Idolizing Chefs

A recent contestant on Top Chef on Bravo is having success opening up restaurants in the San Diego area. His newest venture is a $15 Million gamble. As reported today on  Inc. Brain Malarkery was a Top Chef contestant and finished in the top 4 of Top Chef: Miami and since July 2010 he has opened three restaurants and has a goal to open 15 more eateries nationwide over the next five years, each with an initial $15 million investment.

This is just another example of how the media and the masses are making Chefs the next big thing. There are many TV shows about Chefs and cooking in general, Top Chef on Bravo, Hell's Kitchen on Fox, as well as entire channels devoted to teaching those watching how to cook.  Such as Food Network and The Cooking Channel.  But why the big rush in seeing how to cook and personifying Chefs in such a way? I have a theory on the topic. Before stating it though I need to put a short disclaimer here saying that I have no problem with women in the workforce and happily enjoy it.

Prior to World War II the family unit was a whole. Families were together much more and the men left for work and the women tended to the house and children teaching them life lessons and cooking.   The US enters the war after Pearl Harbor and most all the men in America leave to fight. So most jobs are left vacant. Women  now enter the workforce in mass numbers to fill the void.  After WW II is over in 1945, the men return home and continue to work.  The women are also working.  So no one is home to raise the children and teach them life lessons, and basic cooking and cleaning methods. So a generation is developing that has not learned the basic cleaning and cooking skills that their parents and grandparents have known.This keeps happening, generation after generation.  Fast forward sixty plus years to the present and people aren't cooking at home.  Families are eating out more and more. So where does the family turn to learn the lessons of cooking, the television.

There has been cooking shows on since I was little and prior to that I am willing to bet. But only recently has the personification of Chefs hit mainstream TV.  This gives people a false sense of what Chefs really are.  As posted on Yahoo! answers about how much chefs make and their daily job duties, we learn that for every 3-4 big wig chefs making $75,000+ a year in the top US resorts and restaurants there are thousands working 80+ hours a week making less than $30,000 a year.  The media has blown the image way out of control.  Seeing a cooking show on TV where the celebrity Chef has a nice enjoyable atmosphere to work and looks to be clean gives people a false sense of what really goes on in a kitchen.  According to the dept of labor their description of a chefs work environment is different. Restaurants and other food service facilities where these workers are employed are required to be clean and sanitary. Although the seating areas of eating places are often attractive, kitchens can be crowded and hot and filled with potential dangers, such as hot ovens and slippery floors. Job hazards for those working in kitchens include slips and falls, cuts, and burns, but these injuries are seldom serious. Chefs, head cooks, and supervisors are under constant pressure to get meals prepared quickly, while ensuring quality is maintained and safety and sanitation guidelines are observed. Because the pace can be hectic during peak dining times, workers must be able to communicate clearly so that food orders and service are done correctly.Work hours in restaurants may include early mornings, late evenings, holidays, and weekends. Schedules for those working in offices, factories and school cafeterias may be more regular. In fine-dining restaurants, work schedules tend to be longer because of the time required to prepare ingredients in advance. Many executive chefs regularly work 12-hour days because they oversee the delivery of foodstuffs early in the day, plan the menu, and prepare those menu items that require the most skill.

If this sounds like something you would like to do, just go to your favorite eater. I bet they are hiring. Maybe you will get lucky and find yourself opening up a restaurant with a $15 million investment.