N.B. This was my graded unit article The quality is a bit out there, sorry.
Eighty-six* ME TOO
I find it funny how most toy kitchen sets are pink and made for little girls, yet the chefs on TV or film are usually depicted as angry middle-aged men who season each sentence with the word “fuck” like it were a lamb roast. I’ll admit it’s entertaining. On-screen. I have definitely binged through 10 episodes of “Hell’s Kitchen” in a row before and loved every minute of it. However, when you put your whites on and enter a real-life kitchen of a restaurant you are soon burned with the reality of sexism, homophobia, racism, alcoholism, drug abuse, and other isms - the almost unavoidable ingredients.
The Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland for 2020 has included 19 of Edinburgh’s best restaurants. Four of these restaurants are co-owned by women (mostly wives of owners). All of the top kitchens in town are run by male head chefs the only exception being “The Little Chartroom” lead by Roberta Hall. The US Census Bureau statistics show that men occupy 78.1% of the “cook” or “head chef” positions in the country. Only 7% of head chefs and restaurant owners are women, although 51% of Culinary Institute of America students are female. According to the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls less than 40% of girls entered a modern apprenticeship in the food and drink sector in 2017./2018. They suggest that this is because girls are concerned about how they would be treated in the workplace if they were to choose a traditionally male career. And let me tell you, their concern is valid.
While men are portrayed as “bad boys” and “bros’” with the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White, women are represented by the oh so mother-like home cooks like Mary Berry or Delia Smith. Men who are considered pillars of the industry and ones that we should look up to come out with statements like:
“the biological clock kicks in - and they’re not as good at lifting pots and pans after childbirth” (Heston Blumenthal).
Why would any female cookery school graduate want to work in an industry that is so unwelcoming and degrading of them?
Does the media just mirror what happens in real kitchens or do chefs think their behaviour is justified with “Well, that’s how Gordon does it”? I’m not sure, but I do know that once you clock in you better turn into “one of the lads” before entering the “locker room” that many professional kitchens are.
My friend and teammate Samantha Roach has recently become the new head chef at Malmaison Edinburgh city. She has worked in kitchens all around Edinburgh for more than 10 years after choosing the hospitality industry instead of becoming a geography teacher. Her can-do attitude and stubbornness has brought her to the top at only 27. She fondly remembers the first kitchen she stepped in as an apprentice chef at Hilton where the other chefs or as she thought to herself at the time “12 massive guys” treated her like a little sister and helped her learn the basics of the culinary world. However, she does admit she has dealt with a great deal of sexism in her career and she never had it easier, in fact it was much harder for her. Samantha outlines the three assumptions made of her by other chefs -“she’s not actually a chef”, “that must be the new pastry chef!” and the most distasteful one upon finding out her position “you must’ve fucked your way to the top!”. To which she responds with “Yeah, I’m none of those! Have you seen chefs?! They’re ugly as fuck, man! And if they’re not ugly they’re psychos.”
She was once headhunted for a position of head chef that she didn’t apply for. The interviewer came out with - “How do you manage a team of guys, do you seduce them?”
“I walked out. I literally just got up and walked out. I thought to myself - I’m not going to lose my shit in the middle of your restaurant, I’m just going to leave.”
Samantha has noticed a change in attitude to her with her new title.”When you’re a sous chef people would still expect you to prove yourself. They’ll still challenge you a little bit, they’ll still try to see what level you’re at. Whereas, when you introduce yourself to someone and say “I’m the head chef” chefs collectively know how hard you’ve had to fight to get to that position because it’s not easy to become a head chef. You won’t get it for nothing. Once you’ve got your title, you’ve earned your badges.”
In managing her own kitchen Sammie looks past gender and stresses the importance of having the right attitude.“Everyone has to be willing to listen and learn, to think no matter what level you are or where you’re at, there’s always something someone can teach you.
Eugénie Brazier is considered the mother of French cooking. She was the first woman to win three Michelin stars in 1933 and the first chef to earn six stars simultaneously. The legacy of Eugénie Brazier has been forgotten or overlooked since Alain Ducasse received a sixth Michelin star in 1998.
The female chefs in “The Heat - a kitchen (R)evolution” a documentary by Maya Gallus refer to Eugénie Brazier and stress the importance of other female chefs speaking up and owning their success. They believe that we need to encourage girls to choose this career path. It doesn’t have to be male-dominated. These women prove that a professional kitchen can be a perfectly balanced workplace.
The issue at hand is way more than just sexism. Chefs are heavily overworked and many deal with addiction and poor mental health across genders, sexualities, nationalities and so on. Last year ScotHot surveyed 500 hospitality employees and 57% of the respondents reported mental problems including stress, depression and anxiety.
Restaurants should check in on their employees a lot more and see them as people. Having previously worked in huge restaurant and hotel chains I have noticed that you are often reduced to a pile of paperwork or a number and this should be tackled for the good of the industry. Happy chefs - happy customers.
I have also noticed a change in attitude in my 5 year long experience being a chef. Maybe It’s due to the popularity of the #MeToo movement that has made more women speak up across industries and society becoming more open to changing aged ideologies and traditions. Maybe it’s the success of my own “No bullshit policy” in kitchens that I have worked in. You do hear an offensive phrase here and there, but I personally think the key is to cut the bullshit at the root. If you’re going through something personally that’s impacting your performance, I’ll be your shoulder to cry on and support system. Don’t like me giving you orders? Hate women? Leave your opinion in the dry store, please!
I have high hopes for change in the industry. Forget the differences so we can concentrate on creating beautiful dishes and making customers happy. Food should always be prepared from a place of love, it tastes better that way!
Eighty-six* ME TOO
Sexism in professional kitchens
*"86" is a slang term that is used in American popular culture as a transitive verb in the foodservice industry as a term to describe an item no longer being available on the menu.
I find it funny how most toy kitchen sets are pink and made for little girls, yet the chefs on TV or film are usually depicted as angry middle-aged men who season each sentence with the word “fuck” like it were a lamb roast. I’ll admit it’s entertaining. On-screen. I have definitely binged through 10 episodes of “Hell’s Kitchen” in a row before and loved every minute of it. However, when you put your whites on and enter a real-life kitchen of a restaurant you are soon burned with the reality of sexism, homophobia, racism, alcoholism, drug abuse, and other isms - the almost unavoidable ingredients.
The Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland for 2020 has included 19 of Edinburgh’s best restaurants. Four of these restaurants are co-owned by women (mostly wives of owners). All of the top kitchens in town are run by male head chefs the only exception being “The Little Chartroom” lead by Roberta Hall. The US Census Bureau statistics show that men occupy 78.1% of the “cook” or “head chef” positions in the country. Only 7% of head chefs and restaurant owners are women, although 51% of Culinary Institute of America students are female. According to the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls less than 40% of girls entered a modern apprenticeship in the food and drink sector in 2017./2018. They suggest that this is because girls are concerned about how they would be treated in the workplace if they were to choose a traditionally male career. And let me tell you, their concern is valid.
While men are portrayed as “bad boys” and “bros’” with the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White, women are represented by the oh so mother-like home cooks like Mary Berry or Delia Smith. Men who are considered pillars of the industry and ones that we should look up to come out with statements like:
“Women are more emotional than men in the kitchen and not physically strong enough to carry heavy pans” (Marco Pierre White)
Why would any female cookery school graduate want to work in an industry that is so unwelcoming and degrading of them?
Does the media just mirror what happens in real kitchens or do chefs think their behaviour is justified with “Well, that’s how Gordon does it”? I’m not sure, but I do know that once you clock in you better turn into “one of the lads” before entering the “locker room” that many professional kitchens are.
They asked me if I manage a team of guys by seducing them.
My friend and teammate Samantha Roach has recently become the new head chef at Malmaison Edinburgh city. She has worked in kitchens all around Edinburgh for more than 10 years after choosing the hospitality industry instead of becoming a geography teacher. Her can-do attitude and stubbornness has brought her to the top at only 27. She fondly remembers the first kitchen she stepped in as an apprentice chef at Hilton where the other chefs or as she thought to herself at the time “12 massive guys” treated her like a little sister and helped her learn the basics of the culinary world. However, she does admit she has dealt with a great deal of sexism in her career and she never had it easier, in fact it was much harder for her. Samantha outlines the three assumptions made of her by other chefs -“she’s not actually a chef”, “that must be the new pastry chef!” and the most distasteful one upon finding out her position “you must’ve fucked your way to the top!”. To which she responds with “Yeah, I’m none of those! Have you seen chefs?! They’re ugly as fuck, man! And if they’re not ugly they’re psychos.”
She was once headhunted for a position of head chef that she didn’t apply for. The interviewer came out with - “How do you manage a team of guys, do you seduce them?”
“I walked out. I literally just got up and walked out. I thought to myself - I’m not going to lose my shit in the middle of your restaurant, I’m just going to leave.”
Samantha has noticed a change in attitude to her with her new title.”When you’re a sous chef people would still expect you to prove yourself. They’ll still challenge you a little bit, they’ll still try to see what level you’re at. Whereas, when you introduce yourself to someone and say “I’m the head chef” chefs collectively know how hard you’ve had to fight to get to that position because it’s not easy to become a head chef. You won’t get it for nothing. Once you’ve got your title, you’ve earned your badges.”
In managing her own kitchen Sammie looks past gender and stresses the importance of having the right attitude.“Everyone has to be willing to listen and learn, to think no matter what level you are or where you’re at, there’s always something someone can teach you.
"You can teach someone how to cook better, but being a good person and working well with the team, that is on you. I can’t teach you that.”
She believes that a successful team of chefs needs a good balance of personalities.“Someone’s strengths have to be someone else's weaknesses and vice versa someone’s weakness has to be someone’s strength.”
The overlooked success
Eugénie Brazier is considered the mother of French cooking. She was the first woman to win three Michelin stars in 1933 and the first chef to earn six stars simultaneously. The legacy of Eugénie Brazier has been forgotten or overlooked since Alain Ducasse received a sixth Michelin star in 1998.
The female chefs in “The Heat - a kitchen (R)evolution” a documentary by Maya Gallus refer to Eugénie Brazier and stress the importance of other female chefs speaking up and owning their success. They believe that we need to encourage girls to choose this career path. It doesn’t have to be male-dominated. These women prove that a professional kitchen can be a perfectly balanced workplace.
It’s just work
I cringed heavily while watching “Burnt” a film about Adam Jones, played by the ever hunky Bradley Cooper, a chef who comes back to the world of cookery after having destroyed his career with the help of drug abuse and diva behaviour. I cringed because I have experienced the toxic and anxiety-filled atmosphere these rockstar chefs create around them. I can, however, vouch that if Bradley Cooper pulled half of the shit he did in that movie in any of the kitchens I have worked in, he would be sent to the walk-in fridge to reflect on his performance or asked to hang up his apron forever as soon as service ended.The issue at hand is way more than just sexism. Chefs are heavily overworked and many deal with addiction and poor mental health across genders, sexualities, nationalities and so on. Last year ScotHot surveyed 500 hospitality employees and 57% of the respondents reported mental problems including stress, depression and anxiety.
We're a team
There should generally be more empathy for each other in the industry. The military-like brigade hierarchy of professional kitchens creates structure, but it should also concentrate on the camaraderie and teamwork rather than just the competition aspect of earning your own badges.Restaurants should check in on their employees a lot more and see them as people. Having previously worked in huge restaurant and hotel chains I have noticed that you are often reduced to a pile of paperwork or a number and this should be tackled for the good of the industry. Happy chefs - happy customers.
I have also noticed a change in attitude in my 5 year long experience being a chef. Maybe It’s due to the popularity of the #MeToo movement that has made more women speak up across industries and society becoming more open to changing aged ideologies and traditions. Maybe it’s the success of my own “No bullshit policy” in kitchens that I have worked in. You do hear an offensive phrase here and there, but I personally think the key is to cut the bullshit at the root. If you’re going through something personally that’s impacting your performance, I’ll be your shoulder to cry on and support system. Don’t like me giving you orders? Hate women? Leave your opinion in the dry store, please!
I have high hopes for change in the industry. Forget the differences so we can concentrate on creating beautiful dishes and making customers happy. Food should always be prepared from a place of love, it tastes better that way!
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