My Story – Jeffrey R. Gear President AITC / TChef http://technicalchefs.com/

Jealousy in the Kitchen: When Ego Undermines the Craft

Jealousy has no place in a professional kitchen—yet it still lingers in corners of our industry. Not always spoken aloud, often disguised as superiority, sarcasm, or dismissal. It shows itself when one chef looks down on another because of where they work rather than how they work.

This mindset is not only outdated—it is damaging.

A Kitchen Is a Kitchen—The Craft Remains the Same

Working in a five-star hotel does not make you a better chef than someone working in a hospital, aged care home, childcare centre, school, mine site, or community kitchen.
It makes you different, not greater.

The truth is simple:
A professional chef is defined by skill, discipline, integrity, and care—not by linen tablecloths or Michelin aspirations.

Every sector demands excellence:

  • Hospitals demand precision, nutrition, food safety, and consistency—often under clinical scrutiny.
  • Aged care demands compassion, texture modification expertise, dignity, and trust.
  • Childcare demands safety, nutrition education, allergy management, and responsibility for developing bodies.
  • Hotels and fine dining demand creativity, pace, theatre, and guest experience.

Each environment challenges a chef in different ways, and mastery in one does not diminish mastery in another.

The False Hierarchy of Kitchens

Some chefs cling to a false hierarchy—believing that high-end restaurants sit at the top and all else sits below. This belief often comes not from confidence, but from insecurity.

Because a confident chef does not need to belittle another.

Jealousy creeps in when:

  • A chef sees another succeed outside their chosen path
  • A cook demonstrates depth of knowledge they didn’t expect
  • Someone gains respect without chasing prestige

Rather than learning from one another, ego builds walls.

Experience Is Not Linear—It Is Cumulative

I have been privileged in my career to work across five-star hospitality, private service for royalty, medical catering, and aged care.
Each environment taught me something the others could not.

What I learned most of all is this:

A chef who stops learning becomes stale—regardless of where they work.

Growth does not come from clinging to one sector and dismissing the rest. It comes from humility, curiosity, and respect for the craft in all its forms.

Some of the most skilled, organised, and disciplined chefs I have met do not work in fine dining—but their kitchens feed hundreds, sometimes thousands, safely and consistently every single day.

That is not lesser work.
That is professional mastery.

Professionalism Over Pride

A true professional chef:

  • Respects all colleagues, regardless of setting
  • Understands that food impacts lives, not egos
  • Knows the weight of responsibility behind every plate
  • Uplifts the profession instead of dividing it

We are one trade, not rival tribes.

The guest, patient, resident, or child does not care about your résumé—they care about the food you serve and the care behind it.

Unity Is Strength—Not Weakness

Jealousy fractures our profession.
Respect strengthens it.

If we want chefs to be taken seriously, valued properly, and supported across all sectors, we must first respect each other.

There is no shame in where you work.
There is only shame in thinking you are better than someone who works differently.

The Measure of a Chef

The measure of a chef is not:

  • The star rating on the door
  • The price of the menu
  • The ego carried into the kitchen

The measure of a chef is:

  • Skill
  • Integrity
  • Consistency
  • Compassion
  • Willingness to keep learning

Those qualities exist in every corner of hospitality.

And when we recognise that—jealousy fades, professionalism rises, and the trade becomes stronger for everyone.