Not long ago in a discussion group a colleague of mine stated that there are more men in the kitchen and asked whether there is a difference between female chefs and male chefs, here was my answer:

One of the reasons that there are more male chefs in the kitchen lies within the fact that the first (and I will not go into very detailed history) guilds of chefs and the general concept of a kitchen brigade originated in the military.

Fun fact: the classic chef’s jacket with two rows of buttons is based on the model of the Turkish military shirt.

When women take on careers that were defined by men they mostly prove to succeed just as well as men if not better (of course we can’t make generalizations), we have seen this with female surgeons, pilots, lawyers, and many other professions. I personally have a lot of respect for women who choose to go for careers dominated by men, these women oftentimes have to deal with men with big egos (it’s not by coincidence that when I decided to take flying lessons I chose a school ran by a female pilot – without offending anyone).

As one who has always had and still gets the privilege to employ women in my kitchens, teach both many men and women, and eat in the kitchens run by women – I must say that usually those who choose and remain in the profession are not easily defeated by anything, not even the excuse of fatigue and long hours, a woman that has chosen the profession – in general, knows she is entering the world of male cooks with high egos so  she is already in the state of mind to defend her status and prove her way up the ladder. So women that have decided to stay in the harsh kitchen world are usually just as good or even better, sorry guys!