July 25 2017 (Tuesday) 
Today is Culinarians Day. A “culinarian” is a “cook.” Or, if you like, “chef.”
I’ve mentioned recently that my family had three restaurants in Houston when I was growing up. The highest paid person at each place was the cook.
Behind one of the restaurants was a huge oven in which the cook baked pies. Oh, those pies were great. The inside of the oven reminded me of the chick incubator that I later saw in the feed store where I worked while in the seminary. They both worked on the same principle. Shelves extended from a hub that slowly turned, like a Ferris wheel. Inside the temperature was hot for the pies. The incubator inside was warm with controlled humidity for the chicks. Both appliances worked on the same principle of revolving shelves.
The left picture shows how the old style worked. On the right is today’s version.
In old-time cafes, the server (waitress, waiter) would call out an order so that it could be heard in the kitchen, and the cook would repeat it to make sure the cook and server were on the same page. A little better arrangement was when the server wrote down the order on a slip of paper and the cook would take it from there. Some places did it both ways at the same time. Some restaurants today have entered the digital age, and the order is placed on the computer, then relayed to the computer in the kitchen.
All the cooks are not in the restaurants. Many are at home. A lot of us grew up eating at home with a family around the table. My favorite meal that Mother prepared was steak, mashed potatoes and gravy. Occasionally there would be strawberry short cake. When I lived with my grandparents, my grandmother made plenty of home-made biscuits, turnip greens, peas, beans, and cornbread. “Not much meat–those were Depression days. When she made cookies, she called them, “teacakes.
Wanda did all the shopping for groceries and cooked all the meals. Consequently, when she passed away I had to learn how to fend for myself in the kitchen. She’s been gone for fifteen years and I’m still trying to learn how to cook. Thank the Lord for the Crock Pot, a miraculous device that makes a great meal from whatever you shovel into it. We don’t use the word, “cuisine,” around our house.
So, Culinarians, Cooks, Chefs, Cookers, Bakers, pâtissiers (or patissiers); Barbecuers, Grillers or whatever you may call yourself, thanks for all the wonderful meals. This is your day: National Culinarians Day. Congratulations.