Welcome to tonight's Legendary Lives. I'm Shirley Morgan. Tonight, we are quite honored to invite David Hopkins, a well known chef with 30 years of cooking experience. Last year, his new book, Secrets in the Kitchen got on a New York Times best seller list for 6 months. Welcome to our program, David.
Hello, Shirley, it's a pleasure to be here.
David, I can't wait to see you uncovered a formulas for dishes. Exploring the How's and why's of cooking. Before that, may I ask you a question? What's the difference between a chef and a cook?
I think cooks generally work at entry level jobs. They work at different places in the kitchen and follow recipes. In contrast, chefs have special training and understand better which food goes well together, so they can invent new recipes.
I see, a chef is the cook, who has completed a professional course while a cook it's basically any person who cooks food. By the way, how do you become a chef?
I am trained. 95% is about professional training and the other 5% is about talent.
Would you mind describing us a day of a chef? We're so curious about that.
Nothing special, I generally go to work 2 hours before service starts. The night before, I've written the lists of all the things we need to prepare the next day. I work in different roles depending on what is needed.
Challenging. How long do you work everyday?
10 to 12 hours a day.
An almost full time job! Do you have any tips for average cooks, like me?
Cooking involves your passion and creativity. Kitchen is never a place to chop vegetables, and have a quick breakfast. It is good to make food that people really enjoy.
I can't agree with you more. Miracles happen in the kitchen. Thanks for joining us, David.
My pleasure.