (might even save time) and elevates the final product. Plus I like to 'do things right'. I'll take the past few hundred years' worth of cooking trial, error and refinement and apply it to my daily life!
BUT: I'm not a cook, I'm not a home cook, nor anything else - I'm just the dad in the family who makes the meals.
Anne
I tend to think of foodies not necessarily as people interested in the latest food fads, but food itself: people who love really good food. That's what I mean when I call myself a foodie, anyway. If my definition is mistaken, then what am I? What are the people who don't care much about fads, who just want to experience delicious, well prepared food, whether it's high-brow or down-to-earth?
Connie
Strange, as a professional, I'm completely adamant and defensive about cooking, food and kitchens e.g. telling my husband that "No, braising and boiling are NOT the same thing!", or trying to explain to a wisea@@ customer that the sauce on her Eggs Benedict is in fact Hollandaise, not Bearnaise, and yes, there is only one Chef in a pro-kitchen.
However, when it comes down to calling people "home cooks," I have no issue with that. I couldn't care less about the semantics, I just find it refreshing when a non-pro puts love and effort into this domestic ritual which is too often taken for granted.
Megan
Personally, I see nothing wrong with someone who frequently cooks and who enjoys cooking to call himself a cook. There's not typically any confusion about whether the person cooks professionally.
I understand Pardus's point about skiing and writing, but how often does he ski or write? Try to convince someone who runs nearly every day, who enjoys running, who occasionally enters races even if she knows she can't place in her age group that she isn't a runner... What's the cooking equivalent of a race you know you can't win? Maybe challenging yourself with a new recipe, maybe cooking for a crowd, etc.
kwakagy
Just tweeted that this post brings to mind a riddle: I love to cook and I love food, but I am neither a cook nor a foodie. What am I?
I think the problem isn't so much with the accuracy or appropriateness of these specific labels as it is with labeling period. I never thought I was a cook notwithstanding my passion for cooking, and it would appear that Ruhlman would agree with my assessment. I have always thought of myself as a foodie, however, but since I don't give a rat's ass about food fads, I guess Ruhlman and others would beg to differ.
I've become a huge Twitter fan, but it's times like these that I think that the 140 character limit of Twitter isn't so much a restriction on how people can communicate as it is a reflection of how people do communicate. We use labels to nutshell people in as few words as possible and I'm as guilty as the next of doing it, but I'm starting to think that rather than using one-size-fits-all labels and trying to figure out whether or not they actually fit, we should all just take the few extra words, the few extra seconds, to describe rather than label, to give context, color and meaning, to actually paint a picture rather than just show a thumbnail.
Peter
What a meaningless dialog. Get a life you idiots!
Spencer K
I find this whole conversation really funny considering, that the derivation of the term probably came from laziness of speech.
"For those of you that cook at home..."
"For you home cooks..."
Paco
Anyone who considers (and refers to) themselves as a "Foodie" is inherently lame. It's like calling yourself a "hipster." Foodie, hipster...either way, you're just asking for a knuckle sandwich!
Dick Black
How do you feel about Food Network personalities that insist on being referred to as Chef ? Like Giada or Guy Ferry ?
Giada took a 2 week pastry course at Cordon Bleu and know insists Matt Lauer call her "chef". Fee-eddi took hotel/motel management at UNLV, that wonderful turnip factory.
I just feel sorry for the stiffs that pay mega bucks to go the CIA or Johnston &Wales to be upstaged by some of these people trying to cash in on the chef craze.
casacaudill
I struggle with the terms "home cook" and "foodie" and how they relate to one another. I cook - a lot. I love it. I cook out of my home (um, where else would I cook?), but I don't necessarily like the term "home cook" because it seems to connotate someone who does it Sarah Lee style and that's certainly not what I am. On the other hand, I have friends who don't cook but go to ever single new restaurant that opens in SF. They call themselves foodies and scoff at me because the last hip restaurant I went to hasn't been hip for 4 years. But I can cook circles around them and frequently do. So maybe I'm not a foodie, and I'm not a "home cook" but I cook a mean breakfast, lunch and dinner. 🙂
Amy Sherman
So if I plunge the toilet, I'm a plumber? I don't think so! There is nothing wrong with the term "home cook" anyone who thinks so is pretentious and possibly elitist. Please reread Laurie Colwin's wonderful books on the subject.
Jeem
I write code, cook, make music, and play tennis and golf. I am a coder, cook, musician, tennis player and golfer. But I am a professional coder, and not a professional cook.
bill law
in france they use the word "amateur" in an entirely different way than we do in North America. there it means an enthusiast and is used as a term of respect. here it seems to mean dilettante or something less than committed. hmmm.....
Dave
Intent is what matters, I think.
I have been paid for writing articles off and on for more than 20 years.
I do not consider myself a writer, however, much less a professional writer. Writing about technology is just a part of being a professional in that field, to me.
I have never been paid for playing music. On the other hand, I do consider myself a musician, and since I play in public on a regular basis, I suppose I could call myself an "amateur musician" if anyone cared.
And frankly, "home cook" (or "hobby cook") is fine with me. I'm not a professional, nor do I aspire to be one. The quality of what I produce is better than some restaurants, and my technical skills may be better than some people who are being paid to cook, but they certainly aren't anywhere up to the speed and consistency of a true professional.
I intend to turn quality ingredients into the best food I can, and to continue to update and upgrade my skills, techniques, and knowledge. That aspiration is the difference to me between a "home cook" and someone who cooks because they need to eat something.
Lauren
I couldn't decide for the longest time what I was, but for now you can call me "culinary student". Not sure what I'll be called when I graduate.
Tracey
By spending this much effort in categorizing 'foodies' vs. cooks vs. home cooks, aren't you culpable of the same criticisms of foodies -- snobbery, meangingless exclusivity, and vanity? Foodies are people who have a strong interest in food. Some of them are asshats. Much like any other category of person.
applehome
I have cooked professionally (up to prep and sous) - but that was over 30 years ago and I've had a long, prosperous and fully developed career (in IT) since. But I never gave up cooking (or eating) and have an extensive library as well as personal knowledge of food cooking and lore. I agree I'm not a chef. But I'm much more than the average "home cook". And I suspect that many people who read and follow you feel the same way.
I cook now in a home shared with several people. When others take a turn, they make things like shepherd's pie, from mashed potato flakes, canned corn and hamburger on top (no clue as to the concept of using real mashed as a crust around some savory leftover meat). I don't know if this guys is a cook, he's not a cook and I'm a cook, if we're both cooks, or we're just both cooking. But I know there's a difference between what he does and what I do, as surely as there is a difference between what I do and what, say, Keller does.
Cooking is a necessity to some, an endeavor to others. As the tiresome adage goes, some eat to live and others live to eat. Yes, the term chef should only be used for professionals - although there are many forms of chefs - pastry, sous, exec. Like generals - (from basic training: Be My Little General - Brigadier, Major, Lieutenant, and finally - just plain general - 5 stars). So just plain chef should indeed be limited to the chef de cuisine or the exec - the guy on top. The 3-star (as it were).
But cook ought to mean more than microwaving a frozen burrito.
Ultimately, the proof is in the you-know-what - so you live (and die) by the comments and reaction of your diners, whatever you call yourself, whether you're a chef or a "home cook".
Geez - I liked the simplicity of the military hierarchy. You knew who to salute and call sir, you knew who you could spit on or be spitted on by, (and I use the "p" euphemistically).
applehome
Correction - a just plain general is a 4-star. 5-stars are Generals of the Army (or Air Force or Navy) and are basically an honorific or special rank used only during war. Our last 5-star was Omar Bradley - but there have been many, many just plain generals.
Vivian
Although I have used the term foodie (for lack of a better term to use at the time the word comes out of my mouth) I really don't like the word. Its right up there with the whole trekkie/trekker thing. I have been accused of being a food geek/snob and I guess I don't mind that because its probably true. The term I would probably prefer would be Home Gourmande , and like Clotilde, I don't really mind Home Cook either because that is what I do and I do not feel that it is demeaning in any way.
Sandy
I find myself idly wondering about the age demographics of our fine respondents.
I think there is definitely a negative connotation connected to the term "home cook" for people who grew up in the 60s. Pollan had it right when he tied it into the whole Feminine Mystique era.
For me, personally, I adore being called a cook or someone who cooks well. You call me a home cook and I'll throw pottery at you. However, I don't expect to be called a chef and would not accept the honorific even if someone did go that far.
It's a strange thing, really. I've been considering where my reaction comes from. I'm clueless except for the 60s connection. My mother could not cook well and she was referred to as a home cook all the time. It was a derogatory then, and to my mind some of that element really does remain.
Snow
Home cook, avid cook, hobby cook, cooking enthusiast? I think these are all honorable titles.
Let's face it: when you consider how many folks out there are only 're-heaters' or 'take-out specialists', I think 'home cook' is something to be proud of.
NYCook
Home cooks call yourself whatever you want, whatever you are comfortable with. Why do people feel the need to have a label for their hobby, just enjoy what your doing. Is your cooking at the level where you feel you need some sort of title. If a friend or family member says " wow that was a great meal, especially from a home cook" are you going to throw a side towel in their face and say its executive foodie de cuisine thank you very much! No you would say "thank you".
Homegirl also slept with Gilbert La Coze, thats way cooler then Elvis, Clint Eastwood, and Burt Reynolds put toghther.
Also im sick of home cooks, enthusiastic amatuers.... whatever, who are constantly trying to compete with Chefs/Line cooks. Every time I go to a friends house or a relatives to cook it becomes some sort of competition. Ok you can perfectly broil 4 pieces of salmon I get it, but they all need salt and acid, learn how to season. Do it with 3 lamb 2 duck and 5 octo working and 3 more salmon on order and still have time to bust the balls of they guy next to you and flirt with that cute new waitress then I will be impressed. Or the guy who says his or his wife's mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, grilled vegetables etc. are good enough to be on any menu in NYC. A) No its not(learn to season) and B) just because I chose to make the salad and you mash potatoes doesn't mean you can do what I do.
All that being said I love home cooking, just don't pretend it's something it's not and if you are not convinced and still think you can hang and bang with the big boys, you want to try and turn and burn like us.... Arrange a stage.
Ben
I didn't really see this as a discussion of what I should call myself, but rather (like clotilde said) how food writers should refer to someone like me. I don't CALL myself anything, foodie, cook, chef, or otherwise. Other people may put a label on me, but, like you said, NYCook, I don't correct them. I say "thank you."
But I think the question of how writers should refer to "non-professional food enthusiasts who enjoy cooking at home, learning and improving techniques, and discussing food preparation with other" is a valid one. After all, the above descriptor is rather a mouthful, isn't it?
karenology
I agree with Snow! I don't mind being distinguished from someone who just eats food from a bag.
Sandy
Ah, see, NYCook, there's where I differ. I don't want my food to be on a menu. I want you all to come to my house, enjoy some good food, and have a good time. Just don't call me Betty Crocker when you're here.
Darcie
I think the term "home cook" conjures up images of canned soup casseroles, so I don't like that term. Plus, it doesn't differentiate from those "forced" to cook versus those who enjoy cooking.
My friends sometimes call me a "gourmet cook," but many people find "gourmet" to be pretentious. I don't like "foodie" because it doesn't differentiate between those that prefer to eat in fancy restaurants (not that there's anything wrong with that) to those who like to cook.
"Amateur cook" is okay, but I'd like to think I'm beyond amateur. It implies that I don't know what I'm doing. Advanced amateur cook? Now that's cumbersome.
I have actually cooked for a living. Still, I would never call myself a chef. I've had no formal training and was not the head of the kitchen.
I like the term hobby cook or food hobbyist. Food is my hobby. It may be all-consuming, but if you aren't earning your living doing it, it is still a hobby. Food enthusiast is fine, too but again doesn't differentiate between eating and cooking pleasures.
Even though some may argue that this is all just semantics, and that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, a recent experiment showed that a different name associated with the rose fragrance resulted in less favorable consideration of the aroma. So the terminology does matter, even if the level of imporantance on a global scale is not high.
Darcie
Importance, not imporantance. Sheesh.
Aaron Salvo
I am a professional cook, because I get paid to cook. As a professional cook, I can tell you that "foodie" has a rather negative connotation in the restaurant world. Foodies tend to be the guest who wants to take a well thought out dish on a restaurant's menu and redo it the way it "should be".
The term "home cook" is one I've never used. Typically I use terms like "grandmother" and "mom".
My daughter will call her (hopefully) favourite home cook "dad".
Peter
I make my own bearnaise from scratch, I make my own stock, my favorite dishes probably use derivatives of regional or mother sauces. To say "home cook" lumps me in with my Aunt Dot who makes a drool-worthy meatloaf.
Like a lot of sports, I'll enthusiastically embrace the term "amateur" as I don't cook for a paycheck. There are non-professional golfers who could probably get by on tour, and there are weekend hackers who like to knock the ball around. There's some pride or snobbery (or both) involved, but it took me a lot of time, effort, learning, and practice to get where I am as a cook, and it's ongoing. I think the problem is, there's no measure of skill in the term "home cook", like there is with "scratch golfer".
Personally, I use the term "amateur gourmet", but that smacks a little bit too much of snobbery and I wish there was something in between.
Natalie Sztern
I recall the conversation of "Chef vs Cook" taking place here a while back.... Frankly I never know what to call myself in discussions with people who are not interested in food...when discussing with those that have the same fondness and interest one never needs a name the reference is always in the food...but I do give reverence to those that work in a professional kitchen and do it as a living...I suppose because I feel they have earned vis-a-vis the education and experience entailed.
Rhonda
Why do we have to label everything?
Even MPW has fallen into this. He may have started this with his own personal interpretation of the word "Chef".
I do many, many more things other than cook. And, I do them equally as well, if I do say so myself.
I say, let me be.
I do not cook for a living and neither does Jacques Pepin. He teaches and is quite a good artist now.
I don't want to be one thing or fit into a box.
"Home Cook" can include the Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee crowd which I find insulting and would never have over to dinner. "Foodie" implies people who can't cook but have excess disposable income and interupt restos with their picture taking and and inappropriate reverence.
"Chef" also has been applied to people receiving paycheques and sending me a big pile of crap on my plate and then, in all audacity, sending me a bill.
Professional Cook, non-professional cook. Some professionals are Chefs, some are not and never have been AND by the grace of the universe, or some other equally kind entity -- never will be.
Clotilde is right. A Chef runs the kitchen and is responsible for much much more that preparing the food. It is a loose term and means nothing anymore. Home cook is insulting.
Chef as in de Cuisine, Pastry, Sous, etc., (should the title be warranted), Professional Cook and Non-Professional.
Seriously. I would love to hear what Tony has to say about this because I can smell pretentious bullshit and insecurity on behalf of many.
I am usually the creator and author of such crap. Equally so, I am usually the last to know.
This has me rolling my eyes.
Jay C.
Your post reminds me of a guy who I was once friends with who really enjoyed listening to himself blowhard about any and all topics. He fancied himself some sort of food/coffee authority yet only managed to irritate everyone around him.
One time we were dining with some friends at a fine dining restaurant with a serious commitment to sourcing locally produced foods where he was, once again, holding court and pontificating about the virtues of how you could order the proteins by the ounce. The low point was when he declared that he considered himself a "gourmet" who wanted to be a "Gourmand."
The sad thing was that he had no interest or knowledge about food. Sourcing wasn't important - the fact that the restaurant cared about sourcing and he could use that fact to promote himself as being "aware" and "hip" was more important. Talk about sourcing and and provenance and it just didn't compute. He held onto to the PeTA version of foie gras and acted like a petulant child instead of engaging in an informed debate about it.
I mention this because I don't "get" the label thing. I'm neither a "chef" nor a "cook" yet I can and have worked the line at a busy restaurant. While I enjoy food and cooking, it's not what I do for a living.
Perhaps we can just be merely people with a passion and enthusiasm for food rather than having to adopt foolish titles like "home cook," "foodie" or "gourmand."
nicolja
Where is Tony Bourdain to solve this ridiculous discussion?? Let's bring back the word, Gourmand and forever lose the term, Foodie.
Dave
"Recreational Aristologist"?
ruhlman
I like the word gourmand. But I feel that word denotes someone who loves to eat and eat well.
Chris Huck
"chefs" get paid. The title alone doesn't make them good or bad at what they do. Same with non-paid food preparers, regardless of title.
Non-paid "amateurs" often have more time to work at a favorite dish to get it perfected to their own taste and deliver it with love and passion while most restaurant worker-bee "chefs" seem to just be going to work, opening pre-portioned items, topping with pre-made sauces and serving pre-made frozen soups and desserts. What goes on in most commercial kitchens is just scary!
I don't need a title but I do prefer to eat at home!
Bob delGrosso
"What is a foodie? I like the Miriam Webster definition: a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads."
So foodies are food fad groupies? I like that!
Rhonda
I was originally going to promote the word "Gourmand" as per the suggestion of an earlier poster.
I like it. Don't like being labled but I will be whether I like it or not.
It does smack with a little pretention but I do like the distinction of someone who makes bread by hand and cures their own bacon as opposed to one who just dumps crap in a bowl out of jars.
I also think that word bears a bridge between all who love food including those that can cook and those who just order and take pictures.
For all intensive purposes, we are here because we love and hopefully respect food.
David Eger
I find all this quibbling about terms a bit wearying. I work for a specialty foods company that sells both to food service professionals - who we refer to as "chefs" and to those who cook at home - "home cooks". We use those terms with respect, merely to distinguish between two rather different groups of customers. No insult is intended or implied by the term "home cook".
Folks, you know who you are - words are only symbols.
Bob delGrosso
Rhonda
"Why do we have to label everything?"
A very common and justified lament.
However, labeling is a big part of what makes us human. Put another way, we label because that's our nature compels us to do it.
If one wants to stop labeling the only way that I know of to do it is to stop defining the self in opposition to non-self.
Make them the same thing, then you won't need to label anything -even yourself. In other words, you won't need a name.
I hope you know I'm serious and not playing.
Dave
"Why do we have to label everything?"
Because otherwise we'll defrost the wrong &*()&^&*^ package from the freezer and sit down to a lovely dessert of an ice cream sundae topped with lamb stew.
Aleta
I'm proud to be a home cook. As Pollan contends, we're a dying breed. I was a restaurant critic for a major newspaper in the SF Bay Area for six years and everyone I knew was envious of my job. Yet, with a handful of memorable exceptions, I usually ate better at home. I find cooking endlessly fascinating and extremely satisfying. It's washing the dishes that I hate!
Nicholas Hall
Hey, Bob, perhaps all non-professional cooks can refer to themselves as "non-chefs"
Nicholas Hall
How about "philotrophist/filotrofist", both of which are bastardizations of Greek which read something like lover of food. Similar to gourmet/gourmand, but this word does not yet exist, to my knowledge, in any lexicon, and as such lacks any associations aside from those we give it. Thus, we can decide that a philotrophist loves food in the holistic sense - growing, sourcing, considering, cooking, and eating (and in any combination), with no inherrent link to the concept of professional or not.
Rhonda
Chef del Grosso:
Yes "Chef".
Touche. You have now taken this discussion to a deeper level (thank you).
Perhaps, an author, such as Michael, would be interested in defining the categories of "cooks" so he could address his readership better. I am guessing and Michael, please step in any time you feel necessary, this is Bob del Grosso and I am out here alone....
For me, Chef, yes we are labeled. But the categories are too small.
For example, should one who makes bread, bacon, mayonnaise, buys fish off the boat, etc. be lumped into the same category as "Home Cook" with the Sandra Lee's and Rachel Ray's.
You are confusing labels with identity. Labels are placed on you, identity is invented by your own imagination.
I, too, am serious.
Nicholas Hall
Rhonda,
I think Bob's point may be more that we apply labels to those things EXTERNAL of ourselves, thereby differentiating them from ourselves. They're both sides of the same coin. If you are going to say that "I am not defined by that", referring to your identity, then you have to be willing and able to get at what THAT is, as in a label. Of course, I could be entirely incorrect in my reading of BdG's statement.
Kevin Kossowan
When people ask 'are you a chef?', I say no, for some reason feeling like a poser - shameful. Not sure why. I could be some line cook in a shitty dive, and is that something to be proud of? I'm a cook. I cook at home. Sue me. Luckily, I'm gaining some middle-aged confidence in order to rock the fact.
Rhonda
Chef del Grosso:
How do YOU see this? How would you label the professional from non-professional, how would YOU distinguish between those that love and cook food from home and from scratch?
You are the teacher and I respect you immensely
Bob delGrosso
Aleta
"Yet, with a handful of memorable exceptions, I usually ate better at home."
I almost always eat better at home because most restaurants over-reach while trying to impress and, well, no one knows what is better for me and my family than me.
kwakagy
I just realized that this is a pivotal moment in history - the intersection of Ruhlman and Steven Seagal. As I'm sure all of you remember, in that classic cinematic tour de force "En Etat de Siège", a character says to Seagal "I thought you were a cook?" and Seagal responds "Well, I also cook."
Rhonda
Dear Chef del Grosso:
Thought about it, read your post again and YES!
Got it!
If you said that in front of me, with the intonation of your voice and body language and tone, I would have learned that immediately.
However, I only had the written word and my own interpretations of such to go by.
Got it!!! And, I agree
You are a great teacher!!!!
Written word, even though not through mail is still slow to transmit intention and meaning.
Jose
I do hope this issue gets resolved soon.
I have a crying need to pigeon-hole myself.
Elise
Hi Michael,
I'm happy, thrilled, and delighted to be a home cook. That term implies to me that I like to, and know how to, cook in my own kitchen at home, and that I cook many of my own meals. Nothing more. Sometimes I call myself a "scratch cook" if I want to distinguish myself from others who don't cook from scratch. But at the end of the day, I'm a home cook.
Frankly I'm not getting what the heck is wrong with that.
Carrie
I would certainly love to live in a world where I could integrate my self and non-self and still function socially. Until then I'll have to cling to my labels, inadequate as they may be. I feel like I need to go meditate now. What were we talking about?
Also, LMAO kwakagy!!
Bob delGrosso
Rhonda
"How do YOU see this?"
I'm not sure I really know. It's a very complicated question that Ruhlman has tossed out. But I will take a stab.
In modern western culture people who cook almost every day might fall on or between four poles: professional, default, slave and amateur.
Those who love the craft and get paid for it are "professional cooks" and those who cook for love of craft alone are "amateurs."
Default cooks are those who come to the craft by accident. They are those who end up cooking because they are good at it, don't mind it, and there is no one else who wants to do it.
Slave cooks, are those who hate to cook but are forced to do it because they have no other choice.
Everyone else who cooks, falls somewhere between those four poles.
But what do I know?
Gabe
I'm an engineer
I'm a cook
I'm a weight lifter
I'm a snowboarder
I'm a reader
I'm a foodie
One of those things I do professionally. I do them all with varying level of skill.
Language is used to transfer ideas. Getting all hung up on common connotations is silly. The words "home cook" and "foodie" can transfer ideas just fine, why get so hung up on being offended for no reason?
Rhonda
Thank you, Chef del Grosso.
Mike Pardus
This is really funny to me. I like the people who have the self confidence to either label themselves with, or accept, a term others easily understand. It's about communicating to the rest of the world. Do I like "foodie"? I don't really care one way or the other. I'm passionate about food and in contemporary, idiomatic, American English that's the quickest, least pretentious way I know to casually describe that to someone who does not know me. When I describe a weekend with DelGrosso and the gang to someone, I say - "I went to the City and wandered around China Town with a bunch of other foodie friends looking for the perfect Spring Roll". If they understand what I mean, the label serves it's purpose. If someone asks me what I "am", I tell them that I'm a teacher, if they inquire further I tell them I teach cooking; further than that? I explain that I was a chef, and that lead me to teaching.I don't get what all the fuss is about. If you're comfortable in your own skin and the label isn't derogatory or meant to insult, what's the problem?
Tags
Then there's this idea from Linda McCartney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5sybEeyDZ8
Rhonda
Aaaaand, there it is.
Thank you, Chef Pardus.
sbp
I wince when people refer to me as a "gourmet cook." It implies fancy food, when in fact I only cook the pinkies-up stuff once in a while. But I put a lot of care and technique, if not a lot of time, into my everyday cooking. So as the first poster mentioned, I'd rather go by "good cook" -- or "real cook" -- to distinguish myself from the semi-homemade set.
As for "foodie," I agree it carries the connotation of a trendie seeking the latest food fad. I'd hazard that many of your readers are heavily invested in trying new restaurants, but because of a commitment to good food, not fadism. Perhaps the distinction is someone who is less interested in being the first in line at the newest mecca of molecular manipulation and more interested in finding a great pupusa in the El Salvadorean enclave in Brentwood, Long Island. (It's certainly more affordable).
I don't feel sheepish admitting to being the latter. Jim Leff would probably call this the difference between a foodie and a chowhound.
malcolm
Je suis d'accord avec Clotide. Besides "a rose by any other name..."
Ellen
If you cook, you are a cook. If you write, you are a writer. If you play music, you are a musician. If you get paid to do any of those things and feel the need to tell people you get paid, add "professional" in front of it. Chef has always implied more than just cooking to me, as per the management comments. Maybe akin to "publisher" or "producer" rather than writer.
I make money from a food blog. I guess that makes me a food writer but not a professional cook. A professional cook would get paid to cook for others. I cook for my family and leverage my skills to earn some extra income. And those cooks may be horrible writers.... different skills. I have no desire to cook in a restaurant but still consider myself a cook, must not a professional cook. I like thinking about meals, planning them, cooking them, keeping within a budget, using up leftovers, etc., like others like gardening, planning, designing, etc. but would never call themselves landscape architects. Maybe that's more "home cooking" since the professional can throw away the leftovers at the end of the day. Different skills in different situations.
You could start the same argument with the term "writer." Some people seem to think that only involves fiction. At a party once someone asked what I did and I said I was a writer. He smirked and said "Oh, have you ever been published?" Uh, yeah, every day on the web. Pages get read by hundreds of thousands... but am I novelist? Nope. And even if I just sat home cranking out unpublished novels I'd still consider myself a writer. (But maybe not an author?)
Josh Venne
I consider myself a cook. I only consider a very small % of people I've worked with, cooks. And "chef" is a entirely different story. I have a big problem with these words being used to loosely... I hold them very sacred.
mel
to quote my kids...
"whatever..."
isn't it a bit pretentious that we are all spending a lot of energy deciding what to call ourselves?
Big Red
I personally do not put much stock in words in the American English Language anymore. I daresay that there is far too much "play" there, what with words showing up in commercials like "rockstair" and "Brangelina". Someone shoot me. American culture has been on track to compartmentalize everything...we shorten words for texting, and email, and we combine words into phrases, which reflect some thing or another.
If I were inclined to call myself anything, it is...well I have my own definition. My nickname implies all sorts of things to those who know me, and for those who do not, it may interest them in getting to know me. If not, Screw 'em.
I cannot be defined by one word, nor one thing that I do. Yes, I cook things in my home kitchen. I also made a living at it years ago in a commercial kitchen. I would love to again. But like Ruhlman said, I also ski, but I do not call myself a skier. I write for a local newsletter, but I do not call myself a writer. I teach basic cooking classes, and when I get a new class I tell them I am no expert. A veteren of meals and food improvisations, an experienced mom with a flair for the kitchen, or even house Frau.
But that is too much...Just call me Big Red. Enough Said.
Saltydog
The "chef" thing is what bothers me. Cooks calling themselves "chefs"? It's not the definition.
Liane
Labels are how we understand and often relate to one another, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Parent, Gardener, Cook, Chef and Foodie alike. They all create a vision in our minds and we tend to gravitate towards “like minded” individuals.
I do, however, get a 1950’s negative vision of a woman when I hear “home cook”. For myself I’m certainly a cook, I used to be a gourmet cook but I am not a professional cook. I used to be a foodie but now I don’t jump on the latest food rage but just like quality food, whether it’s meatloaf or BLT ice cream creation (as noted in your BLT challenge)…however…that didn’t sound so good :-).
Labels all mean different things and there is nothing wrong with it unless they are used to diminish someone. Let’s face it..there is enough nastiness out there in there in the world, no need to add to it.
Christa
I also dislike the term 'home cook' and the annoying 'foodie'. But of all the suggestions, I think I'm inclined to agree with Ellen here. And, to offer yet another point of distinction, I'd like to add that I think there is a difference between a blogger and a writer. In my eyes, a blogger is someone with a blog as a hobby and a professional writer is someone who is either paid or is able to generate income from their writing no matter where it is published.
mel
people-- chill!!!!
isn't this a lot of wasted energy talking about what we all call ourselves? a little egocentric, dare i say?
sbp
I don't see it as egocentric to attempt to define a cultural trend. Food writers, sociologists, anthropologists, food historians, etc. either are or will someday be studying the impace of food/restaurant culture at this point in history. It's trite to generalize and say "in the '90's - 00's, people were food obsessed." There are people who are/will find interesting the more subtle differences between people who are foodies because it's fashionable and people with a real passion for food and cooking (and how the former may be devouring the latter).
Tags
By the generic vanilla meaning of foodie, a person who dines at The French Laundry and a person who thrills to Sandra Lee's tablescapes both "qualify."
Big Guy
Part of the problem is how lazy we are with language. Somehow "amateur" is a bit of an insult now regardless of the endeavor, while the term "expert" (chef, hwatever) gets thrown around with abandon.
I used to brew beer, and I did this as a career. I got paid for it and I was reasonably good. Many people called me a "brewmaster", which I always corrected immediately. A *real* brewmaster has a master's degree equivalent (and it's very rigorous and difficult) and many, many years of practice. I had none of that.
Just because you get paid to do a job doesn't mean you are expert or even competent.
Also - why do terms for people who like good food (not necessarily fine food) always come off as pretentious and snobby? Are we snobs?
Diane
I just like being called a good cook. When asked I say, "I love to cook" or even not-so-humbly, "I'm a good cook." I don't like the term foodie at all. It's vague, and has a whiff of elitism.
Natalie
Excellent point Chef delGrosso.
I am an amateur cook. With my approach to cooking, it might be more appropriate to call myself one of these things: kitchen chemist or a kitchen kibitzer.
My family eats what I create, however Chef delGrosso might say they are slave eaters.
luis
Yes go cook and have fun!. A home cook has some fun... a line cook has a JOB!!!!!!!
Bro this is not brain surgery you know!.
I screw up every other dish if not every single dish I cook. Needs a little more something something... these two spices don't work well together.. on and on....
But I try and cook....
Anyone that wishes to take up issue with that can go work on the line and get his/hers ass beat on a regular basis.... end of story.
Oh yeah! can you picture an iron chef type facing or hearing some joe sixpack disting their creation???....Home cook's don't deal with that.
Pam
I don't care for foodie. It's tossed around so pretentiously, sometimes as an insult. But I have no problem with "home cook" and it does not offend me. For me it defines the difference between cooking as a vocation and cooking as an avocation. Cooking is my avocation; I earn my living elsewhere. I'm pretty darn good at my avocation and have no problem being defined as a "home cook."
luis
Funny thing... Michele Bernstein renowned chef.. with show on PBS now.. recently commented that she never deals with the customer. Not a home cook for Sure!. A great chef in her own right and dealing with it.. best she can.
Dental El Paso
Personally I do not care much for labels and stuff. So I do not see the harm done. However, if I must be put into a category I must say that I am a food enthusiast. (I don't believe I am much of a cook).
Agopian
I agree with Pardus, people need to be more confident with who they are and not get all worked up about labels.(no one cares) I do need to say that if you have never cooked professionally and you consider yourself a "foodie" then you have some big gaps in truly knowing and understanding what good food is.
luis
Pardus, don't know veggies bro.... but I like him too!
franknwine
Long before there were restaurants people figured out that applying heat to animal and vegetable matter made it more easier to ingest. That process, in English, came to be called cooking. People who did this were called cooks. Really good cooks figured they could cash in on this talent of theirs so they started selling the things they cooked. They called the places they sold their goods restaurants. The cooks in these restaurants came to be called chefs. So if you do cooking in your home you are a cook. Just that. A cook. No modifier needed. If you cook in a restaurant, or in any variation thereof, you are a chef. Period,
franknwine
Ooops. Not "more easier."
the curiousone
I use the term, "serious hobbyist cook". I make that distinction because I cant cook for 300 people every night and I think I would shoot myself in the temple if I had to make the same dish the same way 6 days a week. These are the skills I attribute to professional cooks. I like nothing more than to lose myself in a complicated technique or work to develop a skill which results in a specific result. My goal is to deliver really tasty, really prety food as an expression of care for those sitting at my table. That makes me a serious hobbyist cook.
CK
Pardus' example disproves the point he's trying to make, doesn't it? Would we really say the only skiers in the world are those who earn a living skiing? I don't think that's the case, even hough professional skiers probably sit around and bitch about all the novices who dare call themselves skiers.
Diana
what about just plain ol' gourmet?
Lawrence
Bicker all you want about what is and what does not constitute cooks, home cooks, gourmands, but lets leave the Chef title alone. This acquired title is due in part to dedication, much sweat, far too many hours, and the knowledge of the inner workings of a professional kitchen and all of the facets necessary to sustain, grow and have the operation prosper within the fickle professional food world. Let us not dilute the title by bestowing it upon every person with a knife and a coat (Both of which can be bought, the title is and should remain earned.) Not trying to be elitist, or snobbish. Dont care what you call me, I am sure I have been called worse at one point or another by one of my cooks.
Rhonda
Michael, Chef Pardus, Chef del Grosso.
I am on annual holidays from my lucrative white collar career and instead of seeking the sun, I have chosen to work on-the-line at a European Bistro for minimum wage.
I am tired of my pontificating, general bullshit and everyone else's and I needed to experience this first hand
Holy F**k!!!
This is the hardest work I have EVER done! I have only done 2 shifts but FM it is hard work, especially when the kitchen gets slammed.
I am proud to say that my knife skills have held up, I keep my station clean and now, as a second day Veteran, I have my prep & Mise down pat.
I can now say, without hesitation, there is a HUGE difference between home cooks and professionals. Off the top of my head, when I cook at home, no one is yelling at me to chop faster.
The other thing I have learned very quickly is that you can spot a "Foodie" a mile away. They want to ensure that you know they are educated and aware of food. This can be good or bad. Most are difficult and want to take pictures or make specialty orders because they know better than you.
I now understand David Chang. It is fucking food. If you have never been to the establishment before and sampled the dish, DO NOT submit specialty orders. THAT makes you an asshole, not a Gourmand.
Aaand, like Michael has stated many times before, you cannot lie in the professional kitchen. I didn't understand this until now and it is hard to communicate. You CAN lie in the home kitchen.
Many orders, pressure, consistentsy, excellence and quality all have to come together at the same time.
I should be getting a paycheque in two weeks time which will then make me a professional cook and I do say professional. For how long, I don't know. It is hard, grueling, but I LOVE IT! I AM HAVING A BLAST!!!!
I am freakin' tired at the end of the day but satisfied.
Do I want to continue cooking professionally? I don't know. This was basically an anthropological experiment. I will leave all options and avenues open and assess later.
Jaden
I just like to feed people.
Jenn
I am not a fan of the word "enthusiast" because it implies that cooking is a hobby, something non-essential to life. And in my case, that is simply not so. Cooking (to me at least) is so much more important than that. I call myself an "amateur chef", because I associate the word "chef" with a bit of creative concept design rather than simply the execution of a recipe. LOL, if being a chef means managing a kitchen, does managing my husband in the kitchen count? I often refer to him as my sous chef as he frequently assists in veggie chopping, etc...
michael ruhlman
maybe you need to go to the next page of commetns, they only give me a hundred per page...
On Sep 4, 2009, at 8:35 PM, typepad@sixapart.com wrote:
Julie
I'm an eater. (I'm the best eater I know.)
Heidi
I have no issues with being called a "home cook", or simply "cook". Epicure, foodie, gourmand, culinary aficionado, call yourselves what you wish, none of the above terms would offend me.
I do have issues with people calling themselves chefs that do not (or have not ever) managed or overseen a kitchen. In my mind, culinary school is great training but not required for the term "chef", and culinary school does not a chef make.
On that note, here is one other word I call myself, "chefophile", one who worships and adores professional chefs!
Col
Isn't a critical part of Michael Ruhlman's dislike of the term "home cook" because he went to culinary school and has cooked professionally? Isn't he sort of in a netherworld between chef, cook, culinary writer, and person who enjoys cookng at home?
Methinks of course he would bristle at "home cook" since he is WAY beyond that level...?
I'm just saying. BTW I'm a big fan of the "...of a Chef" trilogy and totally bought one of the Ratio charts.
I am a professional actor and it kinda bristles me when people with no training and little experience roll into the business and call themselves actors.
Then again, a lot of times acting (especially for TV and film) requires little more than "interestingness", stillness, and understanding, as opposed to technique. And a lot of times amateur-types who make a change of career can be quite interesting to watch on film or TV. And hey, bully for them.
Tough onstage, though. That's where technical chops come into play.
Re: Ellen's comment above. People mean well, I like to think, when they ask "Have you been published," because they want to show an interest, but it's so obnoxious on the other hand. What it seems to me that they're also asking is, "Are you legitimate, or self-deluded?" "How may I categorize you?" or "Should I take you seriously as a professional, or are you a [pretentious] hobbyist?"
I don't have any particular bee in my bonnet about home cook, plain old cook, etc. but do NOT call myself a chef. My dad is a retired culinary instructor. HE is a chef. Not me.
Might I suggest a title for people who are consider themselves high-quality cooks, but do not cook professionally? How about "indie cooks"?
Before you barf all the way to SXSW, think about it: people doing their own thing with cooking, independent of distinctions. ECCO-LA!
Natalie Sztern
WOW...this is one blog i love for the discussions...michael you put forth material that fires us all up!!
Yeaaa
I love this blog, I really do.
But if we are to make distinctions as frugal as this, then you and Bourdain and Zimmerman better not to ever have the balls to call yourselves writers.
You are not. You are chefs who write. Don't go putting your craft's label on a pedestal while abusing others.
You write, sure, like I cook.
diane
What about using "hobby cook" as a distinction between "professional cook"....? And really, "Chef" is only used for professionals who are heading up they're own restaurant or business (getting paid to cook for others).
Great topic of discussion.
Stellaa
Oh, bother. I cook. I eat. I feed and nurture my family like my mother and her mother did for generations.
We, this generation did not invent any of this. We are so full of ourselves it makes me want to scream at times. Now that men have gotten into the business of cooking at home, it needs to be redefined?
Yes, we read and experience more food options in our times, that is rather pleasant. Yet, we have lost touch of many of the basics of the home cook. We only give credibility to the paid expert, yet all they do is take the storehouse of information and repeat it to us.
Foodie, has that quality of obsession or addiction, or what shall I call it, expertologist malarchy. People write and talk about food that have little day to day or practical experience.
Foodie implies that there is a current orthodoxy of food trends, the foodie obsessively follows and adheres to the trends and bores everyone around them. Face it, it' the same as a dork. Who wants them around. I would rather not follow an orthodoxy of anyone.
I cook. I garden. I eat. Any questions? Please park the pretension and attitudes at the door.
Now, what the hell am I gonna do with all these apples?
NMissC
The term "cook" is not owned by professionals. "My grandmother was a good cook." Who says that is an illegitimate sentence? (The interesting observation is that it would not normally occur to anyone to add the unnecessary modifier "home" to that sentence).
I have a huge regard for cooks who have spent decades preparing food, daily, for a family. The food media entirely ignores the inventiveness and range of this type of cooks. They are the least documented of cooks.
I've cooked, daily, for a family for about three decades. My son is a professional-- he's worked on the line in a Beard Award restaurant for 5 years. I cook with him regularly at home, and I'm pretty sure he'd tell you my skills and inventiveness, both stand up well against other cooks.
The connotations of the word foodie is more interesting. It's a deserved insult when aimed at, say, a cookware store that any serious cook could recognize is selling decorating accessories masquerading as tools, or at folks who install a professional range in a kitchen and never really use it. But on the other hand, I think it covers an audience of folk who read food blogs, buy high-end restaurant cookbooks browsing for ideas and wanting to be current about a subject about which they are passionate-- and without that sort of foodie (I'm one), I'm not sure you'd have an audience...
Yeaaa
I take that back.
Bourdain is a writer.
Crystal Fox, Sous Chef Philadelphia
It's funny I stumbled across this post because our kitchen talks about this topic.... a lot.
For, myself, that professionally cooks 70 hours a week...6 days a week. It's insulting that "home cooks" remotely put themselves in the same category as me. That may sound rude or over-the-top or not "PC"...but it's a fact. Cooking for 6-10 of your good friends (that will tell you your food is good whether it truly is or not)is NOT the same as cooking for 200+ hyper critical (absolute strangers) every night of the week...and WAIT every meal better be identical....it better be good...or it will be splashed all of the internet for all to see.
I have a challenge for any "home cook": go to any professional kitchen (you, know on one of your weeks vacations you have stored in your white collar benefits package) and work...for free...to see the kitchen. Chances are you'll be running back to your home KitchenAid in a hurry.
Home cooks and professional cooks are just different. Get over it.
Rhonda
Hi Crystal:
You misssed my comment. This is EXACLTLY what I have done and am currently doing.
I was tired of my own bullshit and everyone else's so I put my money where my mouth is.
It is the hardest work I have ever done. EVER!!!! I am only cooking approximately 35 hours/week. I cannot imagine 70 plus.
There is NO comparison --NONE between a home cook and professional. They are two different things completely!!!
When one cooks at home, they do so at their own pace, and no one is yelling at them. They are also at leisure to take a bathroom break during their day.
My bullshit has stopped forever. I must say that my knife skills have held up and although I am being yelled at on a daily basis, I have not been kicked off the line.
I do love it, however and may continue. I was lucky to find an excellent Bistro that serves high quality French Food. I cannot imagine doing this type of work for a resto that serves up hundreds of plates of shit everyday. The work is too hard not to have some fulfillment at the end of the day. For those of you that do work in those types of establishments, my hat is off to you and you have my respect.
I am in complete agreement with Crystal. This comparison needs to stop now and forever! It is wrong and disrespectful.
Libby
@clotilde - I love your comment (below). I'm such a food history geek, it's nauseating...
"I also use the term "food enthusiast" (although I agree it is a bit clunky, it's infinitely less grating that the "f" word) to describe the fact that I'm not just interested in the cooking part, but the world of food in general -- all aspects of it, including the cultural, historical, political, and anecdotal ones."
Rhonda
The other thing that I forgot to mention about my Anthropological study is that the cooking profession is best started by the young.
I am 44 and although I plan to leave my white collar job and stay on the line, I am not deluded. I would love to continue this for as long as my body will hold out (I estimate until Christmas time????). Then, I think it will be a catering job for me.
I thought I was in great physical shape but it is not enough for this job long term.
After one week of doing lunch service NOT dinner, I have lost 7 pounds which I believe is the result of dehydration, adrenaline and good old unadulterated FEAR.
I have also not done a Sunday lunch service yet, which from what I understand could completely undo me.
At the end of the day (sorry, still have white collar lingo), I think it is up to the professionals to differentiate themselves from herd, not everyone else.
I had planned to do this before this post and applied for a job not thinking it would actually work out. Serendipity arrived and I started a couple of days after this post. Then came Crystals challenge.
The timing couldn't have been better and apparently I wasn't the only one thinking this would be a great bullshit stopper.
Perhaps after the BLT challenge, this could be the next one.
What do you think, Michael?
luis
Life is a process... It begins and it ends. Folks want to think there is another process after life ends. Makes sense to me!. Good folks think they should be rewarded with...? heaven? Nirvana?..a Zillion virgins? oh please not that!. But a simple home cook just longs for a good recipe and a kitchen with each and every silly whacky ethnic, trendy ingredient the DAMM thing calls for so they can turn out ONE GENUINE great tasting recipe.
But NOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!
souls aren't even supposed to eat!!!!!grrrrrrr!!!!!
Amy Scott
I hate, hate, HATE the word "foodie" as it seems so snobby and elitist. Why should we feel the need to categorize ourselves?
The one thing I loved about Julia Child is that her love for French Cuisine was so great that she wanted ALL people regardless of status to come to know and love it too. She turned her nose up at "status" because she wanted to make French Cuisine accessible.
If someone truly loves the culture, history, science, etc. about food, then I would think that they would want your everyday person to come to know it and love it too. So why be so caught up in labels to make ourselves feel so much more important? Would it be a true lover's goal to be to spread their love and not be prideful of it?
Jackie at PhamFatale.com
Agreed, we should abolish the term home cook. Love Bob's comment. I think I'm a stay at home chef, or meal maker 🙂
Lance
What a bunch of elitist crap. You can play with the semantics as long as you want, but face it, YOU ARE A FOODIE! Yes that's right - you. Your interest in the world of food lead you into writing about food. You are a FOODIE. Not a real chef, not a real cook, just a guy who found a passion in food. And who do you think buys your books? Do you really think that classically trained chefs are running out to buy "The Making of a Chef"? No, its the foodies that you continually put down. Most likely 90% of the people who read this blog and "hate the word foodie" only know you exist because they too, are foodies and found your work through their interest in food. At least Chef Pardus has been a voice of reason in this ridiculous debate. You can hide behind your pretentiousness, but YOU ARE A FOODIE!
Cathy
Hmm. I like what Ghislain said, "I like to cook and eat, and I'm curious and enthusiastic about all things food." That describes me. I call myself a foodie because most people (who don't give a great deal of thought to these topics) understand what I'm talking about. Maybe foodie has become derogatory, but I don't care.
kathygnome
I suspect rage against being referred to as a "home cook" might be anchored in the wonderfully horrible camp classic The Next Food Network Star where the judges continuously nag their victims to dumb food down for "the home cook."
Randy
Sorry, but I find this talk really awful. Chefs, like Mike Pardus, act like they are the second coming of Jesus in the cooking department. Where did cooking come from? It came from people eating to survive..eating around the campfire. Humans have adapted to use the bounty in nature for the ultimate purpose...to feed ourselves and our families and to keep ourselves alive. A person who is a home cook is a person who cooks in the home...simply stated! And frankly, there are a LOT of home cooks, especially in Italy and France, that can cook rings around a lot of the crappy chefs on the Food Network or any other channel. Sorry...but this post really steams the F out of me! My dead mother was a fantastic cook and she prided herself on cooking good, wholesome food during the 70's when microwave crap and other nondigestable goop came out. She thought it was a sign of pride that she cooked great food for her husband and kids and large extended family and would have considered it a badge of honor to be called a home cook. Instead of branding ourselves as a name, why don't we try to talk about cooking and good food instead?
cjride
I was visiting my nephew who is attending the CIA. We had the Julia Child menu at Escoffier. I had a chance to purchase an autograph copy The Making of a Chef but considering I was riding my motorcycle and didn't have much room I skipped. Getting home after visiting the cheesemakers festival in Vermont I decided to cook a Julia Childs recipe, beef and onions. I also had gotten about 50 pages into TMoC. It was then that I decided I might be able to follow a recipe but after butchering the meat I was neither a cook or a chef. I got online and emailed this to Chef Pardus. Little did I know that I had just entered the middle of a big discussion.
cjride
One more comment if I may. I am currently taking a course in quantum physics for my own enjoyment. I even correspond by email with some well know physicists. While making my dinner I thought that I might like to learn some of the skills necessary to make me more proficient in the kitchen. I don't know if there is anything for the home cook out there (I would especially love to attend the CIA to do this). But one thing is sure I couldn't do the work of the students at the CIA as described by Mr. Ruhlman in his book.
cjride
Michael, sorry I'm doing this to your blog. I've written award winning software so I guess my skills aren't in the kitchen. My brother who know his way around the kitchen from owning two restaurants, considers himself a restaurateur. As I'm reading Michaels book I'm thinking how many times my brother had to go into the restaurant and cook or wash the dishes because someone didn't come into work. My brother now works for Second Harvest, the largest food bank in the US. He has more family time and loves his work. I liked how I read about making a good reuben, that the cheese should be put between the bread and the saurkraut and meat. This prevented the bread from getting soggy. When Mr. Metz asked why cheese was put down over the crust before the rest of the ingredients for the quiche, I wanted to shout out the answer.
Pix
If you don't get paid to cook, you are a 'home cook.' You might be (and probably are) more skilled than many professional chefs/cooks.
But until you receive a paycheck for it -- you are a 'home cook.' Live with it, be proud of your skills.
Michele Niesen
What do you call a writer who opened her own place where she cooked for ten years and then went back to writing. Besides masochistic, I mean. All this moniker stuff makes us all seem so, um, American, no? I've known French people for years who still have never asked what I "do" for a living. It's weird, but kind of nice.
For me, home cook is indeed condescending as I've had WAY better meals from people's moms than a lot of line cooks, sous chefs and hell, even exec chefs. Let's face it...the work horses of kitchens are mainly concerned with production and margins. The are technicians as opposed to artists. I rarely called myself Chef as it made me sound like some pompous sweaty dude with those bad pants and ugly chef coat. With my NAME on it. In case you forget. I'm the CHEF. It's dumb.
But at the same time, diners like that crap and it's a business, so let them eat name cake. Did I think that every single amigo de Guerrero,MX was just as proficient as me in the kitchen? Yes. Was I more inspired and creative? Yes. I made the dish that put my name on the door, but they reproduced it like magic hundreds of times over to allow me to keep the doors open, because us "artists" (another eye rolling bit of nomenclature) can rarely reproduce anything.
Earning your chops in a professional kitchen is worthy of note. But cooking the kind of food that makes people want to take their pants off? Priceless.
How about this. We all eat. Many of us cook. Some professionally and some passionately. Sometimes the two worlds collide. And that person is simply A Good Cook.
Rhonda
Michele: You ROCK! I agree.
WPM
Let's take into consideration the food availability for the at home cook and the in house chef.
What's in my fridge better pale in comparison to what's in your walk-in.
Regardless and with all the ridiculousness swept under the plate, Marco Pierre White was asked whom he most admired; who was his favorite cook? His reply: his mom.
Now, unless any one of us has achieved anything in the kitchen remotely close to what he has, we're all well off to agree he might have an idea of what he's talking about, above and beyond our own experiences.
Pam
If we are reading all this stuff we do not have time to make food good! Let's go to the kitchen.
jamie
I know the discussion seems mainly to be between the name cook or home cook but I myself take issue with the foodie definition provided. I would argue this description is more closely related to that of the Gourmand (also mentioned in another comment above) A foodie is not someone who likes the latest food fads. Foodies love food, period. A foodies love of food does not come from taste alone. We, as I consider myself a 'foodie', consider food in context; who made it, my own history with it, other peoples history, did I cook it or did someone make it for me - to name but a few. This is the mark of a Happy foodie. Therefore I would argue any 'cooks' taking the time to read this blog are also foodies.
-Cooks flip burgers.
-Chefs run restaurants.
-foodies love everything about food. cooking, eating, buying, growing...