UPDATE #2: …and another article

UPDATE: Here is yet another recent article published about this

We came across this article today which preempted ours…

Foodie Only? Chefs hate you. You know what? Even other Foodies hate you for using the term ‘Foodie’ just now. Chef only? Foodies will tear you a new rectum without hesitation. What if you’re both though? IMHO, the good Chefs are the ones appreciate honest feedback. Often times they have too many sycophants who worship them and want to drink their bath water. Little do you know, most Chefs do not break the six-digit barrier in terms of salary and it’s not that glorious. Sure, some may have an equity stake in the restaurant as incentive to work harder but if you divide up the pay by the hours worked, we’re talking slave labor hourly rates here, especially if you’re low on the totem pole. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good YOU think your food is if the masses think otherwise. As a Foodie, be respectful of the Chef’s wishes in the Dining Room. If he says no cameras or cell phones, honor it or eat elsewhere and yes, your sh*t DOES stink.

(Irrelevant Source: Urbandictionary.com)

ROLE: FOODIE
As a Foodie, you think your opinion matters more than anyone else’s. The world is your oyster and you can frown upon it as you see fit. You don’t see (nor care about) the flip side of things, how the chefs bust their asses every night to put food on your table. Instead, you are self-righteous in demanding high quality food AND service because you’re paying for it. You will not hesitate to take off a star for no water refills, even though it’s not the Chef’s fault. You don’t care if the kitchen has 300 covers for the night. You only care about ‘Where’s MY food!’. Even if you don’t cook, your snobby ass often thinks ‘I could make that better’. Foodies think they morph into food deities and are above the law once they turn ‘Yelp Elite’ status. Isn’t it great that you get to set the bar on what caliber cuisine is worthy of how many stars? As foodies, we hate it when people try to justify flaws in a dish when they are apparent, saying other dishes made up for it. Point being, there should be no weaknesses on the menu to begin with!

Rule #1: Can I taste the love in the food? That should be the first question a Foodie should ask. For those Foodies who opt to write, the good ones bring a following with them and people with similar tastes will value their opinions. Since most people don’t get paid to write, your goal is to inform ignoramuses of ‘shark infested waters’ and to drop wisdom, if any. Conversely, you want to express how emphatic you are about a new opening that you got to try. The great writers go on to write for bigger and badder blogs, well known sites even. Heck, even a book deal or a judge gig for a Reality Show is not out of the question.

(Irrelevant Source: Urbandictionary.com)

ROLE: CHEF
As a chef, you have to love what you do. First of all, chances are you don’t get paid much. You slave for countless hours in a 100 degree environment and when it’s crunch time, there’s no time to wipe off even a bead of sweat. If you are the head honcho, you get to decide what goes on the menu and how often it changes. You feel empowered and honored at the same time that your food is being consumed by paying customers who embrace you and want to experience your creations. If you are just starting out, chances are you’ll be doing something mundane: washing dishes or chopping food all day. If lucky, you’ll be bumped up to the pasta or sauce station after a few years. The masochistic pressure put on your shoulders is enormous, since a Michelin Star can MAKE you just as easily a goose egg by Sifton can BREAK you. Our job is simple: Do not accept mediocrity in quality or execution of ingredents yet few abide by it, selling out to profit margins instead.

Despite the fact that being a Chef is for the most part a thankless and oversensationalized job, you have an unspeakable glow inside you when you see smiles on diners’ faces. As a Chef, you also reach a euphoric high when a Foodie says to you “How’d you think of that? I would have never guessed these ingredients would go together.” The good chefs go on to become bigger fish, perhaps open their own ponds or go on TV. A select few even progress to open multiple ‘ponds’. Likewise, some strike book deals and start merchandising products with their names on it.

Let it be known that if you’ve embarked upon hosting your own TV show and are not actively cooking in or overseeing the day-to-day operations of your Restaurant, you’re not a chef anymore. Ahem, Tony Bourdain, aka ‘Chef-At-Large’ (pictured below)

ROLE: BOTH
This dual role allows you to have a different perspective than many, since you learn to accept high standards only for both yourself and others. You also learn to over deliver and exceed expectations, well at least we do. Throwing in a freebie here or there never hurt anyone. Also, being both gives you the added advantage of realizing not everyone wants to eat the same run of the mill food that you can get elsewhere that’s better/cheaper, else they’d be there instead. You know, not everyone necessarily wants to eat the same monotonous bite of food over and over again. Thus, the birth of ’3 ways’ (at least one dish is served 3 ways, whether it be a fruit, protein, etc) for our i8 Supper Club. That’s where creativity comes into play, when you as a Chef draw upon inspiration from past dining experiences as a Foodie and implement dishes unseen anywhere else. How boring would it be if the same dishes you order everywhere (hangar steak, salmon, sea bass, etc) are more or less the same, no matter the venue? Restaurant Week, I’m talking to you.

Chefs need to be more prideful and think to themselves: “We wouldn’t serve anything we wouldn’t want served to us.” Our Foodie side tells us that there’s no better dining experience than walking out happy after a meal. Give me the hole in the wall with Mom’s cooking over a dressed up pig anyday. That said, our Chef side accepts nothing less than serving stellar cuisine.

Talk is cheap though.