Women in the Kitchen

To the old saying that man built the house but woman made of it a "home" might be added the modern supplement that woman accepted cooking as a chore but man has made of it a recreation. ~Emily Post



I love Top Chef. Absolutely love it! My Wednesday nights are governed by the Top Chef schedule. I have watched with devotion all four seasons. Despite how much I love the show, I admit that there are flaws and overarching issues that really irk me. Mainly, I see a problem in the trend of male winners of the past three completed seasons.

Now, I understand that this is a competition based on skill and talent and the sex of the winner cannot be controlled. But what does it say about the culinary arts, professions, and industry as a whole when female chefs have a history of losing out to male chefs. Does this mean that women cannot cook as well as men? Does it stem from lack of training, or lack of opportunities for training or an arena to display talents?

Whatever the reason, I think that it is extremely ironic that women, who have been so confined to the domestic realm and the kitchen in particular, it is often men who are honored and revered as ‘top chefs’. After all these centuries of cooking, you would think that women would certainly have an advantage over men. It seems, however, that male chefs have managed to turn this daily duty of the home into a successful career that promises prestige and fame.

Look, for example, at the Food Network. I do feel that the hosts/chefs/celebrities/ or whatever you might like to call them are well distributed between the male and female. Take a closer look at the types of shows, then. On one hand we have shows such as Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller, 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray, and Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. On the other hand we have The Essence of Emeril, Emeril Live, Boy Meets Grill, Tyler’s Ultimate, Good Eats with Alton Brown, and Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Notice anything special? How about the difference between shows hosted by men and women. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love almost all shows on the Food Network, and love watching anything on this channel when I don’t have anything else to do, or don’t want to do anything else. But I can’t help noticing that more shows by women chefs than men are geared towards making cooking easier. Why and how is it that the shows hosted by men seem so intense, filled with complicated and showy recipes and techniques, the science of food, and competition, whereas a large portion of the female chefs are shown in a calm atmosphere in a “naturally” lit set kitchen, easily demonstrating how to make cooking simple enough to handle on a daily basis, while also managing to share lovely anecdotes about their childhood and food. I don’t have any problem with making cooking easier and more accessible to the masses. But seriously, can’t these women add some spice to their shows? All I have to say is, thank goodness for Cat Cora, the Iron Chef who is able to kick some major butt in the intense “Kitchen Stadium”.

And thank goodness for the women on this season of Top Chef, all of who seem very eager to have a woman win the title this time. Stephanie, my personal favorite, is also quite adamant about wanting a woman to win the fourth season. I couldn’t agree more. There are so many talented chefs this season, and I personally much prefer the women on the show to some of the men, who can often come off conceited, or just down right annoying (did you see them in the clip above?). So, personally, I hope that Stephanie wins, and she really has been doing well so far! But whoever ends up in the final 5, 4, 3, 2… I hope the NEXT TOP CHEF will be a woman. It would be about time!

Meet Stephanie