Being A woman in the Kitchen

Some of the sexist men in this world may make the comment that women belong in the kitchen, but in the industry this notion is quite different. There aren’t nearly as many women chefs in the industry when compared to men, and they don’t get nearly the amount of respect they deserve.

I never really thought too hard about being a woman in the kitchen, its not big deal right?  I am a woman; I can cook, I can bake, and hey, I work in a kitchen, no big deal, but maybe that’s just my naïveté.

The other day one of the cooks was introducing me to one of the new line cooks, and in Spanish he said “ ella es la solomente chica en la coscina” meaning that I am the only girl/ woman in the kitchen. It doesn’t really bother me much because all of the guys treat me with the utmost respect.

Although the kitchen staff I work with treat me with respect sometimes I feel like some people don’t take me seriously for a plethora of reasons. I am twenty-two years old ( but I’ve been told that I have an old soul so sometimes it feels like I’m spiritually  sixty-two maybe older ), I am also a solid 5 feet tall maybe a solid 5’3 when I wear my sketchers shape-ups.

One morning I was the only person available at the moment to take in an order. The delivery man proceeded to tell everyone in the kitchen that I was his new girlfriend and he felt the need to tell me the correct way to take in an order as if I had never done it before. As I mentioned I am young, but I am educated and therefore quite intelligent, and I have been in the industry long enough to know how to receive an order. Maybe I am overreacting, but that did not sit well with me.

Another instance: Just the other day an order came in and it was blocking the door to the basement where my kitchen is so, I did what I needed to do. I carried four fifty pound bags of flour down a flight of stairs and well as two twenty gallon bottles of oil ( at the same time) down that same flight of stairs. meanwhile men watched me and commented on my strength, but did not lend a helping hand until I instructed them to do so.

All in all I take pride in my independence and strength, but I will never allow myself to be taken advantage of especially because I am a woman working in the kitchen.