Chef Jobs: Dreaming of Being America's Next Top Chef?

Admit it. You sit there watching the amazing culinary experts on the Food Network and reality series like Top Chef, and you start having food fantasies that involve preparing sumptuous feasts for thousands of adoring diners. Maybe you've passed by a great location for a new restaurant, and you think, "I'm great in the kitchen! I could make that work!" Almost everyone who eats has thought longingly of starting a restaurant.

But what does it really take to make those culinary dreams come true? More effort than most people can or should invest, according to Nicko Sahlas, a chef who went to culinary school, worked in some of the finest restaurants in Europe and the US, then decided to forgo it all and go back to school--to study software development. He then started a popular website devoted to the business of being a chef, called ChefTalk.com.