History of Women Chefs

In hunter-gatherer societies, before the advent of agriculture, women's importance in providing food was revered. Like in later societies, women stayed home (or at the camp) more often than men, but they spent their days gathering nutritious, calorie-dense foods to sustain the familiy. The men did go out to hunt and snare, but a kill was not an everyday event.

Most of the food ancient hunter-gatherers ate was gathered, not hunted. The female was recognized as the main food supplier, in many ways. Not only did she gather the healthiest foods, but she knew how to store them for lean times. She was also the sole food source for her nursing infants, and often a supplemental source for older children.

Many hunter-gatherer peoples, such as American Indians, treated women with equal respect as men for this reason, and some tribes were even matrilineal (family name passed through the mother). In fact, when European women were kidnaped by Indians, they often would not want to return to their husbands when found.

As agriculture dominated in Europe, most nomadic people in that area were settled by the early middle ages. Feudal agriculture begat specialization, meaning a few people could provide food for everyone, enabling others to do different jobs, like make clothes or work with metal. Needless to say, the few people who worked the land had to work much harder to feed themselves, their lords, and everyone else.

Women began staying home to raise children and cook meals, while men worked hard in the fields. The work of farm life was deemed too rough for many women at the time. A hard day's work could lead to a woman becoming infertile or unable to carry a pregnancy to term. Medieval woman's anscestors carried infants on their backs as they foraged for nuts and seeds, and the relatively easy work they did not only kept them strong but helped to naturally space their pregnancies. But men sought to protect medieval woman from the very work that could have prolonged her central role in food production. Farm work may be harder than gathering, but staying at home was not as safe as it seemed. The rapid population growth that occured from keeping constantly pregnant "stay at home moms" led to millions of maternal deaths at childbirth, and a dangerously overcrowded continent.

The middle and upper classes followed this trend of keeping the women at home, despite the fact that middle and upper class women were often fairly sharp minded, and even shrewd enough to run their own businesses. The only business most of them would ever run was the business of looking after servants. While the guildsmen went to market to sell their wares, or the lords went out to discipline the serfs, many of the well-provided-for ladies had nothing much to do but keep giving birth, tend their burgeoning broods, and discipline the help. Servants would do the bulk of food shopping, cooking and cleaning, and even nurse the infants.

The ways in which agriculture redefined society made women out of touch with their food, thereby out of touch with their necessary role as food supplier and family nourisher. They had little left to focus on or to be revered for but childbirth. The structure of European agriculture-based society, coupled with the religious beliefs that would harden in the Middle Ages, made for a long and weary dark age for women. When they lost their place in the food chain, they lost their place in human history.

In the 18th Century Louis XV opposed the idea that women could cook. He loved fine foods and would only trust his menu to males, whom he belived to be superior in every way. This attitude upset one of Louis' mistresses, Madame de Barry, so she invited him to a supper made by the best 'cuisiniere' (female cook) in France.

Louis was delighted by the fare, and asked, "Who is this new cuisinier of yours? He must join the Royal household." Madame du Barry replied " It is not a cuisinier but a cuisiniere and I demand a worthy recompense both of her and Your Majesty. I cannot accept less than a Cordon Bleu for her." At this point The Cordon Bleu was an honor bestowed upon anyone who exceled in their field, but usually applied to cookery.

Sadly, the cheeky mistress went to the guillotine in 1793, but fortunately her ideas about women as great chefs did not die with her. In 1895 a cuisiniere named Marthe Distel began publishing a newsletter under the title Le Cordon Bleu ou Nouvelle Cuisinière Bourgeoise. She began offering cooking classes in the same year, and the school of Le Cordon Bleu was born -- to a woman.

The prosperity of post-World War II America made for what seemed like a happy life for the new breed of suburban housewife. Labor saving devices such as toasters, blenders and self-cleaning ovens turned the kitchen into a world of technological wonders, and the icebox cut down on daily trips to the food markets. Women began to enjoy their time in the kitchen and in the home and began devising their own recipies influenced by all the new prepared food products and wacky kitchen gadgets around them. Soon the age of Jello salads and microwaved eggs was upon us.

Unfortunately, the kind of cookery perpetrated by the mid-century housewife did not contribute much to the culinary arts. In fact many of the trends in food from that prosperous era led to excessive beef consumption, fat consumption, and consumption in general! The wives must have had an inkling of this, as the 1950s also mark the beginning of a surge in fad diet books, mostly penned by women. They may not have had a positive impact on cuisine back then, but women of the 1950s certainly did a lot to shape the way Americans would eat food for the rest of the 20th Century.

The Feminist Movement of the 1970's did a lot to put some women back where they belong -- that is, in a commercial kitchen. The movement shared a changing stage with civil rights, environmentalism, and anti-war protests. All would change the face of America.

By 1971, amid all this turmoil, chef Alice Waters had opened her own place, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California and became one of the first hugely successful female restaurateurs. She abolished the kitchen hierarchy that had been inherited from old Frenchmen, and encouraged a collaborative atmosphere at the restaurant. This new style of operating, and the innovations that would come from chefs of all levels working and learning together created a new model for the modern kitchen.

Compared to fifty or even twenty years ago, the success of women chefs today is staggering. However, there are still obstacles for aspiring young women even now. According to a recent poll, 91% of all executive chefs in the US are men. One problem here becomes apparent when you consider the average age of an executive chef: 28 years old. Women are faced with many important decisions as they approach 30, about whether to marry, to have children, to stay at home, etc.

In some lines of work, taking a hiatus to raise a family, or even working right through starting a family is not much of an issue. When a female chef considers her schedule, working from noon to midnight or later, never seeing her children awake, some feel they could not live this way and opt out of their careers. Conversely, many of the women chefs that stick to it, never end up having children because they never had time. Many who try to balance work and family life end up divorced or separated, their restaurants the only constant in their busy lives.

Part of the problem of women chefs as the 9% minority is related to male/female psychology. Obviously women have a stronger urge to listen to their maternal instincts, whereas men have an easier time putting their current success over any plans for a future family. But we can't overlook that the working world still has far to go for giving women equal opportunities and equal pay. The fact that male chefs are currently in power means they will continue to hire more male chefs, who will presumably cook like them. Once a woman gets her foot in the kitchen door, she must tiptoe to avoid the wrath of her male co-workers, who are all working toward higher positions. If she works her way up to executive chef she will be paid, on average, 20% less than the man she replaces. Finally, if she tires of working for "the man" and strikes out on her own, she'll discover that a new restaurant is a risky business for a woman. Our stereotype of the chef as a flamboyant male may influence some diners decisions on where to eat.

Epicureans may assume that a woman chef is not capable of delivering the "wow" factor they are looking for in their fare. They are right in thinking their dishes are not going to scream "objet d'art," but they should expect to be wowed by the flavors and aromas they'll experience if they give a lady chef a chance.

In this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, food reviewer Mike Wiess explores the differences between male chef and female chef cuisine, and the motivations that may cause the disparity between what retired chef Joyce Goldstein calls "mama food" and "show-off food." Through Weiss' lavish descriptions even the reader can see and taste the homeyness of the women's earthy dishes, and experience the discomfort some diners have when confronted with a male chef's creation, standing up tall and offensive in the middle of the plate, covered in unidentifiable foams and froths.

While the "mama food"/"show-off food" generalization may not hold true for every chef, Weiss' journey to several San Francisco bistros and his talks with female restaurateurs definitely leave the reader with a couple of important rules of thumb. Male chefs aspire to better themselves by pushing the limits of their creative abilities. Many measure their success by the bottom line. Women, on the other hand, are in the kitchen for the same reason they were 10,000 years ago: because they want to feed people, nourish people, and make them feel good. They measure success by the look on the faces of their patrons when they taste the food.

Women still face obstacles in the culinary world, but there are a few who have worked to help others overcome them. Check out these modern female chefs who are shaking things up:

Ann Cooper

Chef, author, food acitivist, self proclaimed "Renegade Lunch Lady." Working as the director of nutirtion at schools across the nation, Chef Ann noticed there were some big problems with the ways schools are feeding our children. She fights for change in the lunch line at LunchLessons.org.

Alice Waters

She helped to abolish the "French Pyramid" system in the restaurant industry. She encourages chefs of all experience levels to collaborate in the kitchen. She is an active proponent of using local, organic foods and has founded several organizations, such as Edible Schoolyard and The Chez Panisse Foundation to promote the importance of growing and sharing food. Alice's Restaurant

Rachael Ray

This TV chef has sky-rocketed to fame in the past few years, capturing our hearts and tummies by cooking simple meals that any woman can whip up at home. Her "Yum-O!" program's motto "COOK, FEED, FUND" describes her efforts to share cooking and nutrition information with low income families, feed the hungry, and fund scholarships for aspiring culinary students of varied backgrounds. Check out her charitable organizations.

This article comes to you courtesy of Culinary Classics, Chicago-based manufacturer of women's chef coats, and other fine handmade chef apparel.

The history of women, and even the history of women and food, is a long and complicated one. This lens is not meant to serve as a course in women's studies, but merely a little look into women's journey. There are many complex issues we did not explore, especially deep in the fathoms of the middle ages, and the myriad movements of the 20th and 21st Centuries. We do hope, however, that you find this entertaining if not informative. We welcome any suggestions or corrections.

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