Being a woman means having to prove that you deserve a position even after you have obtained it, all the while being asked - condescendingly - whether you will be adequate for your role as wife and mother. Being a woman in an industry that, since it has a connotation of prestige, is mostly the preserve of men, means not being evaluated for your skills, but for how you wear your hair, your weight or how you dress. Being a woman and a boss means having to earn the respect of your brigade while in your environment your entrepreneurial skills are doubted. As stated by Cristina Bowerman during his speech at the Luiss Guido Carli food and wine journalism course in Rome '[...] towards his brigade the male chef automatically acquires authority, while the female chefwho does not have the same basic authority, has to prove herself in order to be respected'.
Being a woman and writing about an issue like this is difficult, not only because it touches the inside, but above all because it is easy to lapse into the fashionable cliché of victimhood, useful only to make a handful of extra likes.
When it comes to violence against women or the gender gap needs the utmost respect. Everything needs to be said, without ever saying a single word too much. Because you know, if you cry wolf when the wolf has not even howled, then you lose credibility. And maintaining one's credibility is fundamental to being a woman and a leader. Not to mention the fact that if you have no credibility, no one will come to your aid when you really need it.
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Cristina Bowerman is chef patronne of Glass Hostaria and has been shining his Michelin star in Rome's Trastevere area since 2010. Being chef patronne means being an isolated star in a sky of constellations, and accepting that a beacon of carefully disguised accusations is aimed at you under the guise of finding you when in reality it would be enough to turn off the light to see you shine.
Cristina Bowerman, photo taken from the Glass Hostaria website
Cristina Bowerman: a female chef is asked different questions.
Fine cuisine is man. Entrepreneurship is a man. And when a woman wants to be a chef, i.e. an entrepreneurial cook, she is running straight into a minefield. It happens to a female chef all the time that she is not taken into consideration like her male colleagues. This is demonstrated by the questions that are asked: while male chefs are asked about cooking and entrepreneurial projects, female chefs are asked how they manage to reconcile work and family. It seems that having a family and/or one or more children is only a legal requirement for women. Worse, it seems that taking care of household chores and childcare is the exclusive task of women. And so, Cristina Bowerman was also asked the classic question of high Italian journalism about how she manages to reconcile such a demanding job with her family. Cristina Bowerman said she answered, with great lucidity and promptness: "But did you ask Cracco the same question?"
Cristina Bowerman: the veiled discrimination of the female chef, the most dangerous
In 2022, there should not even be talk of a gender gap. The very introduction of the concept of a pink quota is offensive to women who have the right to be in a certain position on merit and not because of the sexual attribute between their legs. For this same reason, even talking about women's prizes, such as Michelin's special Chef Donna award, is in itself discrimination that a superficial glance might interpret as being directed towards men. In reality, the women's award is a subset of the real award, a minor award, a letting go of the pink quota when to peeling the chicken is always the man.
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As long as there is talk of bridging the gender gap with the introduction of pink quotas rather than prizes reserved for women, subtle discrimination will materialise, ranging from devaluing women deemed in need of help because they are not deserving in themselves to the creation of a gold-plated ghetto. Rather, one should try to solve the problem by giving authority - in the kitchen, in business and in life - to those who deserve it, without physical prejudice.
And remember: the first way to discriminate the work of a woman, whether sommelier or chef, is to say: this wine or this dish you feel was made by or for a woman. With such a depth of visual, olfactory and taste-olfactory criteria that... Einstein shunned!
Cheers 🍷
Chiara
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