Chef vs Cook: The differences

People in the restaurant business draw a line between two equally important charges in front of the stoves, and those are chefs and cooks. By definition, a chef is someone who’s highly trained in cooking, while a cook is someone with experience but without academic background in the area.  But even when they are trained differently, the goal is the same: To make excellent food.

The training that a chef obtains allows them to gain deep knowledge of the preparation of food, more than just the following of a pre-made recipe, they know how to prepare and modify it to make marvelous dishes right out of their minds. After all, being a chef is one of the most creative professions in the world! They also know the handling of items that goes beyond the basic understanding and usage of the chef’s knife and so on, since their preparation includes the technical expertise to do so. A cook might not be academically trained like a chef, however, in most cases, they are the ones who really put their hands on the dishes. Why? Because they are deeply involved in the preparation of the food, right from cutting the ingredients to placing them over the fire; they are making the dish directly from the instructions of the kitchen’s chef.

When you decide to work or open a restaurant you need them both: People with training from schools, and people with the experience of working directly in the kitchen. Most of the times, the chef will pull a menu together for the cooks to prepare it to perfection with their guidance. The line between them behind the kitchen door is thin since the goal is the same: to present a dish that would satisfy the palates of the customers. But regardless of who makes the food, the important thing is the soul behind them, that is achieved by taking care of details, so the result of that effort takes you through a sensory experience. They work together closely to make your experience enjoyable at the greatest level, as it is easy for people to notice when a dish is made with love and passion. And there’s a place I love that makes a perfect communion between flavor and soul with what they present to their customers, and that is RG Cocina Mexicana.