At the beginning of the 21st century, it was difficult to appreciate how rigid the grand kitchen system of French chefs Marie-Antoine Carême and Auguste Escoffier had become in the mid-20th century. It was a very regimented repertoire. Chefs could and did invent new dishes, but they did, but the past and its rules and techniques for food preparation were highly respected. In fact, the veneration of the past was so strong that younger chefs began to feel that their creativity was limited.
One of the main ways in which the best chefs keep up to date with new cooking techniques, popular flavors and trendy ingredients is to talk to other professional chefs. Instead of just reading about them online, the chef can take advantage of their status or connections to get an in-person meeting or phone call with the chef. Being an expert chef begins by understanding the ingredients and the diverse possibilities offered by the cooking methods you choose. And even if a chef connects with chefs from other restaurants, you might be missing out on a lot of things.
Chefs are responsible for training kitchen members to properly prepare meals according to the chef's wishes. It's easy for chefs to get carried away by their little restaurant bubble and just share ideas with subchefs and preparatory cooks.
