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Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"

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Flackette Goes Retro
11/21/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
Well at least in my relationship this holds up. Boyfriend cooks very well, but he's very technical about it. There are recipes cut out of magazines, measuring cups, obscure ingredients and frequent references to the Joy of Cooking. I'm more of the "let's see what we have in the pantry and put something together" type.

When we had a summer dinner party I suggested grilling out and having ice cream. He said he wanted to do something more "impressive." I was like well, the point isn't the prep, it's whether it tastes good. (We did grill, but used a fancy homemade marinade).
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prettycool
11/21/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
This just reminds me how during the holidays, my mom and sisters cook for hours while my male relatives sit in the living room and watch football. And I'm supposed to help in the kitchen whether I want to or not. And after dinner all the older kids have to clean up, which means me.

family dinners suck.
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bowleserised
11/21/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
Gordon must have been selectively quoted. He's put one of the world's foremost female chefs in charge of one of his restaurants. She's pretty well known in the UK too.

[www.gordonramsay.com]
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champagne
11/21/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
I have two words for you: SUSAN SPICER!

[www.chefspicer.com] & [bayona.com]

She is a TRUE CHEF. I have eaten at some of the most respected restaurants in Europe and in the US, and at all the 'hot' restaurants in the chef-obsessed city of New Orleans and Spicer's cuisine is outstanding! She accomplishes some thing with her food other chefs fail at: either they are technically perfect but fall flat on the savory and satisfying side or they are all about comfort food but have no savoir faire, no art or technical complexity to their dishes. Spicer prepares perfectly seasoned and spiced meals with an elegant complexity to the flavors. Her dishes are artfully arranged (but with purpose), they're delicious, they enliven the senses, and they are award winning! She's a James Beard winner for crying out loud. When I am in New Orleans (usually 2x per year) I run, not walk to her restaurant Bayona. The locals eat at her place because they are in the know! Seriously she is a Master Chef!

There are amazing woman chefs out there you just have to make yourself aware of them.
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Grim Reaper of the Forest
11/21/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
Cook/chef, midwife/doctor, homemaker/CEO. I'm starting to see a trend.
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RedHotz
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
My husband does most of the cooking at our house and he is absolutely wonderful. Our three children also have been taught to cook so that there is always someone in our home that is cooking. At the holidays it is a madhouse here as we are baking crazy people.
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Mafalda para Presidente
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
I think the question is unnecessary. Both men and women can be either "cooks" or "chefs" depending on their level of expertise. To me this is akin to asking "Are women teachers or just glorified babysitters?" In other words, a stupid question.
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stealthird
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
I think this (ludicrous) division comes from the fact that men who cook for a living feel the need to put down women who do the same in order to compensate for the emasculating nature of doing something so "womany". How ironic. (Dudes: for every shallot you chop, your sack loses .098 grams in total mass. Consider yourselves warned.)
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Alys Brangwin has a huge talent
11/20/08

@stealthird: In Italian, the word for "balls" is "cipollini," or little onions. You can buy them in a grocery store and they're about the size of a small head of garlic. Whenever I hear them talking about the "cipollini" in the dish on Top Chef, I feel like laughing so hard.
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sybann
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
OMG! I refused to learn how to type and ended up working for a magazine. You should see me fly using 6 fingers...
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Flowers For Algernon
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
Um... Has anyone not met Paula Dean? And before her. Um... Julia Child?

those are chefs?
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labeled
11/20/08

@HalfBloodPrince: Hmm. I'd consider Paula a kickass cook.

Sara Moulton is one of my favorites - she apprenticed under Julia, if I remember correctly.
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ChuffedLittleMuffin
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
The mark of a true chef is the ability to compliment one's meal with an inexpensive yet luxurious-looking tablescape.
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Flowers For Algernon
11/20/08

@ChuffedLittleMuffin: That one lady on food network loves table scapes lol! Heres my awesome 4th of july inspired table scape.
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labeled
11/20/08

@HalfBloodPrince: Here's my theory on her (whatever the hell her name is):

She's actually not just creating 'tablescapes' she's creating a clever, crafty, daily ruse for Meth Moms.

"No, of course I wasnt out smoking meth and playing the slots all day, don't you SEE this LOVELY dinner and TABLESCAPE?"

Yeah, not a fan. In fact, she's the reason I've stopped watching Food network. AH! Sandra Lee is her name.
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SarahMC
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
It reeeeally chaps my ass that women are expected to cook for men and the rest of their families at home, but get paid and celebrated for it? No, that's where men'll take over. FUUUUCK that.
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labeled
11/20/08

@SarahMC: Unless you're Giada.

Or, as my husband sometimes says when he gets distracted, "Boobssaywhat?"
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belle TL
11/20/08

@labeled: Oh, Giada. She was at a book signing at King of Prussia one of the last times we were there (didn't know about it, so we weren't in line) and he kept walking past the Williams-Sonoma to get looks at her. But her recipes are fantastic, so I have no beef with her.
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labeled
11/20/08

@bellethellama: Ha! But yeah, I really don't mind her either, she's always good for a quick "hey, THAT sounds good" dinner idea.
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braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
Yeah, Gordon Ramsay says some asinine things, but he knows talent when he sees it. Maybe he's just being purposefully obtuse? I don't know.
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marypoppinpills
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
So true! I am a chef. Most every kitchen I have worked in has been dominated by men. It took me so long to even get my foot in the door in this profession and even longer to prove my capabilities. It is a hot, fast, physically demanding job that few people in general can handle. I have proven myself to be the toughest cook in my kitchen...and I'm the only female. It was a long, painful process for me. Working through the pain of cuts, burns, exhaustion, cramps, pms, etc...I always felt like I had to suck it up & keep going no matter what or it would make me look weak. Now that I've earned the admiration of all my male coworkers they treat me with mad respect and they all have my back no matter what. It was worth all the pain & (secret) tears to get where I am. I needed to prove it to myself & I did it. I am Wonder Woman in the kitchen & I wouldn't trade my job for anything.
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brendastarlet is on it
11/20/08

@marypoppinpills: hooray for you! When I found out that being a chef would be even harder than my day job (where I already work 10-12 hours) I decided I would leave it to the experts. My little stint in Paris taught me just how hard you folks have it.
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belle TL
11/20/08

In reply to Are Women "Chefs" Or Just "Cooks?"
Something else that strikes me while watching Top Chef is how all of the contestants tend to loathe baking or making any kind of dessert, as if knowing how to bake is almost a "maternal" or not as hardcore as knowing how to butcher a rib rack. I caught a season-1 episode yesterday where Tiffani is making a wedding cake from box mix, and Chef Tom is shocked that she would do so, and her response is "well, none of us know how to bake that well," as if it was a valid excuse. Of course, I think it's bullshit, because I think that people don't like baking is that they can't fudge it the way they can other kinds of cookery--it's too exacting. I know that's why my husband hates doing it.

That said, he at least respects my ability to bake, and is thrilled that I've embraced baking things like focaccia (seriously, easiest thing EVER) to go with our soup dinners.
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brendastarlet is on it
11/20/08

@bellethellama: there's a reason. Baking is a separate responsibility from being a line cook or executive chef. It's a different skill, aka, you have to follow a recipe. Think of it as being the colorist in a salon. You may have loyal customers, but the stylists get all the attention.
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labeled
11/20/08

@bellethellama: I was stunned last night to see people actually *wanting* to do dessert on TC.

I do find that I cook much differently than my step-father. In fact, I've been cooking up a storm this morning/afternoon in preparation for T-giving. I'm in charge of the dressing (to the non-Southern: think "stuffing" but a million times better - ok, I'm biased - and not cooked in the bird) which has to be "just so."

And by "just so" I mean, it better taste like my Grandmother cooked it. I find it to be important to keep our culinary traditions alive, while stepdad has been poring over cookbooks trying to find something "new" or "different" for t-day. And what'll he do then? Totally change THAT recipe. LOL

We make a pretty damned good match at Thanksgiving, though.
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belle TL
11/20/08

@brendastarlet: Definitely buy that. I think it just shocks me that there are contestants that apply to the show that still don't have a few desserts up their sleeve, you know?
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brendastarlet is on it
11/20/08

@bellethellama: dessert prep is so easy, too! Give me a knife and a squeeze bottle and some fruit and I can make magic.
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belle TL
11/20/08

@labeled: Me too! And I was thrilled that Carla, spirit-guided though she is, did really well with hers and they gave her props for it.

@jennyOH: Agreed. Also, delicious carbs are, well, delicious, and sometimes a wonderful piece of bread is all you need.
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