As per my answer above, you just need to know a very high level food related chemistry -- not even actual chemistry, just how different foods (plants, meats, sauces, etc) react to heat/water/cold and how they interact between them.

There have been untold number of cooks who know nothing about actual chemistry beyond "water = H2O", including tons of professional chefs all over the world. In fact any chef before like early 20th century or so wouldn't know the first thing about chemistry proper unless they've studied chemistry -- heck chemistry became a real discipline after the 18th century, but exquisite cooking has been with us for millennia.

Understanding the chemistry and physics makes it a lot easier to figure out when something is going wrong and how to fix it. This is particularly true when adjusting temperatures and cooking times.

If you haven’t before, check out PBS’s America’s Test Kitchen. Perfect blend of the chemistry/food science and some really good cooks and explanations behind tradition.

For me it was more the chemistry informed the technique.