Female Cooks and Male Chefs
Why is it that cooking, a traditionally female field, is dominated at the top levels by men? The popularity of "celebrity chefs" (mostly men) has recently garnered attention in the media. Mike Weiss (2007) in the San Francisco Chronicle calls women's cooking "more memorable, more comforting" than men's cooking. Weiss quotes chef Joyce Goldstein's theory on gender differences in the kitchen: "Listen, there are two kinds of cooks, there's mama cooks and show-off cooks," said the doyenne of San Francisco women chefs. "Now, not all mama cooks are women but all the show-off cooks are men. Boys with chemistry sets. Boy food is about: 'Look at me!' "
The "chemistry set" theory comes up again in an uncredited feature in New York Magazine (2007). Sara Jenkins says "I look at this whole molecular-gastronomy thing, and I’m like, “Boys with toys.” They’re just fascinated with technology and chemistry sets.
However, the New York chefs seem to agree that a big part of the problem is money. Men simply have more access to investors and have less difficulty asking for money when the opportunity presents itself.
My father could not cook. I was continuously regaled with horror stories about his dietary habits in college, and his attempts to feed himself ranged from the pathetic to the hysterical. My mother, on the other hand, was extremely proud of her cooking, and still considers meals to be a sacrament. I will usually insist, when asked, that I can't cook. The truth of the matter is that routine feedings bore the crap out of me. I want to show off. I want to create. Most of all, I have no interest whatsoever in following instructions. People ask me for recipes from my waffle parties, and I'm helpless to provide them. I don't use recipes. My results are, sadly, irreproducible.
Speaking of cooking, tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and I'll be taking Thursday and Friday off. See you on Monday morning.
The "chemistry set" theory comes up again in an uncredited feature in New York Magazine (2007). Sara Jenkins says "I look at this whole molecular-gastronomy thing, and I’m like, “Boys with toys.” They’re just fascinated with technology and chemistry sets.
However, the New York chefs seem to agree that a big part of the problem is money. Men simply have more access to investors and have less difficulty asking for money when the opportunity presents itself.
My father could not cook. I was continuously regaled with horror stories about his dietary habits in college, and his attempts to feed himself ranged from the pathetic to the hysterical. My mother, on the other hand, was extremely proud of her cooking, and still considers meals to be a sacrament. I will usually insist, when asked, that I can't cook. The truth of the matter is that routine feedings bore the crap out of me. I want to show off. I want to create. Most of all, I have no interest whatsoever in following instructions. People ask me for recipes from my waffle parties, and I'm helpless to provide them. I don't use recipes. My results are, sadly, irreproducible.
Speaking of cooking, tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and I'll be taking Thursday and Friday off. See you on Monday morning.