A chef and a cook are two different titles and can be the same. However, a chef is an educated version of a cook. A motivated cook can aquire an equal knowledge of culinary arts by working and learning and appling those skills in the industry. Being titled a Chef simply means the cook has had professional training or education. I would say that working in a kitchen for 45 years has a potential to develop a high level of skill. It does not make one deserving of the title chef. What do you think?