This topic came up in a recent article and with it being a subject close to my heart a good friend tagged me in the post.

Spurred from a comment made by a male chef. (See article link bottom of blog)

“girls in the kitchen,” he felt that women lack “a lot of that fire in a chef’s belly you need,” and that “That’s probably why there [are] not so many female chefs.”

It is hard for us not to retaliate in some way to comments made like this. Especially as we have such mutual respect for fellow chefs ourselves. All chefs work hard and everyone knows if you don’t love food in your heart and soul you probably wouldn’t make it as a chef either way.

And so… how do we react?

After my friend wrote this comment I replied with -

"I have wanted to be a chef since old enough to draw a picture of myself as a chef. My whole career I’ve had more fire in my belly & more love for food than many other 'chefs' its not down to gender but to 'love of food'. Michelin starred restaurants the lot.. Its the making it last... Not being one of these ‘another one bites the dust’ chefs in this industry and if you love food you will make it. Nom nom nom"

A lighthearted reaction, its no ones aim to anger a fellow chef but there’s a cause to get a message across here. We are chefs. It isn’t down to gender. Having worked with many chefs over the years and recruited chefs for the kitchens I’ve managed, something that is apparent is the environment in which different chefs choose to work in. Chefs choose specific environments they wish to work in. These obviously differ and vary from chefs working in restaurants 16 hours day after just qualifying from catering college, chefs in contracted units due to family or personal commitments, chefs wanting to cook in food trucks or even chefs at a later stage in life with a new fond love of food. A vast array of environments.

Trying to recruit a head chef 4 years ago for a unique specific sporting venue with high profile clients was NOT an easy feat. Trying to find a chef that loved food and would give there all at every obstacle. Honestly, 1 chef out of 30 shined through. The point being at every interview, never for 1 second was it the gender but the love / passion for food I longed to find.


Back to the topic at hand

With all the hype around this recent topic I was asked to carry out an interview on ‘female chefs’.

What seemed clear after receiving feedback on my first draft was they wanted me to speak for women, defend us, and justify us. Unfortunately I couldn’t focus on solely this, as it wasn’t my belief.

Yes, I’m proud to be a strong chef, and there are of course times you may have to prove this but this is the industry. This is the point I tried to get across as subtle as I possibly could.

And so...I’d like to share this with you, as it’s something I’m passionate about. (The final draft being quite different)

Here are my responses to some of their questions

Is the perception of the professional kitchen as an overly masculine environment a realistic one? If so, how do you overcome that?

Yes, it sometimes feels this is the perception of the kitchen, as an overly masculine environment is correct. The reality is that this is true. The cheffing industry is a hard environment to work in and takes not only passionate but a strong person to succeed in it. Being male or female that is.

You overcome this perception by being good at your job. If you are a chef with passion for food and fire in your belly you will succeed. If ‘female chefs’ in the industry are the minority then perhaps this proves they were strong enough to succeed in such an environment. I don’t think we should be labelled as female chefs but simply chefs.

Does she feel there were obstacles to her success that male peers did not experience?

Yes indeed I can think of many occasions in my career where obstacles occurred. Being a petite female in the kitchen but good at your job didn’t always go down well with some males in the industry. To be shown you are better than them at what you both do. I honestly think this applies to all careers but in the chef environment with females being the minority it always seemed to be a ‘prove yourself’ battle. Yes I can lift the pans, yes I can get the food out as you do, yes I can stand up for myself with perhaps vulgarity or verbal abuse as chefs do. The chef industry is seen as a tough environment as it is, but we are under no false illusion of this when we enter this profession. I’m thankful for the restaurants I’ve worked in as the discipline enforced made me the strong chef I’ve become. Its built the foundations for my career to date.

Do female chefs have a different attitude and a different approach to the job? Success of female chefs like you show that it clearly is the industry for women - so why do you think there is a gender imbalance. 

Again, female chefs...It takes a very strong determined chef (both female and male) to make it in the industry. As I have always said you have to love food. Without this passion and fire in your belly you simply won’t make it.  I have never in my career walked into any kitchen thinking that I am a female and need to act a different way, its always been the case of wanting to succeed or be the best I can be in a kitchen, learning as much as I can.  Any chef would act this way. There are many career paths within this industry.

I don’t believe you have to work 18 hours a day every day for the rest of your career to make you a good chef. It sometimes feels that this is a chefs perception, that it makes us ‘stronger’ in the industry. Granted I feel it an invaluable experience to work this way. I did so myself in Michelin star restaurants for a couple of years. Now further along in my career I see food can be delivered in many ways showing passion and love for food.

I think the gender imbalance will always be apparent with regards to females and males in the kitchen. Its a hard industry and you need to be a tough cookie to make it. We live in an age where we are career driven and with this drive come’s limitations at times such as women wanting to start a family. I can’t imagine it being physically possible to chef in a kitchen when heavily pregnant but a female’s time is restricted by this decision of starting a family.  I’m not sure, perhaps I’m pulling at strings but this must have some effect on the imbalance of genders in the kitchen at some point.

How do you get more women in the kitchen? Is that an important aim, and if so why?

No, I don’t think this is an important aim. I think the kitchen should be full of chefs that love food and want to be there. Only today I had a discussion with my Sous chef about the poor quality of young chefs coming through the industry. It feels as though within these last 5 years chefs are coming through not with want or passion to cook but perhaps influenced by the huge TV surge of chefs. Becoming more a fad rather than a true passion for food. It seems harder to recruit young chefs because of this. It is a career you have to work very hard at to succeed in.

This was not the final draft but its the true account of how I felt at the time of the interview. There is some emotion coming through, it may not be the most professional but we are human and emotions are raised.

After the interview I was asked to  then write when and how I got into Cheffing. A question I’ve never been asked. Being the only chef in my entire family I answered the following -

When and how I got into Cheffing?

I’ve wanted to be a chef as long as I can remember. I remember looking back to a year 3 book of me drawn as a chef with 'charlottes' on my chef jacket. When I was a child forever being told off for smelling my food or my Mothers impatience as I'd ask what’s for lunch whilst eating my breakfast. She would always say eat this meal for now don’t worry about the next meal.

There are no chefs in my family but an influence from my biz Nona and Nono who are Italian. Whist Nona made her polenta with salt fish stew or our family spaghetti Bolognese recipe and Nono made his homemade wine or ice cream. This is a distinct memory I carry with me, the smell of their house as we would walk in or me being by Nona’s side asking questions as she cooks.

From the age of 10 years old my Father encouraged me not to be a chef. He had my best interests at heart of course. With  his knowledge of it being hard work and poor pay you can hardly blame him. It never deterred me, if you have the passion for food its what drives you. The day I dragged him up to London to enrol at catering college being a memorable moment.

Our Industry

 Im conscious I’ve said many times ‘it’s a hard industry’ to work in. I must stress we do it for the love, we do it because we want to, because we want to touch food, be around food, smell food. That all seems pretty cheesy but it’s the adrenaline we thrive on whichever way we may feel it.

 I sometimes feel a Chef’s life is like a storybook, the stories we could tell, the memories we all have and the different journeys we’ve all been on.

Good and bad, crazy and not so, tough and calm, hot and cold, fear and fulfillment, anxiety and relief, the buzzing adrenaline, pounding legs… CHEFS.

Sometimes, you see yourself a little differently once having written about ones self. Interesting.

I'll leave the article with you, read below two michelin star Chef Dominique Crenn reply to the comment mentioned.

http://munchies.vice.com/articles/were-not-female-chefs-just-chefs