Many chefs hold no license,
The requirements for opening a restaurant will vary according to location. Different countries, and different regions and cities within those countries, will have their own laws and regulations. As a generalization, however, no cooking license is needed to open a restaurant. In fact, there is nothing to stop a restaurant being run by cooks and staff with no experience at all, so long as they abide by regulations relating to food hygiene and all other applicable laws. The owner of a restaurant does not need to be able to cook or to have any formal qualification in food preparation, nor is he or she obliged to employ a qualified chef.
Cooking Licenses
In most countries, and certainly in the United States, there is no such thing as a "cooking license" strictly speaking-in other words a document which entitles someone to cook in a restaurant serving members of the public. Rightly or wrongly, cooking is not like practicing law or medicine. So long as it is done in such a way that the health of customers is not put at risk, anyone can cook a meal for restaurant service. So long as health regulations are not infringed, a cook in a restaurant does not even need to be basically competent.
Chef Training
Although restaurant cooks do not need to be licensed, many chefs do in fact have professional qualifications. Culinary schools or culinary courses within other educational institutions are common in countries with a restaurant culture. Two of the best known culinary schools in the United States are the Institute of Culinary Education, founded in New York City in 1975, and the Culinary Institute of America, which has campuses in California and Texas as well as New York. These schools, and other similar institutions, offer diplomas in the culinary arts. While many professional chefs have such qualifications, many have no formal training at all.
Other Permits
Although a cooking license is not required to start a restaurant, some jurisdictions require the owner of a restaurant to hold some kind of permit. The permits are unrelated to cooking skills, but usually require that the person supervising food operations in the restaurant be appropriately qualified in food safety. In New York City, for example, the supervisor of food operations, who is usually the chef, must hold a Food Protection Certificate. This confirms that what is important to the regulatory authorities is not that the food is prepared well, but that it is prepared safely.
On the Job Training
Wolfgang Puck learned his trade in restaurant kitchens, not in college.
In the absence of any formal culinary qualification, many--perhaps most--chefs learn cook through practice in the kitchen and by observing more experienced chefs. Some of the world's most famous restaurant chefs held no kind of cooking license, let alone a degree or diploma, when they embarked on their careers. These include Thomas Keller, Wolfgang Puck and Alice Waters.
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