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Is There a Difference Between Male and Female Cooking?

partysugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:15:04 -0700

Food blog Eater recently featured an upcoming course at New York City's Astor Center. The class (which is really more of a social experiment) will examine the myths of gender in the restaurant kitchen. During the event, 10 chefs‚ including Alex Guarnaschelli and Johnny Iuzzini, will cook a five-course meal to be blind taste-tested by Grant Achatz and Gwen Hyman. The judges will try and discern which dishes are made by a man and which ones are made by a woman. While I find the concept behind the class fascinating and am curious to see the final results, I doubt there will be a notable difference between the way a male and female cook. What do you think?

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Gastrosexual: The New Metrosexual?

YumSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:00:28 -0700

Much like the sudden rise of the metrosexual, a recently released study discusses the rapid growth of the next major male demographic: the gastrosexual. According to the Daily Mail, these men use their culinary skills to impress their friends and potential love interests.

Leading the pack of gastrosexual men are celebrity chefs, like Jamie Oliver, Danny Boome, and Gordon Ramsay, who glorify the high-stakes world of the restaurant kitchen. PurAsia, the food company that published the report, entitled "Emergence of the Gastrosexual," said in a public statement:

We found that cooking for this new generation isn't simply a matter of refuelling. For them it's an enjoyable experience and something to be relished - they cook for pleasure, praise and potential seduction.

Restaurant chefs have always been macho, but I'm curious to see if this motivates more men to cook. What do you think of the development? Is there a gastrosexual in your life?

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2007's Favorite Male-Celebrity Chef Is . . .

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:20:18 -0800

This morning, as part of our Best of 2007 coverage, we revealed our favorite female-celeb chef of 2007. Well, now it's time to reveal our favorite male-celebrity chef. The readers' choice mimicked my own and it was a close race between Alton Brown and Anthony Bourdain; in fact, they're currently tied at 23 percent each. However in the end, I'm going to have go against my heart and go with my brain. Our choice for male-celebrity chef of the year is Gordon Ramsay.

This year Ramsay really dominated his category. He had two successful US television shows - Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares - several interesting shows on BBC, a video game in the works, two more Michelin stars, a new cookbook, and he found time to run a marathon. Not to mention he did all this even with burned bits down under.

Say what you will about Ramsay, but he is a successful - if not awfully busy - bloke and 2007 was really his year.

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Are Recipes By Female Chefs More Complicated Than Those By Male Chefs?

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:03:38 -0700

The UK Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills recently completed a study that looked at 35 recipes published by five UK celebrity chefs - Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Nigel Slater. It turns out that while these folks make cooking look simple, their recipes can be difficult to follow. Actually, of the five chefs, only the recipes from the two women chefs were considered overly complicated.

While Gordon Ramsay's recipes were considered "so simple they can be followed by a seven-year-old," Nigella and Delia's were deemed too "chatty."

"[The study] found that 5.2million adults in the UK would be unable to follow Nigella's cooking methods as she uses longer sentences and tends to write in a "chatty" style, mixing in personal observations with her instructions.

"Delia Smith's culinary teaching was also criticised for having too many stages and using measurements confusing for anyone with poor numeracy skills.
"She also sprinkles too many adjectives into her recipes."

The study was intended to highlight the UK Government's adult learning campaign, but actually turned up the fact that the high profile male chefs deliver easier, simpler recipes than their female counterparts.

What do you guys think? Are you familiar with their recipes, do you agree? Also, if the study was conducted on US chefs, do you think the same would be said? Do you think Bobby Flay's recipes would be easier to follow than Giada De Laurentiis's?

Source: Daily Mail
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Who Is Your Favorite Male Celebrity Chef of 2007?

YumSugar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:43:19 -0800

As part of our ongoing Best of 2007 coverage, we thought we'd find out which male celebrity chef ranks highest in your book.

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Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali Talk Italian Food

partysugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:44:44 -0700

At the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen over the weekend I was lucky enough to attend a demonstration lead by Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. The duo are the masterminds behind a popular Los Angeles restaurant, Osteria Mozza. Silverton works most nights at the eatery behind the mozzarella bar. Batali, of course, is busy with lots of projects like a new line of tomato sauce and a pizza oven. When he hit the stage he dipped his hand in a pot of boiling pasta water and used it to slick back his hair! The two cooked, joked, and talked Italian cuisine. To find out what they had to say, read more.

To cook like an Italian, Mario insists on spending quality time shopping. "If you get good ingredients and don't really mess around with them, then you're cooking like an Italian."
When looking for ingredients, both Silverton and Batali seek out harder to find Italian specialty items like straticella (a type of fresh cheese), speck (smoked prosciutto), and guanicale (similar to bacon, but made from pork cheeks). Mario shamelessly pointed out that this kind of charcuterie can be purchased from his father's salumeria.

When making pasta, Batali undercooks it by two minutes. "When the box says it cooks in 10-12 minutes, I take it out after 8 minutes of cooking, then cook it for one more minute in the pan."
Like many Italian chefs, Batali said the "most crucial ingredient when making pasta is the starchy pasta water."
Instead of liquid honey, when she can find it, Silverton likes to use whole edible honey comb on cheese plates.
Let the pan do the work. Place meat and fish in a hot pan and leave it there. Don't mess with it, especially if it's fish.
Try making pesto in a mortar and pestle. Silverton, whose a huge fan of pestos, makes a variety including the classic basil, and other more interesting renditions like celery leaf, tomato, and caper pestos. While the elements may change, she makes pesto by hand in a mortar and pestle instead of a food processor. "The difference between male and female cooking is that men like machines and women like to be hands-on."
In Italy, they cook with everything from the head to the tail and from the leaf to the root, so make the most of your ingredients.
Unlike in French cooking, Italians (and Batali) don't worry about emulsifying sauces. Batali likes it when each bite is different and textured.
Lightly dress salads.
Spend the extra dollar on more expensive pasta. It will affect the overall flavor of the dish and is worth it.

The most important thing that Batali and Silverton stressed was that Italians are regionally focused. Each town has its own specific type of local cuisine. To truly cook like an Italian, look to your hometown for ingredients that are local and special to that region.

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Where Are the Women Chefs?

partysugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:18:33 -0800

For most of history, women played a large role in the kitchen, and now in 2007, the majority of chefs that dominate restaurant kitchens are male. All three winners of Bravo's Top Chef were males. The final contestants on the Next Iron Chef are male. So where are the female chefs?

Star Chefs recently sought to answer this question by speaking with nine of the nation's top female chefs. They asked the chefs about having a family, prioritizing, the strength it takes to last in the kitchen, cooking with soul, and experimental techniques. Here's a snippet from their interview with San Francisco's Traci DesJardins:

"You never hear men talk or get asked about their kids as an issue - it’s because they probably have a wife who takes care of the kids. I have my son only two days a week and I’m not available to the restaurant on the days that I take care of my son. So if a critic walks in that day, I’m not going to be there, I’m going to be with my son. Period.

It's a sad truth that having children doesn't affect male chefs as much as it will female chefs, but this is something all female professionals have to deal with, not just chefs. What do you think? Will the role of females in the culinary work force change or will men continue to be in control?

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For Female Chefs, the Kitchen Still Feels Like a Man's World

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:30:12 -0800

With female personalities like Padma Lakshmi, Giada De Laurentiis, and Cat Cora in the media spotlight, one would think that sexism in the kitchen is a non-issue. However, a provocative article in Time Out magazine argues that even if sex discrimination isn't overt, it's still prevalent. While "Mad Men-style ass-pinching" is no longer de rigueur, Rebecca Flint Marx points out that sex discrimination is clear when you notice (or don't) the amount of recognition that women chefs receive in comparison to their male counterparts.

Only 10 percent of the nation's executive chefs are female, and men vastly outnumber women when it comes to receiving accolades, such as a nomination for Food & Wine's Best New Chef, or a James Beard Foundation Award.

Donatella Arpaia attributes the disparity in the kitchen to women not getting enough publicity. Others blame it on the fact that women tend to work for smaller restaurant groups. Prominent female chefs have certainly complained of getting "passed over and not let into the club."

Yet, many in the industry remain hopeful: In recent years, women have gained ground in sommelier and maître d' positions and resources such as the New York Women's Culinary Alliance and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs exist to promote the advancement of women in the food industry.

Are you surprised to learn that women are still hitting a glass ceiling in a place as merit-based as the kitchen?

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Let's Dish: Hell's Kitchen 4.4

partysugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:11:33 -0700

The women shone on last night's installment of Hell's Kitchen: they won the pasta challenge and completed the dinner service before the boys. It was the first time in Hell's Kitchen history that children were invited to dine in the restaurant. The menu featured kid-friendly foods like pasta, hamburgers, onion rings, and barbecued chicken. The simplified menu allowed the chefs to finally find a rhythm. To address some of the main issues of the episode - Ramsay often refers to the chefs lovingly as donkeys so wasn't it ironic when live donkeys were part of the kiddie entertainment? - read more.

Let the discussion begin!

Isn't it weird how many of the contestants were chefs in the past but have since moved onto other professions? Example: Ben used to be a chef and is now an electrician.
Was the pasta challenge an unfair test of strength between males and females?

In a real kitchen, does someone have to stand around and hold the pasta while it dries?
Did anyone else notice the dated-looking paper doily underneath the sad onion rings?
Was Vanessa over exaggerating the degree of her burn?
Who should emerge as a leader of the blue, all-male team?
Was Jen's performance worthy of Ramsay's praises?
Was Ramsay being too hard on Ben?

And now, let's recall some of Ramsay's finest moments:

On the chefs' pasta-making skills: OK bloody good effort! I've seen more energy in the last 20 minutes than I have the last three services.
On Jean Phillipe's stuffy attire: Come here you, it's a family service. Take your f***ing tie off. You're like a f***ing stick. Walk straight you f***ing doughnut!
On Matt's barbecued chicken being sent to a child when it was still raw: Gentlemen raw chicken! Matt it's pink and bloody. Come here you. What the f*** are you doing? It's the tartare again with you, isn't it? F***ing donkey!
On the small, bad hamburgers the boys were cooking: Why are we cooking the burgers off so early?! They're like ice hockey pucks! Are we a fast-food joint now?
On Craig's performance in the kitchen: It's raw - so how long? He doesn't even answer! He's not giving me an answer. He is making me f***ing nervous, oh my f***ing god!

Photos courtesy of Fox.

Hell's Kitchen - 3.6 Recap

partysugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:01:38 -0700

Was it just me or was last night's episode of Hell's Kitchen somewhat entertaining? After catching the snooze fest that was the Food Network's shameful Next Star, Hell's Kitchen - with a gentler Ramsay (gentler = he did not break any plates) and glamorous photoshoot - was actually kind of fun. Melissa brought the boys down in battle lobster, Rock threw a temper tantrum, and Bonnie made something that impressed chef Ramsay. For all that and more read more

Following last week's elimination switch up - Melissa was moved to the boys team to prove herself - both sides are thinking positively. In a creative challenge, each team is given one hour to make 3 original lobster dishes. Josh is not allowed to participate because he mis-tasted lobster during the blind tasting. Bonnie turns into a whiny b*tch stating that she hates killing lobster, doesn't want to dip her hand into the tank for the shellfish, and blah, blah, blah. She then shocks everyone - herself included - with a tasty grilled lobster salad. Rock wins the second course with his buttermilk, fried lobster, and it comes down to a tough choice between Jen and Brad's respective lobster bisques. Ramsay declares the girls as winners and they find out that their glamorous prize is to appear with Ramsay in (this week's edition?) InTouch magazine. They are whisked off in a limo, guzzling champagne, while the blue team is left to sort through the trash.
The girls have a fabulous time glamming it up: Bonnie looks gorgeous, Jen looks a little tipsy, and Julia looks out of place (but doesn't she always? that's why I love her!) as they pose Charlie's Angels style - guns replaced by kitchen appliances - with chef Ramsay. Rock's anger builds as he is sent to empty the trash bins at the photoshoot. Luckily he is in a better mood by the time dinner service starts. The girls, perhaps on a high from being in a photoshoot, have an exceptional night with only a few blunders (Bonnie starts a fire, Julia has a breakdown). The boys+Melissa, perhaps still feeling gross from digging thru the trash all day, can't seem to do anything right. Brad ruins the risotto, Melissa fails to realize/admit that she overcooked the monkfish, Josh bumbles around like a clown, and the entire team runs out of mashed potatoes way before the majority of their dinners are sent out, forcing Ramsay to shut them down.

Obvious losers, the blue team is asked to nominate 2 people for elimination. At the chopping block Ramsay calls Melissa forward and sends her home (good riddance crazy!). Next he asks Brad and Josh to step up to the plate leading everyone to believe that he is about to boot another contestant! Instead Ramsay reiterates how crappy they were and tells them politely to get back in line and get the f*ck out of Hell's Kitchen.

And so another episode ends but not without some excellent sayings by the chef we love to hate, Gordon Ramsay:

Jen just watch where you are rolling that pizza cutter.
I call away a spaghetti and get a sea bass, and I get a risotto as a little gift I don't even f**king need.
Everything she touches she screws, yes chef no chef, screw that.
It looks like regurgitated dog food.
Blue team, let's put you out of your misery. You were crap. You got beat by a nanny, a waffle house cook, and a pastry chef.

Does anyone else think that the girls "won" the challenge because the pic for InTouch would look hotter?? I mean chef Ramsay surrounded by a bunch of male chefs...not so hot.

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