chef certification?????

Question

how do you officially get a chef designation in canada. or is it universal throughout north america/world?

do you have to take a test? a certain hours of work experience? is it only certified under one institution?

it can't be as flaky as working in a kitchen, in that case anyone could lie and say they are a chef. if i got a culinary arts degree i can't come out saying im a chef, there has to be some sort of standard...shouldn't there?

Answer 1

A Chef just refers to someone that oversee's and or manages a kitchens production, so in general terms, there is no "certification" necessary to be called a chef. If you are wanting to become a specific type of chef (pastry, sous, or executive chef) then training and coursework would be required. In the US anyway, you can attend a 2 year culinary school, and obtain an AS Degree in culinary arts. This would of course be the first step. THen from there you could specialize in a specific cuisine, or other facet of cooking (baking, desserts, sauces, ect.) There is no one specific entity responsible for licensing a "Chef" it is learned and earned through schooling, and practical work experience.

Answer 2

I guess a real chef can fill you in with a better answer, but I was curious about "what is a chef" a few years ago and did some research where I found the term chef is a generic term for someone that oversees a kitchen and it's staff and that there isn't really a "test" or license you take to become a chef. It's earned through on-the-job training and moving up in the restaurant.

Earning a culinary arts degree just means that you know some basics, but it doesn't make you a chef.

Edit...
From the TV Show Top Chef, Casey, Dale, Tre list in their bio that they are self-taught (no culinary degree) so they worked their way up through a restaurant.

Yes, the chef term can used very loosely. For example, if you worked in your parent's restaurant and planned the menu, cooked and ran the kitchen, then you can call yourself a "chef".

There is not set standard of cooking to be a chef. That's why the skills on the Top Chef TV show varied widely.

Also, some people claim, as another way of defining the word, that a chef is someone who works professionally as a cook.