The first mention of a chef in the recorded history of the western world is of Marcus Apicius, in the 4th century AD. Apicius wrote what is now believed to be the oldest known cookbook in existence, Apicius de re Coquinaria. What makes this book (scroll actually) truly exceptional for its day (and of great interest to modern-day chefs) is that it was specifically written for professional cooks working in the Roman Empire. The book reflects the cuisine of the times and how it was prepared, which, as one would expect, was drastically different from that of today-much of the cooking was done out of doors, for example, over fire pits or in clay and stone ovens.

Interestingly, much of the information on the chefs of antiquity comes from themselves, in the books they wrote or journals they kept. The next such work appears almost a millennium later by Taillevent, which was actually an alias; his real name was Guillaume Tirel. Taillevent lived from about 1312-1395, during which he was the chef to King Charles V of France. He published his book, Le Viandier in 1380. Like his predecessor, Taillevent draws a clear picture of what the people (royalties mostly) ate during his time. As was the pattern for generations to come, much of what was cooked was highly seasoned and/or manipulated to the point of its original state not being recognizable. Because of the lack of proper storage much of what was cooked, no doubt, was already stale or tainted. Thus the heavy use of spices would camouflage undesirable flavors and smells, and because tableware was not yet known in France, most food was cut or pounded into small pieces-or even mashed-making it easier to eat with their hands or a crude utensil.

To truly understand the daily activities of the cooks and chefs of ancient times one must first consider their physical surroundings. Modern conveniences that are too often taken for granted were non-existent. Consider the significance of these most basic items we have today: electricity, gas, and plumbing. There was no refrigeration, nor was there running water. Cooking was done in front of or over live fires; ovens, of course, were also heated in this manner. There were no exhaust fans for the cooking fires-medieval kitchens often had turret style roofs, which had open windows at the top to allow the escape of heat, steam, and smoke. Actually, many of these modern necessities didn't come about until fairly recently, within the last hundred years or so. While major controllable equipment such as stoves and refrigeration probably come to mind, think of some of the smaller appliances that we have come to use on a daily basis. Try to imagine if you will what it would have been like to make forcemeat without an electric meat grinder, or how it would have been to purée a soup or sauce without a food processor. And baking delicate pastry in a wood-fired oven is a task to be reveled. Even lighting would have been challenging-once the daylight faded into night the staff had to rely on the light of candles, torches, and cooking fires. Even today with modern equipment, as most will concur, quality cooking takes time, and one can only imagine the labor that was involved in the day to day operations of the kitchens of yesteryear.

Because the importance of French cuisine is paramount in modern cooking it is often thought of as the original cuisine, and early Italian influences are sometimes forgotten. During the Renaissance, for example, when the Italian culture flourished, so too did its cuisine. During that period there were such instrumental chefs as Martino (1500's), who had some of his recipes immortalized in a book entitled De honesta voluptate et valetudine (Of Honest Indulgence and Good Health), which was actually the work of Platina, a noted philosopher of his day. There was also Bartolomeo Scapppi (1600's), who published his book Opera in 1570. Scappi's book is known to this day for its detailed information using both text and drawings. However, one of the main influences specifically on French cuisine from Italy was brought about by a marriage. In the year 1533 the Italian princess Caterina de Medici married the Duc d'Orleans, who would later become Henri II. This was a wise political move at the time, no doubt, and a culinary one, too. The refined princess brought with her to France her Florentine chefs, who influenced French fare greatly. The Italian chefs simplified the existing cuisine with much more delicate and subtle spicing, and also brought with them a few items that at the time were considered curiosities in France, such as flatware and spinach. To this day menu items that contain spinach are often referred to as à la Florentine.

The chef that is most often cited as being the founder of haute cuisine is Pierre Francois de La Varenne (1615-1678). The period of La Varenne is often considered the turning point of cuisine, the ending of medieval cuisine and the beginning of classic French. Spicing food was lessened greatly, and the basics of modern sauces were founded during this period. La Varenne was also a prolific author, most notably Le Cuisinier François, and possibly Le Patissier Français, an encyclopedic tome on French pastries. It was also during this period (1671) that the famed chef Vatel-Prince de Condé's chef-committed suicide by thrusting himself upon his own sword. Apparently he had just been told that only a portion of his fish had arrived that day, which was designated for a feast that evening. Sadly, shortly after he was found dead the remainder of the delivery is said to have arrived.

Undoubtedly, one of the most important occurrences in modern cuisine-and more specifically to the chef's occupation-happened not because of a culinary reason, but a political one-the French Revolution. It is because of the revolution that public restaurants came into existence when they did; the French Revolution was not only a political upheaval, it was a culinary one as well. Before the revolution most notable chefs worked for royalty in their private houses. The revolution began in 1789 and with it came social changes and the fall of the aristocrat. Prior to the revolution there were many restrictions that were enforced by specific guilds, and at the time restaurants did not exist; they were more like inns-places for weary travelers. A man named Boulanger was the first to own a public establishment that would eventually be called a "restaurant," it was in Paris in the rue des Poulie; the restaurant opened in 1765, but it was short-lived. He sold mainly soups and stews-because of taxes and other restrictions of the day, and referred to them as his restoratives. Hence the word restaurant. Inscribed on the sign of Boulanger's business it stated in lighthearted Latin: "Venite ad me; vos qui stomacho laboratis et ego restorabo vos" (Come to me, you whose stomach labors, and I will restore you). After the revolution most of the guilds with their restrictive rulings were abolished; this offered much more opportunity for craftspeople of all trades. Many more establishments opened and they served a larger variety of foods; the name stuck and the businesses themselves were called "restaurants." The fare that was offered at these restaurants was often written down and began to be referred to as the à la carte, the precursor to today's menu (in French a menu is still referred to as "la carte."). After the revolution the royalty that once supported a large personal staff could no longer do so. Suddenly all across France chefs found themselves out of work. Many of the chefs left France, and some opened their own restaurants. It was also during this period that one of the most influential chefs in history emerged-Marie-Antoine Carême (1783-1833).

Born just before the revolution began, Marie-Antoine Carême (or Antonin, as he called himself) is somewhat of a success story. At the age of ten his own father who was too poor to care for the boy cast him into the streets of Paris. As luck would have it young Carême knocked on the door of a modest cookshop, where he was taken in and fed, it is also where he began his culinary education by doing a six-year apprenticeship. Carême then went to work for Bailly, who was one of the most famous pâtissiers of the day. A gifted cook and fast learner, Carême quickly attracted the attention of Prince de Talleyrand, who soon employed him as his chef. Carême is usually credited as the founder of cuisine classique. He was the first to systematically organize the many dishes and culinary techniques in classical cooking. A prolific author, his many books reflect his skill for detail and organization. His books would be the benchmark in fine cuisine for almost a century. Carême was also a gifted artist, which was reflected in his elaborate buffets that were usually multi-tiered and included ornate sculptures. But unfortunately, Carême lived a short and intense life. He was no doubt, a workaholic and would often rise at 3 am to begin work; he'd work all day and evening, then write until the wee hours of the following morning. Carême wrote many of his books late in life while he was ill. In this epic passage he wrote about the lives and working conditions of chefs at the time, and makes reference to his own mortality "Charcoal [smoke] kills us, but what does it matter? The shorter the life, the greater the glory."

During the same period as Carême, Alexis Soyer prospered, and is considered the original celebrity chef. Flamboyant and prankish in both dress and attitude, Alexis Soyer-a Frenchman who spent much of his working life at the Reform Club in London-was a philanthropist at heart, and was as much an inventor as he was chef. In addition to developing inexpensive and nutritious recipes for the poor and working class, he orchestrated soup kitchens in Ireland to feed the poor during the potato famine. He also has a few books to his credit, and invented everything from portable stoves-on such design was used by the British army for more than 90 years-to gadgets such as sink stoppers, coffee pots, and even an egg cooker. He was a true Renaissance man of his day. However, his ego surfaces not only in the names of his retail bottled sauces-Soyer's Sauce, Soyer's Nectar, Soyer's Relish-but also in the grandiose name of his elaborately decorated, yet short-lived restaurant-the Gastronomic Symposium of All Nations.

Throughout the history of the chef, none is more famous than August Escoffier. His name is synonymous with classic and modern cuisine, and the techniques described in his books-primarily in Le Guide Culinaire-are still the benchmark for fine cooking today. Like Carême, Escoffier began working at a young age-age 13 at his uncles restaurant in Nice, France, not far from the village of his birth, Villeneuve-Loubet (the house where he was born is now a culinary museum), but unlike his predecessor, he never worked for private households; he spent his career in restaurants and grand hotels. Escoffier is credited with streamlining, simplifying, and codifying classical cuisine. Though the thing that he is most remembered for in professional kitchens is the development of the brigade system. Today, of course, in most à la carte restaurants this system is streamlined even further and simply called "the line." Always a gentleman, Escoffier would rather walk away from a tense situation than show a loss of control, and that's exactly what he did. Rather than scream at one of his cooks (a practice that was commonplace during his day, and, unfortunately, not so uncommon today), Escoffier would leave the kitchen until he "cooled off." Escoffier always promoted professionalism with his cooks and peers, and this included how they dressed. The cleanliness of a cook's uniform was very important to him, his staff was required to maintain clean and complete uniforms while on the job, and were encouraged to wear coats and ties while not at work. Though a Frenchman, most of Escoffier's adult life was spent working abroad, primarily in London with the infamous hotelier Caésar Ritz. After more than six decades in the kitchen, at age 73 Escoffier retired to Monte Carlo to be with his wife and children. He lived there until his death in 1935.

Shortly before Escoffier's death, in 1929, one of the largest and most influential culinary organizations in the world was formed: The American Culinary Federation. It was formed in New York City by the conglomeration of three organizations-The Societe Culinaire Philanthropique, The Vatel Club, and The Chef's Association of America. The main focus in forming the ACF is as true today as it was in its infancy-to promote a professional image of the American chef. It's not surprising then, that one of the ACF's founding members, and first president, was a student of Escoffier-Charles Sotto, who at the time was the chef at the Hotel Pierre in NYC. The first issue of The Culinary Review was printed in October of 1932. Chef Sotto remained president until his untimely death in 1937.

In the second half of the twentieth century chefs began to prepare food lighter and even simpler than it had been before. This style of cuisine became to be known as cuisine nouvelle, and was spearheaded by a group of young French chefs; mainly, Paul Bocuse, Jean and Pierre Troigros, Alain Chapel, Francois Bise, Louis Outhier, Michel Guérard, and Roger Vérge. Most of the chefs were protégé of the infamous Fernand Point (1897-1955), who owned the restaurant, La Pyramide, in Vienne, France. Not only did he simplify Escoffier's classic cuisine, thus laying the groundwork for cuisine nouvelle, he was also the first chef to enter the dining room and speak directly with patrons on a nightly basis. Point strove to use the finest raw ingredients and focused fiercely on technique, thus influencing the next generation to develop cuisine nouvelle, which was also based on these principles.

With electricity and gas perfected in the first half of the century, chefs and cooks soon saw technological advancements that were beyond comprehension, bringing forth appliances and tools that are commonplace today-food processors, convection ovens, gas grills, blenders, freezers, slicers, microwaves, etc. Another new development, which eventually would change our profession, is the television. In 1946, when television was in its infancy, James Beard began to teach through this brand-new medium. Later he opened a cooking school in his Greenwich Village brownstone, and for more than 30 years espoused the significance of American cuisine. Often referred to as the grandfather of American cuisine, his former residence is now the headquarters of The James Beard Foundation. And when Julia Child hit the airwaves in the 1960's she showed the entire nation how to cook French cuisine; through her books and television shows she brought much publicity to the craft of being a chef.

Though James Beard promoted American cuisine since the 1940's, the cuisine of our country usually wasn't taken seriously; when one thought of fine cuisine it was undoubtedly French. But in the early 1970's a young graduate student, who was longing for the food she had grown to love during a sojourn in France, opened a restaurant and cooked it herself, to "serve to her friends." The student's name is Alice Waters, and the restaurant is Chez Panisse. Originally her menus were entirely French, and eventually became more Anglicized. From the beginning she has focused solely on the quality of seasonal ingredients while using French technique. Alice Waters and the staff at Chez Panisse-which over the years has included such culinary luminaries as Jeremiah Towers, Joyce Goldstein, Paul Bertolli, and Mark Miller-were the first in our country to truly strive for the chef/farmer connection, and to genuinely search out and use foods exclusively in season and locally grown. Today this is such a focus with chefs that "in season, locally grown" could be considered our mantra. Around this time-1976 to be exact-the United States Department of Labor officially changed the chef's occupation from an unskilled position to professional, and within the next ten years the culinary scene in our country would literally explode. The late 1970's and early 1980's gave way to the celebrity chef in America, which began with Austrian-born Wolfgang Puck (the list of current "celebrity chefs" is far too lengthy to list). Today, with the proliferation of chef-written cookbooks and cooking shows the occupation as chef has been brought into the public's eye. No longer must we toil in dark basement or oppressive kitchens-restaurants are now considered a form of entertainment, thus the prevalence of open kitchens.

A chef today has far more opportunities than ever before. Wages are higher, working conditions have greatly improved, and though a constant battle, statistically even working hours are becoming shorter. New technologies emerge everyday, such as computers and induction cooking, and we as culinarians are progressing, too. Chefs are respected business people and sought after entrepreneurs. Fine cuisine is not just French any longer; cuisines from every culture around the globe are being explored and offered by American chefs. Of course, many more chefs than mentioned in this article contributed to our profession, and for every well-known chef there are countless chefs and cooks who go unheeded, but none less vital. Now is one of the best and most opportune times in history to be a chef, and we have our forefathers to thank for that.