“I once hosted a party where the theme was home appliances. I was dressed as a dryer. My two brothers, and the rest of the male participants, found it hilarious to dress up as housewives. It perfectly illustrated how people of my generation still believe, on some level, that women belong in the kitchen.

That stereotype is miraculously reversed when it comes to professional kitchens: here, men are the cooks. Only 10 percent of all cooks in Dutch restaurants are women.

                                                                                                                                                                                             Jason Blanckaert, chief cook and owner of J.E.F. in Ghent

There is a strange paradox when it comes to women and food. Cooking is a skill that has always been heavily associated with women.  For decades, women have been struggling to disassociate themselves from the understanding that “a woman’s place is in the kitchen”. However, even though cooking is identified as a feminine skill, there is a big absence of women in professional kitchens. While women in culinary education programs in the United States rate 5 to 4 over men, these numbers decline as the transition is made to restaurant environments. Even though women with professional culinary degrees pursue careers in the food industry, they mostly succeed in catering, management and other non-restaurant jobs, where their skill set and expertise still apply. Over 60 percent of the test kitchens for major food companies employ women with professional culinary training. Similarly, almost 75 percent of catering companies in the United States are managed by women. Women also continue to prefer careers as personal chefs or offering cooking classes, rather than working in restaurants. While access to daycare and lack of maternity leave play a part in their absence from professional kitchens, the core of the issue seems to be rooted in gender stereotypes. 

Statements like women cannot do work that requires physical strength, women do not like the rough working environment or women would rather do other things in life like giving birth or taking care of their husbands are made and these continue to prevent women from succeeding in professional kitchens. Women not being able to survive harsh working conditions is also not the reason behind the scarcity of women in professional kitchens, they are simply not given this chance as employers are preconditioned in a way that they do not expect women to survive these working conditions. Establishment of this culture that women cannot survive in professional kitchens has been driving many talented female chefs out of the restaurant industry. 

Most people in the food industry seem to have similar answers to why women constitute only a small portion of professional kitchens. For instance, Howard Field, former head chef and alumni of prestigious culinary school Le Cordon Bleu,  puts forward the idea that “thinkers” succeed in professional kitchens and women are mostly “feelers”. By stating that “ The biggest issue is they cannot handle blunt people. Men in a hurry yell ‘MOVE’ instead of ‘Can you please move for me’, Field stresses that the harsh culture of professional kitchens, which through his example does not seem much different from the subway during rush hour, is not suitable for women. Tom Lannan, former executive and pastry chef at CEPC, advocates that women do not succeed in professional kitchens “ because there is a lot of physical work involved. It is not all puffy and ahh that looks pretty. There is a lot of lifting long hours and aggravation involved. As well as being forceful and strong emotionally”.  All these opinions seem to be shaped by assuming all women are the same: fragile, emotional and easily hurt. They also assume that all men are emotionally and physically stronger than women. The stereotype or the expectations of how women should be, keep women out of professional kitchens. I believe the reason women are excluded from professional kitchens is not because women cannot be forceful or emotionally strong due to their nature, it is because patriarchal society does not want them to be. 

Even when against all the odds women do succeed in the restaurant business, they do not get the same respect as their male colleagues. For instance, Anna Tobias, head chef at Rochelle Canteen in London, UK, discusses the isolation of women in professional kitchens by stating how most customers would thank her sous chef, believing that he is the head chef.  Media contributes to this significantly by overlooking the success of female head chefs. Even in Netflix shows like Chef Table, it is evident that the expertise and skill of male chefs are prioritized over the women. Only 11 percent of the articles on chefs in publications such as Gourmet, Food & Wine, the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle are on female chefs. Men dominate the festivals, awards and media coverage as well as the restaurants. Even when women do get media coverage, they are never portrayed like their male colleagues. While men are portrayed as perfectionists with incredibly high standards who are revolutionizing food, women are portrayed as caretakers. Even in cooking shows like the Great British Bake Off, the male judge Paul Hollywood is portrayed as the tougher judge that is hard to please, while Marry Berry is portrayed as the supportive one who never makes harsh comments.

It is clear that having no access to maternity leave or other resources to support women to run a business and have family, are not the most important obstacles between women and succeeding in professional kitchens. Due to the way women’s creativity and management style is framed as nurturing, female chefs will continue to not attract investors, who are the real secrets to many famous male chef’s success. Cooking is also not the only skill that is no longer associated with women once it leaves the home. For instance, sewing is assumed to be a feminine skill or hobby, while the fashion industry is dominated by male designers. 

– Beril