Can't believe this thread was revived...guess I didn't help by posting here either.
My own 2 cents: I am surprised there was a debate on this topic that generated 16 pages. It would be like, "is it legitimate to buy a law degree/medical degree on the internet?"
Similarly, people throw around the term "chef" when they really shouldn't. People have referred to me as a chef. I politely remind them that I never attended any school for culinary arts, and I certainly don't have enough experience running a kitchen to be a chef. I just like to cook, and sometimes people pay me to, and on occasion I've had to figure out how to run one myself because the manager was less than qualified or not there when he should have been. Not that I was qualified, but I was forced to try not to let the kitchen burn down on a couple occasions.
What made me sick (physically, literally) semi-recently was when a new restaurant opened up in town and the menu said things like "Our chef's own recipe" and other mentions of their "chef."
I worked in that kitchen for a day and a half. I had to leave before I actually threw up. The supposed "chef" had apparently cheated on her safe serve exam, if she even took it. Prepped food, including raw beef and chicken, was kept at room temperature for entire shifts. I saw the meat before it was cooked, and then realized that it was being served to the public. The thought of people eating beef that I had just seen turning grey (serve up a nice RANCID-BURGER! mmm) on the "prep table" made me about yack. Same thing with the chicken. They just let it sit out all shift so they wouldn't have to go all the way to the freezer to get it for an order. Salmonella, anyone? The list goes on.
I'm friends with the owner, so I wrote down a list of everything that would get them fined, if not closed down immediately, by a surprise visit from the health board.