Do We Have Younger Exec Chefs?

While I was watching "Secrets of Louisville Chefs" the other night (I DVR it), it struck me that a number of our area's executive or head chefs are quite young, the latest example being Cafe Metro's Scott Werkmeister who is less than two years, I believe, out of Sullivan and spent most of his professional career as a personal chef to folks who certainly have a heckuva lot more money that I do. He is not the first of a group of seemingly young food studs in our area.

For those of you in the know, is our area unusual in this regard?

By the way, if you're unfamiliar with "Secrets of Louisville Chefs," I highly recommend it. It airs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on WBKI-34 at 9:30 am with a repeat at 11:30 pm. On Mondays and Wednesdays they feature a restaurant in town with their chef cooking up some favorite recipes in their own kitchens. Not only do I get some good cooking hints, I often get a glimpse into the chef's preferences and styles, which I use as a factor in deciding whether to visit the establishment if I'm unfamiliar with it. This is particularly true on Fridays when the show is "Live" from a kitchen at Sullivan with Dean Corbett doing one great hosting job! I highly recommend the show.

I think that it depends on the establishment rather than the geographics. I was an executive chef at a very young age, because I was willing to do anything, move anywhere and didn't care about money as much as getting ahead. These days many of the culinary grads from Sullivan already have a culinary career before starting their education. Culinary just like any other profession is about talent and timing. I can not speak for the chef you mentioned but I know Nancy takes on chefs with youth and talent and helps to develop them even further. If a chef can find that type of restaurant owner they can move ahead quickly.

Young chefs are a must. The older ones retire no matter how much they love it. they earned the right to.