Gordon Ramsay’s Female Chefs
It’s a woman’s world….
That colossus among celebrity chefs, Mr. Ramsay has recently declared his intention to staff his three michelin starred London restaurant entirely with women. There are certain cynical types who might suggest this is nothing more than a publicity stunt but that would be out of character as far as I am concerned 
This has all come about as a result of him promoting a female sous chef (Clare Smyth) to head chef of the above mentioned restaurant which gives him chance to win over the hearts of females across the land by declaring them natural cooks of great ability. This lady is now being hailed as Britain’s first three star chef, but is she? Well, not really. The michelin guide comes out in January so last years award for which she has been given credit was awarded to the male head chef, Simone Zanoni. who has only recently left to open another restaurant. Couple that with the fact that on the GR website the restaurant states that the restaurant is overseen by two chefs; the great man himself and a certain Mark Askew, the company executive chef. No mention of chef Zanoni, let alone Ms Smyth!
This new found love of women in the kitchen will come as a suprise to Angela Hartnett, the first female head chef in the company who tells of harrasement and jokes about being a woman and not being able to handle the pressure of a busy kitchen. She describes her treatment and the workload at GR’s first restaurant, Aubergine as being the catalyst for turning her into the tough, no nonsense chef she is today.
Does anyone fall for this anymore? so he employs female chefs and some are very good. So what? I employ five women in my kitchen, three of whom are chefs. Are they better than the men? No, they’re not worse either, they are just chefs who have applied for jobs and have proven their ability which is all that I am bothered about.
I am sure Clare Smyth will be an outstanding success and help retain the restaurant’s three star status. Ms Smyth’s cv is impeccable and there is no doubting her credentials. That said, only when she has stepped out from under the shadow of Mark Askew and won them in her own right can she be truly compared to the world’s first three star female chef; Anne-Sophie Pic of Restaurant Pic in Valence, France.
Chef,
very interesting post, I wonder if you could clarify something for me (no not a lb of butter) …
There was a chef called Gordon Ramsay a few years ago, not sure if it’s the same one. He was a serious chef and not a game show host so I could be mistaken …
I clearly recall him quoted as saying
Surely not the same chap ?
DC
January 3, 2008 @ 9:12 am
Miles,
Isn’t this decision of GR’s a form of discrimination? Surely, it is now understood that the job is for the best applicant, irrespective of sex, colour, age, etc.
Happy New Year to you.
Christine
January 3, 2008 @ 10:17 am
If a job can be done well, and up to the required standard, does it matter if its a man or a woman doing it, surely ability is the important thing !
January 3, 2008 @ 11:58 am
Miles
I’m interested in this Michelin star business.
Does it go to the chef or the venue?
If the chef - can he take it with him?
I suspect someone with Ramsay’s high profile might be less likely to lose a star than perhaps others might - I have no evidence of this just a suspicion.
As 3 stars are relatively rare I wonder whether when a head chef leaves that there should be an inspection once a replacement chef has settled in just to see whether it still deserves 3 stars or not.
I could see how somebody who owns a chain could get 3 star chef to keep going around new venues, getting the stars then moving to the next newly opened restaurant!
Once again it’s just hypothetical and call me cynical if you like
Cheers
Rod
January 3, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
Derfel,
Hence the post-you can’t say something like that and then all of a sudden become an ambassador for women in the workplace.
Hypocrite!
Miles
January 3, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
Christine,
Quite right, why should a kitchen be full of women-or men? It’s headline grabbing, that’s all.
Happy New Year!
Miles
January 3, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
SC,
That is what I base my criteria for employing people on, nothing more, nothing less. Women will see straight through all of this, it’s patronising.
Miles
January 3, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
Rod,
If the chef leaves then the restaurant should lose a star and be re inspected as is the case with AA rosettes. Where Ramsay has been clever is by naming himself and Mark Askew as chef/patron and overall head chef respectively. That means that whoever is the ‘working head chef’ i.e. the one who oversees every lunch and dinner service proper can come and go because according to the restaurant messrs Ramsay and Askew are there anyway which keeps Michelin happy even though they know Ramsay will be off filming and Askew will be in Dubai/America/France or Tokyo.
Miles
January 3, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Sounds to me like he could have his own “Kitchen Nightmare” on his hands anytime soon.
January 3, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
SC,
Well I have long wondered if and when the bubble is going to burst. A lot of celebrity chefs who have their own restaurants get slated because they are never there and the food is distinctly average. Brian Turner and Jean Christophe Novelli come under considerable attack for this, Ramsay does produce very good quality restaurants but he is spreading himself increasingly thinly.
Miles
January 3, 2008 @ 5:02 pm