Comments on: Sayonara Gourmet, Baka Yarou Chris Kimball

By: Car insurance claims >> http://onlinecarinsuranceclaims.com/

Car insurance claims >> http://onlinecarinsuranceclaims.com/ — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:26:57 +0000

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By: Velops

Velops — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:48:22 +0000

I don't understand why so many people in print media are threatened by bloggers. People who are familiar with the internet know that the information and opinions expressed in blogs should not be automatically trusted at face value. The gatekeepers of traditional media actually have several stepping stones to making a big impact on the internet. They already have brand recognition and trust at their disposal. Bloggers have to fight an uphill battle to gain such credentials.

By: Velops

Velops — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:35:30 +0000

I tend to think there is a misconception about the difference between a chef and a cook. Chefs do more than just cooks meals. Unless it is an extremely small restaurant, they have to manage a team so that dishes get to the tables in a timely fashion. They place grocery orders with suppliers so that the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer are adequately stocked. There are numerous business-oriented tasks that come with being a chef.

By: anthony

anthony — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:43:41 +0000

but dick, either titles mean something or they don't. A book keeper isn't an accountant. A nurse isn't a doctor. Either we accept chefs as professionals with skills and knowledge that need to be learned and standards to be maintained or we let any old Dunning-Kruger sufferer with an oven run around saying they're a chef. And if we do the latter, then we've devalued the term and, ultimately, the job itself.
Professional kitchens (like the military) are inherently heirarchical and, by extension, elitist. This used to be through an apprenticeship and now it involves formal education. They've also always provided a career and prospects for the underpriveleged and marginalised; recognising skills,effort and learning. This recognition shouldn't be white-anted in a way that no middle class profession would accept.

By: JAMinTokyo

JAMinTokyo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:11:22 +0000

When a well-spoken gent such as yourself says Baka Yarou, I sit up and listen! Informative AND entertaining.

By: You Don’t Speak For Me Chris Kimball « Bon Appetit Hon

You Don’t Speak For Me Chris Kimball « Bon Appetit Hon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:20:21 +0000

[...] The Amateur Gourmet for Adam’s post, or to Sky Full of Bacon , Wise Ax, The Gurgling Cod, or The Breakaway Cook. And for Mr. Kimball’s blog response to all this, click here. Possibly related posts: [...]

By: Zora

Zora — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:10:47 +0000

Eric, you're right that the stakes are lower with cooking–that's a very good point. And a freakin' relief. But the Cook's Ill articles are useful if you've never cooked something before–those poor, suffering bastards in "America's Test Kitchen" have gone to the trouble of trying some ridiculous things and mentioning whether they did or didn't work (within the rubric of what "works" at Cook's Ill). Even if your taste is different, you at least come away with a better understanding of technique.

It's a dreary kind of journalism, but journalism nonetheless, and few bloggers are as invested in explaining _why_ something works. I know if I had to learn to cook just from blogs, I wouldn't know quite where to start.

But just so you don't think I'm an agent of the devil, >a href=" I" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://rovinggastronome.com/mainblog/2004/04/05/c... am on record against Kimball and his "right" attitude!

And thanks for the shout-out on the book! It is absolutely unlike an issue of Cook's Illustrated, I can say that for sure. (Oh–except there are a few line drawings…)

By: Wakeford

Wakeford — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:04:05 +0000

If Gourmet magazine was useless then it deserved its demise. On the subject of food writing, all of it can be considered opinion or editorial. However, not all people's opinions are equally informative or valid. An "educated" opinion is in all probability more useful and enlightening. That is not to say that everyone who writes has to have some kind of advanced degree. Julia Child is for the most part self-educated. She spent her life investigating ways of making things in the best possible way. She is knowledgeable on the subject about which she is writing. Citizen journalists and bloggers are a great addition to our democracy. But they should not be allowed to supplant traditional media entirely. The main reasons are professionalism and accountability.

By: dick

dick — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:52:44 +0000

Saw this on another website about this posting and he made sense to me:

as a person who is a chef who did not go to a culinary institute but was
rather trained in the front lines of actual restaurants i deplore snobbery
in the kitchen (a teensy bit of pretension is OK, though). i learned the
most from a johnson and wales graduate and i am willing to bet i got as near
a complete education as he did. (we didn't do baking – i have no desire to
make any more than the simplest things in that field.) one day he took me
aside and said, "you know wayne… i don't think there's much more i can
teach you. what you don't know at this point you are smart enough to hunt
down. you should feel free to call yourself a WORKING chef." so even there
he made the distinction between him and me. i seldom use my "proper" title.
too few people even knows what it means and explaining is tedious.

- wayne.

By: breakawaycook

breakawaycook — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:56:59 +0000

Thanks Jeff. There is no question that practice makes one a better cook — that part of his message wasn't the part that rankled. It was the idea one must be certified (ideally by the editors of CI) to cook well. No Dairy Queen for you!

Dick, the exact same thing happened to me. It was as if CI said, "you no longer have to think for yourself. We'll tell you what tools to buy, what to cook, and how, precisely, it should be cooked. It's a hyperballsy proposition, and I'm amazed that millions of people go for it. Not only are you supposed to outsource your palate to Those In The Know, you're supposed to outsource your entire cooking brain.