Playing like the boys (women in professional kitchens)

"Be prepared to work harder than ever before - and learn to love every minute of it.  Of course, sometimes you can only love it in retrospect."

                                                                                      ---- Chef Amy Binkley 

Chef Amy Binkley's a pragmatic woman - the very type of professional whom Chef Glenn Humphrey says can most easily succeed in professional kitchens.

"You need an inner strength, a core," he says.

"People want to see if you can take the pressure and not fold."

"I think," Chef Amy says carefully, "there are instances of true harassment. But you want to take a look at how the boys treat each other (in the kitchen).  If they're treating you like one of the guys, it's hard to complain."

She also notes that, "Kitchens are high-pressure situations.

"In some ways, the responses within those kitchens are changing.  In some kitchens, there's more of a consciousness about creating a better working environment."

"Women need to (learn to) be more aggressive," Chef Glenn says.

"You have to develop your own confidence, practice your skills until they're ingrained. 

You can't be a wallflower.

"As a cook, you're gonna get yelled at, so you need a thick skin. And confidence.  In this industry, everyone's a critic and you need to be able to withstand it, and develop an ego to go with it.

"When you're confident, you can be more aggressive."

What should women who plan on careers in culinary know as they begin to prepare to work in an industry that's challenging on so many levels?

"Decide that you really will learn from each experience," says Chef Amy.

"When you go to work, be willing to start at the bottom. Culinary school will lift your value, but you need to be willing to put in your time.

"And remember it's called work for a reason."

Both chefs urged students and women just entering the profession to actively seek chefs - both men and women - whose careers and kitchens they admire and ask for career advice and assistance.

"Find a mentor," says Chef Glenn.  "In fact, find two or three."

"Find a chef you want to work with," Chef Amy recommends.  "Look for kitchens you want to work in.

"We always say, you can tell when there's no love in the kitchen because there's no love on the plate.  Kitchens that work for the people in them work better for everyone."

She's also clear about one other bit of advice.

"Women, generally, are more accommodating in the workplace.  But the best advice I got from a guy (about handling pressure and taunts in the kitchen) was this:  all you have to do is call him a pussy."

She says it works.