The great chefs truly love what they do

Over the years, I have met many chefs of all kind – hardworking and lazy, innovative and those who work strictly by recipe, ambitious and some just doing their job.

I had the pleasure of working with some amazing talented chefs who love to push out the boat. We had events where guest were asked to put bias away and try out new foods.

I remember a Critic’s Night in the River Lee Hotel with the power duo that was Shane O’Sullivan and Anthony Hayes who created a menu that included BBQ Earthworms and Thai Green Crickets – I kid you not. It looked delicious and our guests had no problems trying the innovative food. Feedback was mixed but my heart skipped a beat as everyone gave it a try apart from two guests – and I have to admit, I had a little problem as these two were lecturers who taught one of the chefs. I wondered how a teacher can teach if they don’t have an open mind?

In the last few years, we have lost some of these amazing chefs. Shane is now in corporate cooking, Anthony has left cooking completely, Kate Lawlor followed her husband to the UK, Mairead Jacob is taking a break – the list is endless.

In the meantime, we have some other amazing chefs making their mark on the Cork food scene and I really hope that we can embrace them again with all our love for good food. But what makes a good chef?

Most chefs will have the same training at a culinary arts college – so they know how to chop an onion and fry the perfect steak. But it takes more than that to become an outstanding chef.

Michael Fleming once said that you can teach cooking but you can’t teach the love for it and that is the difference between an average chef and an excellent one.

Not everyone who loves food and is a great home cook is automatically destined to be a chef – the stress of a busy kitchen is not to everyone’s taste. I personally wouldn’t like it – I like my own kitchen with no one in it and can get quite agitated when someone is in the way (not quite like Gordon Ramsay though!).

So, when considering whether to enter the world of professional cooking, do a trial in a busy restaurant first and see how you deal with the stress – cooking under time pressure is not easy. Studying at a culinary arts college is a great start but some of the top chefs are self-taught so try finding a mentor chef who will take you under his/her wing and teach you on the job.

Here’s to the next generation of amazing chefs!