London - A renowned chef has claimed that women find it harder to survive in Britain’s kitchens because they are testosterone-fuelled “war zones”.
Tom Kerridge, who owns Britain’s only pub with two Michelin stars, questioned whether it was “the industry for them” because of the “threatening” atmosphere in many kitchens.
He added that chefs need “fire in their belly” to get the work done and this may be why there are “not so many female chefs”.
However, the owner of The Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, also said he wants more women to enter the profession as it would help stop male chefs talking about “boobs”.
Kerridge, 41, who has appeared on the Great British Menu and MasterChef, was speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival.
He said of the traditional kitchen: “It’s a monster. This doesn’t just apply to girls, we have loads of blokes who do a runner.
“The pressure of cooking for that amount of people is so intense, it’s like a war zone almost.
“I like girls in kitchens a lot because it does bring that testosterone level down a little bit, it does make it not so aggressive.
“If there’s 16 blokes in a kitchen all talking about boobs and football – we need girls in kitchens so that we just talk about football.”
He also said cooks need to stop being preoccupied with fashionable kitchen gadgets and just rely on top quality ingredients, cooked simply using an oven and hob. - Daily Mail