He had to slice up dead rabbits and pick the heads off snails as he visited some of the top kitchens in the county.

For all chefs' forward thinking, though, top kitchens still run on frat-house principles.

Today it's not uncommon to find seven or more precious salts in a top kitchen.

Among those who have worked free in top kitchens are a disaffected Japanese housewife, a bored Microsoft executive, a retired Wall Street broker and a dentist.

Even so, Mr. Stevens should have done a bit more prep work, as they say in the top kitchens.

For years, Wells, an American, has acted as an investigative reporter in France's top kitchens, bakeries and food shops, carefully prying out closely held recipes.

Countless numbers of Hispanic workers have advanced through the ranks in top kitchens in the face of slurs and prejudice.

"A lot of these young Americans spend three months, three weeks, three days in a top kitchen somewhere and think they've learned something," Mr. Ducasse said.

Skillet has been listed among America's top portable kitchens and is well known for their bacon jam.

Kay Henderson, then 37, handled the pots and pans at first, at a time when few women worked in top professional kitchens.