Which sex makes the best chef?

Question

You read restaurant reviews & it seems many of them are run by male chefs in the kitchen. But the handing down of recipes & family cooking traditions dictate that mothers & grandmothers usually teach the female descendants. What's going on here? Which sex is really the best cook?

Answer 1

That's a poor question. Do you SERIOUSLY think a Y chromosome (or lack thereof) makes ANY difference in cooking ability. Maybe males have an easier time purchasing a restraunt. Maybe fewer women want to be chefs. Maybe there is a bias in the reviewer. Maybe you haven't read enough reviews. Who knows? Sex makes no difference in cooking ability.

Answer 2

Chefs are usually men because it is one of the best payed positions, especially in five stars restaurants and hotels. It has not much to do with who is better cook. The new form of discrimination nowadays is that men do not take the most responsible, dangerous and demanding positions, but the best payed ones. There are for example every day more policewomen in many countries because men are less interested in these positions.

Answer 3

I have often wondered the same thing.
But I think it doesn't really matter who's what when it comes to cooking.
Both men and women can be great cooks.
But I think the people who love food and love people make the best cooks.
I have never in all my life met someone who knew how to cook delicious food but didn't like food or people.
Every good cook I've ever met has had a genuine love for both.
Out of all the professions out there in the job market I think Chefs take the cake (pun intended) when it comes to graciousness and hospitality.

Answer 4

I don't know that either sex is the better cook. Women are more the traditional cooks in the home because in past years they were home more. Men are the more traditional chefs because they historically presented a more imposing image in the kitchen. Things are changing.

Answer 5

We're comparing apples & oranges.
There's a huge gap between cook & chef.
Family cooking is different from public cooking.
Being a chef requires far more creativity & skill.
That said, either gender can master those skills.

My father insisted that boys should learn to cook.
(My mother also taught me to knit & crochet)
But I only saw my father cook bacon & eggs.

Answer 6

In all honesty that depends upon what's being cooked, the preparation, the timing, the cooking technique that's being used and the application of the seasonings being used.
For instance when working with chicken you do not want to add seasonings meant only for lamb chops, you have to know the cooking time boneless versus with bone - in case of baking and or broiling. Taking it from there it's a toss up; in all fairness after what I just said I can't pick which one is better.

Answer 7

Alright, let's first separate the cooks from the Chefs, and the celebrity Chefs from the ones who support the industry as a whole.
Anybody can be a cook, that's about putting food on the table either for survival, or fun; some are better than others and I have known many in both genders that are really good, and more who are really baaaad!
Celebrity Chefs like the ones mentioned, are a figurehead on the face of a corporation. I have met and worked with many of them and find that largely, though not exclusively, they are in it for the money, and have other people doing most of the legwork for them. It takes a very special breed of person to go into food on that level, and it is not really what I think about at all when discussing Culinary Art.

A working Chef in the restaurant world, whether male or female, is a dedicated and passionate individual who works really hard for the money, but is generally not driven by the money. To learn to cook everything well, takes years of schooling and sacrifice, the ability to give oneself up to grueling hours on ones feet because you have something to say in the food that you lovingly and tirelessly prepare, for an audience that is hard to please and often does not understand what you are trying to accomplish.
Being a Chef means that you are a disciplined person by nature, you are able to multi-task to the nth degree, able to manage people with compassion, and care for their feelings and growth. A willingness to be a teacher to many people who are also struggling to become what you are, those who look to you to set a consist ant standard for them, even when you are sick, sad, tired, or just really busy and should be doing something else.
An artist who is able to deliver a 5 dimensional painting, over and over and over, each time with consistency. It is a person with impeccable integrity, who knows that you can never afford to cut corners on sanitation standards, because your job is to feed people safely. You have to look good in the dining room, despite the fact that you have been schlepping away in a hot and often frenetic environment since before daybreak. Yet you do so with grace and interest in those who have honored you, by coming to eat your food, without whom, many people who are depend ant on you for their livelihood would be out of work.
It is someone with enough math skill to never lose sight of food cost, profitability and the bottom line. Someone who knows the price of every commodity in their head, and has an innate ability to understand the shifting value of goods that are affected by world affairs, mother nature and trends that come and go overnight.
You also have to be prepared to give up your life to your work, often at the expense of your loved ones, for the hours are long and the work is consuming (No pun intended)!

Who can do this? Well, thousands of people do it every day.
I have been in the industry many years and know lots of male and female Chefs, some better at what they do than others, but all very hard working. Early in my career, it was a male dominated profession, but now there are many well respected female Chefs. We are individuals, we are driven by our art, we are humble people who love to nurture.
(I am a woman).

Answer 8

from my experince in the Kitchen men make better chefs'/cooks. I worked in resturants for 5 years and saw mostly men. I will tell you why men make better cooks. women can't or won't work 14 hour shifts and lift 100 to 200 lbs. as well cooking is hot, hard and dirty work, most women don't want to do that

Answer 9

I don't know. But would love to donate some time to sample the cooking of the contestants!

Answer 10

I think it depends on the person. Both women and men can be fantastic. I hate to say it, but my boyfriend is just a naturally better cook. I think it's because he just CARES so much.