I was chatting with a chef the week before the now-aborted complete ban on dining out. Concerned about the new regulation, he questioned the logic of only allowing people to eat out until 6pm. “Can the virus not spread during lunch?” he asked. At the time, the chef was, naturally, quite worried about his restaurant’s finances. With the previous ban on dining in from 6pm to 5am, the chef was already losing roughly 60 per cent of his business. Without being able to serve lunch, he – like many other restaurateurs – decided he would completely shut down temporarily. Luckily, the stricter regulation was lifted after just two days. But the entire sector is still coping, trying to push takeaway business as an alternative. It’s not easy for a fine-dining operation to suddenly switch to delivery and takeaway. It’s kind of like the Titanic trying to quickly change course after noticing the iceberg. We know most restaurants are bleeding badly . The aforementioned chef’s big worry is how long he can continue to lose money. Beyond his own bottom line, he’s also concerned for his staff – the chefs, the servers, and particularly the lower wage earners like dishwashers and cleaners. A lot of folks have a false assumption about chefs, especially those from top-tier posh outlets, to which this chef certainly belongs. We assume their celebrity-like status means they earn big fat salaries in a stratosphere far above us mere mortals. Some successful cooks do make a very good living but, as far as I know, no chef has ever landed on any Forbes highest-paid lists. It’s a fact that people don’t become chefs to get rich – at least, not Mark Zuckerberg type wealth. In a major city like Hong Kong, top chefs are in demand and can access lots of capital if they want to launch new establishments and chase Michelin stars. Hotels and developers love to attach themselves to such prestige projects. But the money doesn’t go into the chef’s pockets. Sometimes, chefs get accused of selling out for partnering with corporate entities or joining a hotel. I’m not sure these slings and arrows are fair. Selling out assumes someone is making a lot of bucks. Well, equity in a fancy and pricey restaurant is not the same as stock options from Alibaba. My editor Susan Jung’s column last week pointed out that it’s hard to open a restaurant. I would go further and say there’s no real money in operating restaurants. There are far more lucrative and safer investments than sinking it into bricks and mortar diners. Some amateur restaurateurs – good home cooks, but with no professional food and beverage industry experience – just want a place to boast about and bring their friends. Silent partners occasionally, well, need to launder the money. The highest paid chefs, such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, have TV shows, kitchenware lines and book deals that are far more lucrative than their establishments. The millions they rake in from their pots and pans and bottled pasta sauces can’t be matched by restaurants and franchises – unless they go the McDonald’s route. For the most part, people become chefs because they’re actually passionate about ingredients and cooking. The cool factor only entered the picture when beards, tattoos and TV celebrityhood became a thing. The highest paid chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay have TV shows, kitchenware lines and book deals that are far more lucrative than the takings at their establishments Most old-school kitchen hands learn the trade by peeling potatoes and scrubbing worktops, and being young apprentices to grizzled cooks. Many chefs lament how new recruits think a faster route is to enter a TV cooking competition. “Where’s the discipline and dedication?”, they ask of the new kids. In good times, a hit restaurant is a terrific place to be. A chef can bathe in adulation and see guests queuing for tables. But more often, cooking for others is a pain in the assam laksa. The hard work and long hours – why bother about that when you can make much more wearing a suit and a tie? Maybe because you would have to wear a suit and a tie.