I would never make it as a professional chef. Despite a love of hands-on cooking and sharing food, it's a life I could never cope with. It seems an extraordinary life and is partly why I hold chefs in such esteem, and why I respect what they do, day in, day out.
Others take to life on the range rather well. But why? What make someone want to do a job that involves being at work when the rest of the world is at play. The fact that it is not for everyone is quite clear; it is an industry full of young people. Look into most professional kitchens and you will wonder where everyone goes when they reach middle age. And it is well known that some of the most famous chefs in the world no longer do much hands-on cooking. In this issue, we ask chefs in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s what it is that keeps them in the kitchen.
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