Why are most chefs male?

[Pete]

Leaving myself open for a kicking here..

Why are most professional chefs male? Undoubtedly, there are some excellent female chefs out there, but probably in the minority.
Is it cultural? Is the argument that women cook for the family and men cook for money?

To balance the discussion, I do somewhere between 99.99999% and 100% of the cooking in my household (and enjoy doing so )

 

[Morning Glory]

Leaving myself open for a kicking here..

Why are most professional chefs male? Undoubtedly, there are some excellent female chefs out there, but probably in the minority.
Is it cultural? Is the argument that women cook for the family and men cook for money?

To balance the discussion, I do somewhere between 99.99999% and 100% of the cooking in my household (and enjoy doing so )

Its a good question. The professional kitchen is a traditionally a tough, testosterone dominated environment. Also there are very long hours. These are just two of the factors. There have been some interesting studies. This one is based on a study in Texas:
https://thefeministkitchen.com/2011...hy-so-few-women-chefs-in-restaurant-kitchens/

 

[GadgetGuy]

Both genders are excellent chefs, if you ask me. I don't discriminate between one or the other, as I've worked with both genders in the past during my work history.

 

[Elawin]

A lot of women I know can't cook anyway and their husbands do all the cooking at home. I even know of one couple where the husband was away a lot but still used to do the all the cooking. He used to fill the freezer up with home made ready meals which she only had to stick in the microwave. When he was not at home, breakfast used to consist of cereal and she used to make sandwiches for lunch. [Zooms out of the way before I get a kicking too ]

 

[buckytom]

I think women are too smart to want to take on such a physically difficult job with such long hours and low pay.

Not that they can't do it, though.

 

[sidevalve]

I think women are too smart to want to take on such a physically difficult job with such long hours and low pay.

Not that they can't do it, though.

Not sure about the low pay - when you reach the top as with many professions the rewards can be huge but it does require the long hours

 

[Morning Glory]

Not sure about the low pay - when you reach the top as with many professions the rewards can be huge but it does require the long hours

I think it only pays well at the very very top end. Most Head Chef's don't seem to earn very much - about the same as a school-teacher in the UK. I found this:

How do Head Chef jobs salaries vary across industries?
Industry/ sector Average
Contract Catering £27,000
Restaurant £27,000
Hotel £23,000
Pubs & Bars £25,000

Caterer.com salary calculator - get the average salary for Head Chef ...
https://www.caterer.com/salary-checker/average-head-chef-salary

 

[Morning Glory]

And its seems that the average salary in the UK is:

Average Salary UK 2016 / 2017. The average salary UK for the tax year ending 5 April 2015 was £27,600. This is a median average and an increase of 1.6% over the 2014 median average which was £27,200. These averages are for full time employees with data taken from the ONS Annual Average Salary Survey.

 

[Elawin]

I think it only pays well at the very very top end. Most Head Chef's don't seem to earn very much - about the same as a school-teacher in the UK.

About 20 years ago, I was a medical secretary in London. I was thinking of moving to be nearer to my family in Lincolnshire. There were no local medical secretary jobs available, but the ones that were available further afield were for less money (no London weighting!) with more travelling. However, a job in a factory packing vegetables paid the same money. My son-in-law's mother did that for a while until a more suitable job became available. She said it was absolutely mind-blowingly boring as well as tiring. She preferred a job that was more rewarding, and they were my thoughts too. After a year a job she wanted to do came up and she carried on in that job until she retired - as secretary/PA to the managing director of the veg packing factory. My daughter, on the other hand, eventually left her job as a mortgage advisor in a bank, re-trained, and is now a school-teacher earning more money (teaching A-level maths - something she was never any good at when she was at school). As for me, I couldn't face even a few weeks of "one parsnip, one turnip, one carrot, one onion", and I'm still down here in east London.

 

[Morning Glory]

As for me, I couldn't face even a few weeks of "one parsnip, one turnip, one carrot, one onion", and I'm still down here in east London.

I used to live in Dalston. I lived in London as a student and then again during the late 70's until the early 90's. I rather liked it at the time... but these days I find London rather stressful.

 

[sidevalve]

I think it only pays well at the very very top end. Most Head Chef's don't seem to earn very much - about the same as a school-teacher in the UK. I found this:

How do Head Chef jobs salaries vary across industries?
Industry/ sector Average
Contract Catering £27,000
Restaurant £27,000
Hotel £23,000
Pubs & Bars £25,000

Caterer.com salary calculator - get the average salary for Head Chef ...
https://www.caterer.com/salary-checker/average-head-chef-salary

Perhaps but if there is no top end there is no goal to aim for. A doctor a surgeon a consult and and a Harley street specialist all have different pay scales - take away the dreams and you simply end up with a nation of mediocrity - the possibilities are there it is up to the individual to go out and get them.

 

[Elawin]

I used to live in Dalston. I lived in London as a student and then again during the late 70's until the early 90's. I rather liked it at the time... but these days I find London rather stressful.

Where I live is officially part of London, to most [older] people who live round here it's still Essex, always has been, always will be even if the nice open spaces are disappearing at a rate of knots.

 

[buckytom]

In America, only executive chefs make a somewhat decent living; around $75k/year.
The pay scale drops off precipitously from there.

Line cooks make less than half of that.