Women chefs shine in the kitchen

For many years, most of the top chefs in the world have been men.

While there were some well-known female food icons such as Julia Child, Fanny Cradock and Delia Smith, they were chiefly cookbook authors and TV personalities. Almost all restaurant kitchens were the domain of male chefs with a dearth of woman in the top positions.

All this is now beginning to change and, in the last 20 years, there has been a wave of acclaimed female chefs both internationally and at home. Think Marguerite Bise, Sophie Bise, Elena Arzak, Clare Smyth, Anne-Sophie Pic and Carme Ruscalleda, all of whom have been awarded three Michelin stars for their establishments.

There’s also SA’s own Chantel Dartnall who has been acclaimed as one of the best chefs in the world.

Capsicum Culinary Studio is further proof that more women are making inroads in the cheffing industry and the school boasts a group of talented women filling senior positions at SA’s leading culinary school, determined to take the next generation of aspiring young chefs — both male and female — to greater heights.

Capsicum is the largest chef school in SA and has campuses in Boksburg, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. Five of the six principals are women as is the school’s academic head.

Renee Hill, who aside from being the MD of Capsicum is also a restaurateur, said: “For me there are no gender boundaries whatsoever when it comes to talent. Being a chef or running a restaurant isn’t for the faint-hearted. It’s hard work but women can do it just as well as their male counterparts.” 

Port Elizabeth principal Beryldene Bain said kitchens used to be entirely male dominated.

"But this has changed over the years as more women are entering the industry. We see this increase here at Capsicum with the numbers of female students enrolling for our professional chef programmes.”

Jackie Naicker, head of the Boksburg campus, said her message to young women wanting to make it in the food and hospitality industry was to trust and believe in themselves and "be gutsy and bold”. 

Durban principal Ann Nagan said many women within the industry have made monumental strides and pioneered the way for females who came after them.

"I am delighted to say that we have started to see the emergence of many more women in roles as head chefs and restaurateurs. There has been a definite cultural change towards the kitchens becoming safer, less testosterone driven work environments.”

Hayley Sutherland, chef and lecturer at the Cape Town campus, said: “As women we are capable of so many things. We are multi-taskers that juggle work and home lives. Being a chef is a tough career as it takes you away from your families on special occasions. I am a mother of two beautiful girls and I know having a strong home support is vital. Supporting other women is also important. We need to uplift each other and work together to make a better future for all females in SA.”

For those wanting to make a career in cheffing and hospitality, applications for 2021 are now open. Capsicum also has a number of short online courses for those who want to learn to cook like a professional chef online, in the comfort of their own home and in their own time. To find out more information or to register go to www.capsicumcooking.com 

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