Television has glamorized the culinary profession unduly.
Well, not really. Most TV shows glamorize the cooking (or the star of the show) and not the
job of being a Chef. Those are two different things. There are a few shows like H3ll’s Kitchen and Top Chef that hint at what it might be like to actually work professionally in a kitchen, but even those aren’t centered on the actual profession of a Chef and instead focus more on the dynamics between the contestants. Maybe if Mike Rowe did a spot on Dirty Jobs and worked as a Chef it would be a better picture of the profession.
And as for working late hours into the night, working Saturdays and Holidays, etc, that is to be expected from any job that caters to the public: Wal-Mart clerks, Movie Gallery employees, car salesmen, etc. That is the nature of a job that serves the public. I’ve been a clerk, a prep cook, an auditor, and even a DJ, and all of those jobs catered to and dealt directly with the public, and I’ve worked late into the night and many a Holiday. When you’re in that line of work, getting a Holiday off is a rare treat!
DW recently got maniacally bored with being a stay at home “Domestic Engineer” and picked up a part time job as prep help in a local Mom and Pop diner down the street.
She works days through the week (and the occasional night), and nights on weekends (but they’re closed on Sunday). When she comes home, I have dinner or a glass of wine waiting for her. Usually she doesn’t want to eat when she gets home, so I eat early and then we snack if we get hungry later.
At her work, she gets to eat free and gets all the free drinks (coke, tea, etc) that she wants. If she’s hungry, she (and any other employee there) can have nearly anything on the menu (although steaks are reserved for only once a week, if that). She also brings home lots of leftovers like extra baked potatoes that didn’t sell, breads, pestos, veggies, the last bits of a large roast, etc. It’s always interesting to see what she might bring home each night; plus she is much happier now that she has something to occupy some of her time.
And as for nothing in the Chef business being glamorous......I don’t know about that. Have you seen some of the knives that Iron Chef uses. Wow!