Female Chefs Rule

Women "can't cook, won't cook." So says Gordon Ramsay, volatile TV culinary personality and uber-chef.

Thousands of women in the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs organization might disagree. If you're a woman interested in a career as a chef, there are many culinary career opportunities available. Times are changing dramatically, as women claim more of the executive chef jobs in award winning restaurants.

Woman in the White House

Asked to comment on the possibility of a woman as executive chef at the White House, Boston chef and restaurateur Barbara Lynch said, AIn a traditionally male-dominated profession, having a female in such a public and prestigious position would encourage more young women to pursue a culinary career and highlight the ability of female chefs.� Subsequent to that comment, Cristeta Comerford was appointed executive chef at the White House, which is the first time a woman has held that position.

Female Chefs Go Coastal

There are superb female chefs and restaurateurs coast-to-coast. Italian chef Lidia Bastianich owns four restaurants and has authored a dozen or more food and wine books. Chef Paula Deen cooks Southern style in her Savannah restaurant, The Lady and Sons. She is one of TV�s premier cooking show mavens, and in April 2006, she will sail the Caribbean on Cruise One�s Celebrity Millennium cruise ship for "Paula Cookin at Sea."

On the West coast, chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger own and operate several famous restaurants in LA and Las Vegas, have co-authored a number of cookbooks including Two Hot Tamales, and still find time to host radio and TV culinary shows.

What the World Needs Now�

In the introduction to A Celebration of Women Chefs, a cookbook by Julie Stillman, Chef Alice Waters writes "women chefs have come into their own as powerful influences on American cuisine, garnering coveted awards and establishing national reputations."

For women, a culinary career is more readily available now than at any other time in culinary history. If you're interested in a career as a chef and possibly becoming tomorrow's newest celebrity chef, now is the time to enroll in culinary school.

Sources

The Scotsman
Superchefblog

About the Author

Judi Sandall is a technical writer and a regular Chef School Review columnist. Judi has also worked as a training consultant on contracts with Duke University and Bell Atlantic. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton, with a BA in English Literature.

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