Episode Overview
In this solo episode, André Natera examines a question that sounds simple but cuts to the heart of professional culinary culture: what actually makes someone a chef? The title gets thrown around freely in an era where social media, food content creation, and the democratization of cooking have blurred a line that used to be much clearer. Not everyone who cooks is a chef. Not every person with a chef title has earned what the word once meant. And the dilution of the designation has real consequences for the people who have.
He covers where the term comes from, what it historically required to earn it, how the culinary industry has changed what it signifies in practice, and whether the distinctions still matter. It is a direct, opinion-led episode that will resonate with anyone who has worked hard enough in a professional kitchen to have an opinion on who deserves to be called a chef.
Topics covered in this episode:
- What the title of chef historically meant and what it required to earn it
- Why the term gets thrown around so freely today and what has changed to make that possible
- Whether all people who call themselves chefs are the same and what distinguishes them
- How social media and food content culture have affected what chef means in public perception
- The consequences of diluting the designation for the people who have genuinely earned it
- Where the line actually is between a cook and a chef and why it still matters
- André’s direct take on what makes someone a chef and what does not
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