Women Chefs

It is likely that everyone has heard this phrase before and knows that it refers to a standard from only a few decades ago when men were expected to go to work and earn money, and women were supposed to stay at home with the children, clean the house, and make the meals. Because of this, it may be surprising that women were, until recently, not accepted into professional kitchens. Even today most of the big names in the culinary industry are male: Emeril Lagasse, Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef), Todd English, Wolfgang Puck, even Chef Boyardee.

Along with women's acceptance into the workplace overall, came women's acceptance into the professional kitchen. However, as with many industries, it was not an easy process. In 1993, Women Chef and Restaurateurs (WCR) was created in order to provide a network for the increasing number of women in the culinary industry. Organizations such as this have helped to promote women's rights and gain them access to both education and careers that, at one time, were not available to them. In 1972, the Culinary Institute of America was only 5% female, today it's 25%. However, as we can see with the celebrity chefs, there are significantly fewer women than men in the industry; of the 2,134 certified executive chefs in the US today, only 92 are women (which is a mere 4.3%).

In her book, A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen, Ann Cooper discusses these issues and, in doing so, provides a comprehensive vision of women and their roles in the professional culinary arena. In her research, Cooper interviewed more then 200 female chefs and surveyed more than 1,000 female cooks and chefs in order to achieve multiple perspectives and experiences. This is the first book written exclusively about women chefs and restaurateurs and if you're interested in learning more, A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen is available online and in most bookstores.