Etymology
The word "chef" is derived (and shortened) from the term chef de cuisine (French pronunciation: [ʃɛf.də.kɥi.zin]), the director or head of a kitchen. (The French word comes from Latin caput (head) and is cognate with English "chief"). In English, the title chef in the culinary profession originated in the haute cuisine of the 19th century. The culinary arts, among other aspects of the French language, introduced French loan words into the English language. The word is often used by itself as an honorific to address chefs by each other, apprentices, and waiting staff.
Kitchen assistant
Kitchen assistants are of two types, kitchen-hands and stewards/ kitchen porters. Kitchen-hands assist with basic food preparation tasks under the chef's direction. They carry out relatively unskilled tasks such as peeling potatoes and washing salad. Stewards/ kitchen porters are involved in the scullery, washing up and general cleaning duties. In a smaller kitchen, these duties may be incorporated.
Culinary education
Education is available from many culinary institutions offering diploma, associate, and bachelor's degree programs in culinary arts. Depending on the level of education, this can take one to four years. An internship is often part of the curriculum. Regardless of the education received, most professional kitchens follow the apprenticeship system, and most new cooks will start at a lower-level 2nd or 1st cook position and work their way up.
Like many skilled trades, chefs usually go through a formal apprenticeship which includes many years of on-the-job training. Culinary schools and restaurants offer these apprenticeships. To become an apprentice, one must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or GED. Apprenticeships usually take 3 to 4 years to complete and combine classroom instruction with on-the-job training. The training period for a chef is generally four years as an apprentice. A newly qualified chef is advanced or more commonly a toquecommis-chef, consisting of first-year commis, second-year commis, and so on. The rate of pay is usually in accordance with the chefs. Like all other chefs except the executive-chef, trainees are placed in sections of the kitchen (e.g., the starter (appetizer) or entrée sections) under the guidance of a demi-chef de partie and are given relatively basic tasks. Ideally, over time, a commis will spend a certain period in each section of the kitchen to learn the basics. Unaided, a commis may work on the vegetable station of a kitchen.
- 3 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened and cut into pieces
- Preheat oven to 325º. Coat a 9" deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray, then spread cranberries over the bottom.
- Sprinkle cranberries with 3/4 cup sugar and walnuts; stir with a spoon until evenly combined then flatten mixture with the spoon.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar then gradually add in flour, mixing well. Slowly beat in butter until thoroughly combined and smooth then spread batter over cranberries.
- Bake 55 minutes, or until entire crust is brown. Serve hot or cold.
- In ancient Greece, the Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese. Some believe this practice is the beginning of the pizza.
- In Byzantine Greek, the word was spelled “πίτα,” pita, meaning pie.
- The Romans developed a sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey. They then flavored it with bay leaves.
- The modern pizza began in Italy as the Neapolitan flatbread.
- The original pizza used only mozzarella cheese. The mozzarella was produce in Naples and usually the highest quality buffalo mozzarella variant.
- In 1997, the United States produced an estimated 2 billion pounds of pizza cheese annually.
- The first United States pizza establishment opened in 1905 was in New York’s Little Italy.
- Americans love pizza. So much so, it’s one of our favorite meals.
