Why Aren’t App Designers as Famous as Chefs?

Simple: cooking is extremely relatable. Everybody has prepared food at some point.

And it's easy for people to tell - crucially, in a half-hour TV show - that a star chef is doing amazing things with food.

Programming is just the opposite: inaccessible to non-programmers, very specialized, very technical, abstract.

Because programming isn't cool and never will be. I know we try, calling our more productive autistics "rockstars" and such - but no, never gonna happen.

It's something to do with the process I think. So narrow. Insectile even. Not pretty. It warps people, or attracts warped people, or both.

The premise is flawed. Not many chefs are famous, 99% toil anonymously in hot kitchens. The chef's who are famous locally usually get that way by spending lots of money. Self-promotion drives traffic to the restaurant.

This works in other markets too. If you're unfortunate to live in an area where Billy Fuccillo owns a car dealership, you're painfully aware of his presence via incessant advertising, which somehow drives traffic to his dealerships.

Apps are more like tools than restaurants or car dealerships. Nobody has ever bought a wrench because it was made by a celebrity machinist. Likewise, I generally don't give a hoot who actually develops an app. (I may have brand preference or choose apps based on affinity with other apps.)

Totally subjective concept. This person knows of a lot of chefs and not a lot of app designers, and has projected his worldview onto everyone else.

In the 80's people put the names of the people who built the apps into the about page/section/etc. It didn't mean much but made a nice resume addition. It's pretty rare to see that today.

Silly question. Why aren't architects/engineers/doctors/lawyers as famous as chefs?

There aren't many famous chefs, just TV stars who cook. Chefs like Grant Achatz and René Redzepi are only famous within the world of food.

Mark Cuban is to Gordon Ramsey as Rasmus Andersson is to René Redzepi.

I'd watch Iron Designer if that show existed.

I can't name a single "great chef." I can, however, name some celebrity chefs...

I don't know any Chef.