For centuries, cooking has been confined to being a duty for women. Most girls in India are expected to make round rotis, crisp dosas, spicy curries and delectable gulab jamuns at an early age, sometimes even before they learn any alphabet. But the belief that ‘a woman’s place is in the kitchen’ hardly extends beyond her home and into the hospitality industry.
Interestingly, cooking for men has become a well-paid job. While women continue to strive for equal opportunities in the workplace they are still excluded from professional kitchens. A look into the hot kitchens of most luxury hotels will reveal that it is a place dominated by men where women chefs are a rarity. This incongruity is perplexing and one wonders why there are less number of female chefs in the culinary industry than men. “The ratio of female chefs is less in the kitchen. There’s gender bias as the industry is male-dominated. Men get preference over women,” says MasterChef India, Season 2 winner Shipra Khanna.
May the best chef win and not the gender
Globally, women chefs are thriving in the culinary industry. But India is yet to join the league. Celebrated chef and MasterChef judge Vikas Khanna reveals that Indian female chefs in the hospitality industry are still “a very big question mark.” Though the number of women passing out from culinary colleges is rising it nowhere meets the number of job opportunities in big kitchens. “It is also because of the demanding nature of the job that makes it less coveted by women,” says Chef Karen Yepthomi of Dzukou Tribal Kitchen in New Delhi, who worked at some of the top hotels in India as a chef before starting her restaurant.
“It’s a very challenging job that requires long working hours. It becomes difficult for women to manage work and family. I am not implying that women can’t do that but priorities shift once they start to build families. Some female chefs take a back seat in the industry to focus on raising their children but male chefs don’t do that. I think we should hire the best one for the job and not a woman or a man. There’s nothing to do with the gender of the chef,” says Karen.
Women chefs are here to thrive
From ordering supplies to ensuring cleanliness, checking power supply and preparation before cooking, and meeting guests as and when required, Chef Bimba Nayak says, she wouldn’t know when her day ended. Being the only woman in a 60-member team, Bimba handled a variety of tasks, including lifting heavy dishes, just like her male counterparts. “I was the first female chef to be working in a Mediterranean kitchen in Saudi Arabia. I would leave both my schoolchildren at home and work the entire day. Working in a commercial kitchen is not easy. Women often tend to burn out and decide to move out to start their venture. I did the same thing,” says the celebrity chef.
“Unfavorable working hours are surely the reason why there are not many female chefs in the industry. But women also don’t get enough support from family to pursue their passion. Indian society still doesn’t recognise being a chef as a respectable profession. Women should be encouraged and supported by their family members,” says Ruchika Nagpal of Wynk cafe in Pune.
Moving beyond macho culture
As beautiful and rewarding as the hospitality industry is, it’s disheartening to see that there’s gender bias that plays a big role in the kitchen. Chef Nilza Wangmo of Alchi Kitchen in Ladakh says that being a female chef in the culinary world is not easy. “It is hard. It’s way more challenging to be taken seriously as a female chef, especially in India which still has a macho culture,” says Nilza who recently won Nari Shakti Puraskar for promoting Ladakhi food in the valley.
Some chefs believe that the number of fewer female than male chefs in professional kitchens is attributed to the traditional job distributions — men cooking for a living and women cooking for their families at home. “It’s always been ruled by male chefs, but slowly things are changing and that gives us hope that soon we will have a woman taking over.
Chennai-based pastry chef Dimple Talreja says reality shows like MasterChef have helped change society’s perception and many women are choosing to be chefs and hotels are becoming more open to giving equal opportunities.
“Things are changing. Women are everywhere now. Though, there’s a huge gap to bridge but with cloud kitchens women have paved the way for the future generation to aspire for more,” concludes Dimple.
