Is being a chef the most dangerous profession?

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
It's so easy to actually forget what I've eaten during the course of a day. Chefs 'hug a wall' when it's time to eat. In other words, you wait till you don't have a ticket in front of you, grab a plate or bowl or even a paper towel...and find a space of wall to lean against in the kitchen...and then eat what you can before the next ticket is sent. If you didn't finish it, you toss it because there is no place to save anything partially eaten. 2-3 hours later, you might do it again. Work a 10 hour shift and you do that several times a day with no memory of what you ate earlier.
If you work during the day, you go home to a house with no food in the refrigerator except some things you bought for the last meal you prepared there, probably a week or so ago. You have all sorts of neat stuff in the dry pantry but no ambition to prepare it. You have cheese, good cheese, because we all have cheese because we all love cheese...and we have some pretty interesting crackers. And we have booze - could be beer, wine or something from the hard liquor family. So, if you don't do take out, you have a dinner of booze, good cheese and crackers.
If you work a dinner shift, you almost always go out after work for cocktails and anything that is being served in the after hours place.

Family meal is a great diversion from all this....The entire kitchen/wait staff eats something together before service. Sometimes it's healthy, but many times it's what available or about to be lost. When you can manage family meal, it's a great 20 minutes.
What you do eat when you grab some wall isn't the beautiful food the resasurant serves, either. It's overcooked, undercooked, incorrectly cut, over sauced, stale, dry, too salty, not spiced enough.... In other words, we eat the mistakes.

And then you do it all over again for 325 days a year.
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
i suppose. most any job/career can be a health risk, tho.
in cooking-land, there's food abound, & often u get to dine on it (@ the end of the workday/take it home after closing) if it is gonna get thrown away, anyhow.
& u hafta try your food; u cannot blindly serve a food sans knowing how it is, not knowing if it's any good or if the seasoning needs adjusting, etc. & how would a Chef describe/suggest a dish he/she hasn't tried it, themselves, if a customer requests personal thoughs on it from them.

& cooks/Chefs/kitchen staff often convene despite being exhausted after work. they oft drink & nosh on bar food.. excessively, sometimes, if not often. we sure did. during school, we'd get lunch & drink. addt.'l calories. i weighed my very, very highest in 2009 from working/school combined.
@ 1 place i've worked, it was rather leisurely before we opened, & we'd sample food during prep @ this 1 job where we catered as much as we liked. one place i worked fed me before they opened even when i wasn't on the schedule for that shift because i'd head there before classes began.

as bam said, moderation.
 
This is an interesting read especially with the news this week that Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/19/is-being-chef-most-dangerous-profession/

Well, dear Paula is an entity unto herself.

Not every chef or cooking personality is known for their unhealthy menus like dear Paula.

And the ONLY reason she's admitted the diabetes is because of her deal with the drug company who's providing her with her meds. I find that extremely sad.

As a friend of mine said - whenever I see pics of her or her son (who now has a show dedicated to healthifying his mother's recipes), I automatically see nothing but dollar signs in her eyes.

Wonder how Paula's husband feels about this, since he's built like a Zeppelin as well.
 

LETHAL GTS

New member
It's so easy to actually forget what I've eaten during the course of a day. Chefs 'hug a wall' when it's time to eat. In other words, you wait till you don't have a ticket in front of you, grab a plate or bowl or even a paper towel...and find a space of wall to lean against in the kitchen...and then eat what you can before the next ticket is sent. If you didn't finish it, you toss it because there is no place to save anything partially eaten. 2-3 hours later, you might do it again. Work a 10 hour shift and you do that several times a day with no memory of what you ate earlier.
If you work during the day, you go home to a house with no food in the refrigerator except some things you bought for the last meal you prepared there, probably a week or so ago. You have all sorts of neat stuff in the dry pantry but no ambition to prepare it. You have cheese, good cheese, because we all have cheese because we all love cheese...and we have some pretty interesting crackers. And we have booze - could be beer, wine or something from the hard liquor family. So, if you don't do take out, you have a dinner of booze, good cheese and crackers.
If you work a dinner shift, you almost always go out after work for cocktails and anything that is being served in the after hours place.

Family meal is a great diversion from all this....The entire kitchen/wait staff eats something together before service. Sometimes it's healthy, but many times it's what available or about to be lost. When you can manage family meal, it's a great 20 minutes.
What you do eat when you grab some wall isn't the beautiful food the resasurant serves, either. It's overcooked, undercooked, incorrectly cut, over sauced, stale, dry, too salty, not spiced enough.... In other words, we eat the mistakes.

And then you do it all over again for 325 days a year.

I can only imagine.:cooking:
 

Bells

New member
Well, dear Paula is an entity unto herself.

Not every chef or cooking personality is known for their unhealthy menus like dear Paula.

And the ONLY reason she's admitted the diabetes is because of her deal with the drug company who's providing her with her meds. I find that extremely sad.

As a friend of mine said - whenever I see pics of her or her son (who now has a show dedicated to healthifying his mother's recipes), I automatically see nothing but dollar signs in her eyes.

Wonder how Paula's husband feels about this, since he's built like a Zeppelin as well.
Paula Deen missed an incredible opportunity to do good. She could have lost the weight (even reversing her diabetes) created healthy recipes and educated people. You have no idea how many people don't know that their weight is the deciding factor (esp belly fat). Most are actually very surprised when they are diagnosed. Instead, she chose to sign a contract with a drug company. I wonder how much money that was worth.

I know this sounds harsh but I have no respect for her. She reaped what she sowed. I hope she enjoys the money because no amount of money will buy her health back. At least she will be able to afford her drugs, eh.

Sorry for my rant but my latest nutrition course is an upgrading and it is all about the obesity epidemic and the type 2 diabetes epidemic that is skyrocketing with it. All of us are in intense debate over the causes and possible solutions. It's getting ugly.lol
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Paula Deen missed an incredible opportunity to do good. She could have lost the weight (even reversing her diabetes) created healthy recipes and educated people. You have no idea how many people don't know that their weight is the deciding factor (esp belly fat). Most are actually very surprised when they are diagnosed. Instead, she chose to sign a contract with a drug company. I wonder how much money that was worth.

I know this sounds harsh but I have no respect for her. She reaped what she sowed. I hope she enjoys the money because no amount of money will buy her health back. At least she will be able to afford her drugs, eh.

Sorry for my rant but my latest nutrition course is an upgrading and it is all about the obesity epidemic and the type 2 diabetes epidemic that is skyrocketing with it. All of us are in intense debate over the causes and possible solutions. It's getting ugly.lol

No offense intended but I put little faith in nutrition trained individuals. The secret is not really a secret, exercise and eating in moderation an all around diet. I might add that look at the stuff added to our food source of late. Our meats pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones, vegetables and fruits sprayed with god knows what. It is no wonder so many happen to have health problems today eating man made products in place of the things people have always eaten. Just my opinion on this.
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
joe, nutritionists i mistrust. regestered certified liscenced dieticans- the good ones- i trust. some people call themselves both sans the license, etc.
& meat is readily available sans hormones & antibiotics, as is dairy. i get it all the time.
 
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joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
joe, nutritionists i mistrust. regestered dieticans- the good ones- i trust.

& meat is readily available sans hormones & antibiotics, as is dairy. i get it all the time.

I do too but pay premium prices in many cases for it and sure can't get it in the average grocery store. I actually buy my meat while it is still on its feet breathing as I tend to buy 1/2 to whole animals. My chicken comes from Amish farmers only in my area with the rest coming from Whole Foods and other sources of fresh locally grown foods which we have a few of around here. To me all Walmart food stores are good for is buying ketchup and other condiments.
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
yeah, that's why i shop where is shop. haven't gone to a wal-mart in years, lol, i almost forgot it existed. i have bought pop a few times & sorbet & bagels once from tarjay tho. i could get beef from my extended family's farm, tho haven't the space for a side of beef.
 

rickismom

Low Carb Home Cook
Site Supporter
Paula should have seen it coming with her cooking style so I'm really not surprised...I just hope she has the skill & willpower to change her ways. Hey! maybe that's why her son Bobby has his new show, "Not My Momma's Meals" - he takes her recipes and cuts the fat & calories :)
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Paula should have seen it coming with her cooking style so I'm really not surprised...I just hope she has the skill & willpower to change her ways. Hey! maybe that's why her son Bobby has his new show, "Not My Momma's Meals" - he takes her recipes and cuts the fat & calories :)

You know, for some reason I think most of cooking on the her TV shows was mostly just shtick. I have doubts about a lot of these cooking shows in general especially on FN in that department. Most seem now to be more about the celebrity than the actual cooking. At any rate one would think if she has been a diabetic for any length of time she is pretty much on a diet for it.
 
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