Gordon Ramsay Explains What Sets Great Chefs Apart From the Rest

Gordon Ramsay Explains What Sets Great Chefs Apart From the Rest
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What's the difference between a good chef and a great chef? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world..

Answer by Gordon Ramsay, MasterClass Professor, Award Winning Chef, on Quora:

What's the difference between a good chef and a great chef? The level of sensitivity on their palate. There is a defined level of perfection and the ability to maximize an ingredient and the flavor of that raw ingredient. Great chefs have the ability to make edits on the plate where they know to say stop. They know that something is utterly perfection. The insecurities of a good chef cause you to finish a dish with endless microgreens, herbs, and purees that have no relevance.

Great chefs know how to edit themselves. A good chef will spend years pondering on where to stop and where to draw that line. Good chefs can become great chefs. It depends on the level of discipline and level of search, development, creativity, how you push yourself. To become a great chef, it's not about earning money and the highest salary, it's about striving for that level of perfection.

In the MasterClass, I talk about the night the Michelin guy sat me down in 2001 and told me I had achieved the highest accolade in cooking with 3 Michelin stars in the forthcoming guide. I knew then that I had won 3 Michelin stars, but the hardest job is maintaining them. Fifteen years later they are there, so that's my benchmark.

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