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Haley Goodwin
Mrs. Maxwell
British Literature
October 27, 2011
The Life of a Chef
Food is one of the vital assets of life; it is an experiment and is one of the many ways that
makes our culture and it keeps it interesting.Everything all started in France, where a person
could search outside home for a meal and obtains limited food either ordered from an inn or
created (Flandrin).A man eventually created what was called a restaurant which had sold herbs,
spices, and other goods for people to buy. The word restaurant wascreated for the use of being
able to restore health to a person.The tavern restaurants existed in all European countries
(Flandrin). These European places had to serve plan and simple rather than trying to make their
own types of creative creations.Many considered it a treat to be able to have them delivered to
commoners at a private home. With the history of food, and numerous amounts of types that its
created for us there are endless possibilities in the taste of food.
Types of food are different to all countries allowing people to discover new tastes. Only
few people of France farm but when they do they are very independent. France is one of the best
places for growing plants such as grapes for instance which are made for one of the most famous
delights, wine(Hansen). The way they presented food has great importance it allows not only the
taste to affect your opinion but the way you view the food to be just as attractive as the taste.

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Most people could not afford the ingredients to make their meal, so they used others ingredients
from Africa which were created and are still used to interpret the French diet that they have
today (Hansen). A baguette was considered the most important part of every French meal,
everyone at the table being expected to eat a piece of it. The different parts of France vary on
what is their favorite dish, an example being northwest France where they eat crepes.
Food safety is one of the most key important factors for any chef and it makes whoever is
eating at slighter risk. People should closely exam the food to get to know what they are eating
better. (Word Press) By checking out the foods and making sure they are the freshest items that
can be acquired. Looking at the freshness for packaged items can be achieved by checking the
expiration date to allow you to decide how long it can be kept and when to use the items. All of
the meats should be kept fresh by putting them in the fridge so they do not spoil. (Word Press)
Every utensil used on meat should be immediately washed after use to prevent getting
salmonella. Before serving meat make sure it is cooked to room temperature or what it is
required. Every food should be washed and checked at all times to keep the meal safe and
enjoyable to everyone.
Basic techniques are required for food preparation to allow people to have clean and safe
food to enjoy. Start off by separating the food from any inedible objects using products such as a
peeler, or a pressure-cooker. Some foods have to be detoxified by soaking in water and cooking
it to a boiling point. To make food more edible and soft for people to eat it can be acquired by
steaming, or microwaving and other techniques. The distribution of food is given out in many
ways such as the arms or baskets to allow a safe place for your food to be transported from one
place to another. (Goody). Some of the foods can be stored without preparation using cold or dry
air. The composition of food is the use of many different ingredients for things such as spices.

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They are many backing techniques to prepare your food correctly but they are very useful to
people who want to enjoy the delectable treats that they get to eat.
Creating art with food is among one of the many skills that is acquired in culinary arts.
Chefs usually work on the taste of food adding different flavors to make the taste more bearable.
Spices can be added to bring the taste out but some dishes such as chili are not favored by some
people because of the excessive hotness and bold flavors. Most people look for the flavor of
spices, or other condiments, it allows them to explore their mind and taste giving them the ability
to understand different emotions caused by food. The improved foods that are enjoyed by people
are things such as ginger, a dash of pepper, mint, and other light seasonings or toppings to go
onto their food(Symons). Not only the taste but the visual of food is very important to a person’s
appeal. Food can be viewed as many different things depending on how you like your taste but as
long as people are creating new and interesting ways their always should be something for you to
enjoy.
There are many different types of positions for the chef whether it is a high or low
ranking. The head of all chefs is the executive chef meaning he is the one that is in charge of
everyone (Bolling).The executive chef plans the recipes on the menus and begins to run most of
what goes on in the restaurant as they start the day. The sous chef works directly below as the
secondary he is an assistant to the executive chef (Bolling). Chef de partie can be referred to as a
line cook. They usually prepare sauces, vegetables, or delightful pastries. The chef titles come
from a French brigade system so it is important to know all of the titles to become a correct chef.
There are different varieties of chefs such as Pastry, Vegetable, Grill, and much more, which
help us to have some of the delicious meals that are created today.

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Different utensils are used for different types of foods every day, allowing preparation so
everything is perfect. There are only two different types of measuring utensils, measuring cups,
and measuring spoons (Davis). Measuring spoons are small and are usually used for things like
vanilla or salt, while measuring cups are used for larger amounts such as flour or thicker types of
mixes (Davis). Mixing equipment’s are used to mix ingredients together well and more smooth.
There are many different types of mixers, are ones such as electric stand mixers or whisks.
Electric stand mixers are very powerful and are the ideal mixers for things such as icing. Whisks
are used for minor stirring that are things such as puddings, whipped cream, and even
seasonings. Chefs have many different types of useful tools allowing them to make everything to
the best and easiest that they can in the littlest time.
The nutrition of your food is very important to consider, it helps you obtain a healthy
weight and life style and makes you feel better as a person. Overcooking food can cause a loss of
vitamins in the food that are very essential to a person’s body. Boiling foods is one of the most
effective ways to lose those vitamins, some vitamins are water soluble (Beolcke). Steaming the
food is one of the most nutritional ways to keep vitamins in; it steams the food and heats it
allowing not much of the water to escape into the food and keeping the vitamins in with very
little steam surrounding it. Using a crock pot, or slow cooking can cause vitamins to be destroyed
with the amount of water that it sits in and time it takes to cook the food. Microwaving is one of
the best ways to cook; usually people do not add much water so it keeps the important vitamins
in (Beolcke). Nutrition is very important for people’s health and it saves you from having to deal
with many problems in your medical life.
The difference of organic and inorganic foods have various opinions on what the truth is,
giving it your own opinion on a healthy lifestyle. Organic food is food that is not a loud to have

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chemicals or cannot be altered in any way meaning that it is basically the healthiest natural
choice. Inorganic food can be crossbred to make the flavor different by allowing chemicals in the
fruits and vegetables. Genetically engineered fruits have synthetic chemicals that allow them to
grow faster so that it allows the farmers to obtain their cropsfaster and more often throughout the
year. Organic foods usually taste better sincethey are more natural and have no chemicals and are
created with organic soils instead of all of those harmful chemicals which overtime will hurt the
body. Although some people may disagree against thiseveryone has to agree on the healthier
choice is always the better choice.
Being a chef you have to know more than people expect as they see the life of a chef.
Chefs have to know more than just cooking in the kitchen they have to know how to manage
other chefs and make sure all jobs are done correctly (Page).It does not usually require a degree
or business management training to become a chef, but it will bring some competitors out along
the way. Being promoted to the sous chef allows you to be working directly under the executive
chef and letting you work with the executive chef, giving you the ability to help them.
Head chefs meet with other salesmen to make orders and deliveries for their future inventory. They
government states that all chefs are required to have a health certificate that states that they are free of
communicable diseases. Chefs are required to have cooking and administration skills, and must have very
strict cleanliness for themselves and their kitchen (Page). Chefs have many important jobs to do when it
comes to keeping up with the entire busy restaurant.