Women steer clear of commercial kitchens

The commercial kitchen remains a bastion of male dominance as few women can be lured into training as a chef, claims the training co-ordinator of the Academy of Culinary Arts Specialised Chef Scholarship.

Jenny Brett, who has overseen the three-year course since it started running 13 years ago at Bournemouth and Poole College, said only seven females were numbered among the 51 students. Last September's in-take of 28 trainees included just one girl, and this year only four females look set to join the course.

Brett suggested one reason why the kitchen was seen as an "aggressive and macho" workplace sprang from the constant TV presence of male role models such as Gary Rhodes, Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver. "There is no Jennifer Oliver for the girls," she added.

Even high-profile domestic goddess Nigella Lawson failed to interest women in the trade, said Brett. "Nigella is so beautiful you cannot imagine her in a kitchen with a pair of chef's whites and a hat," she said.

Brett also believed parents who had spent time in catering between school and university had given their daughters a poor impression of the job, which was still perceived to be messy and noisy. She added that the course leaflets picked up in the stores of sponsor Waitrose by parents and relatives tended to be given to boys rather than girls.

Brett said that girls who took the course usually excelled in exams, but were less likely to follow the boys in opening their own business or taking high-profile jobs. She added that some become lecturers or mothers, while others dabble in catering, making wedding cakes and organising party food.

by Angela Frewin angela.frewin@rbi.co.uk

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 26 April - 2 May 2001