Cook vs. Chef in Controversy, opinions, etc.

Read a rather dim-witted article in Esquire today What Does the Word "Chef" Even Mean Anymore?, and it left me once again shaking my head in bewilderment.

Someone with a degree from an accredited culinary arts school is a chef. Anyone else, no matter how talented and creative in the kitchen, is a cook. It's akin to being an accountant vs. a bookkeeper. The former needs the degree, while anyone with a talent for ledgers and numbers can call themselves a bookkeeper. And like most professions, just having the degree doesn't necessarily mean you are good at something! The world is full of bad lawyers, doctors, and yes, chefs, too.

The industry itself is probably to blame, not having protected the title more to reserve the respect it deserves. But if someone decides to call themselves chef, they had better be prepared to produce credentials to back up the claim. It's always the first question out of my mouth when someone says they are a chef, the same way you'd ask someone who says they are a doctor where they went to medical school.

I have the greatest respect for anyone who learned to produce delicious, creative dishes by working their way up through a kitchen, but it's not the same as a culinary arts degree.