Who is a gourmet chef

It is often called haute cuisine and is usually associated with intricate preparations of food and drink and elaborate, artful presentations. Gourmet cooks typically use ingredients that are of the freshest and the best quality. When many people think of gourmet cooking, they often think of multi-course meals that are drenched in rich sauces and laden with butter, oils, and unique spices; this is not always the case, however. It has evolved over time to include natural, healthful, global, and socially responsible fare as well.

Of course, it is up to the chef to implement these aspects into gourmet cooking. For example, a gourmet chef may choose to use all organic ingredients or ingredients that are only grown locally. In addition, a gourmet restaurant may only serve vegetarian or vegan items for people who are morally opposed to eating meat or animal by-products.

One of the main characteristic that is consistent through all forms of gourmet cooking is the use of ingredients that are of the highest quality. The seafood, meat, vegetables, fruits, and spices are usually fresh.

Sometimes an ingredient is quite rare, such as the case with morel mushrooms. A gourmet takes time and care in preparing food and usually eats food slowly. Gourmets frequent places that offer extra information about a food's origin, have ingredients of top quality, prepare foods from scratch, and serve dishes in a luxurious manner. The person you may have called a gourmet years ago might today be called a "foodie.

Gourmet food refers to food and drink that takes extra care to make or acquire. Gourmet food is often found or made only in certain locations, and its ingredients may be unusual, hard to find in regular grocery stores, only be available in limited amounts, rarely exported outside of their place of origin, or available only for short times of the year. Some, such as truffles , must be wild harvested and can't be cultivated.

These foods often are unique in flavor or texture. Gourmet ingredients may blend herbs and spices in an interesting manner or add flavor to foods that are usually not flavored.

For example, lemon olive oil spray, black truffle balsamic glaze, and Calvi white wine vinegar are unique takes on otherwise simple ingredients. You will find gourmet ingredients in a gourmet section of a grocery store or in stand-alone gourmet stores.

For example, some grocery stores have typical cheeses in the dairy aisle but have a gourmet cheese section for higher-quality and imported cheeses. A gourmet store will often stock ingredients of the highest quality from around the world, thanks to special contacts that help import foods that otherwise are not readily available in the area.

You may be able to work with the store to acquire ingredients by request. In addition, such stores often stock the equipment needed to prepare gourmet dishes. Gourmet restaurants prepare dishes from the highest quality ingredients with impeccable technique. They can serve food that challenges the palate or offers a twist from a traditional dish.

For example, gourmet mac and cheese may use Gruyere , a cheese that is almost exclusively made in France and Switzerland. A beef dish such as crab-stuffed filet mignon with whiskey peppercorn sauce is gourmet because the sauce and stuffing are unique and challenge the taste of filet mignon on its own.

A gourmet chef has a very high level of skill in preparing food and making good use of the finest ingredients. The chef may be talented in creating new dishes and using innovative techniques. Skill in the presentation of food on the plate also defines a gourmet chef. As in many things in life, gourmet chefs are able to work their way up from the bottom to the top in a professional kitchen. Generally speaking, they start out with menial — yet essential — tasks such as preparing vegetables.

In time, they can move to cooking entrees and working as a line cook ie. The next step is sous chef and then to the executive level. While years of experience most certainly count, education is also very highly valued on the path to becoming a gourmet chef. The former covers all the basic skills required to enter into a professional kitchen.

The latter covers the basics but delves deeper into hospitality topics such as finance, management, leadership and human resources. Overall, it appears it is much harder to progress to further stars once a restaurant has earnt one.

To earn even one requires much commitment by the gourmet chef to their craft and restaurant to consistently achieve creative and flavor-filled cuisine. It also requires a certain amount of luck as legend has it is there are only a limited number of Michelin reviewers in each country where they produce the guidebooks. Paid endorsements for culinary products can also take their earnings into a higher bracket.