Jody Adams And Ana Sortun Weigh In On Female Chefs

We’re always glad to be reminded that we’re not the only ones troubled by the dialogue surrounding female chefs. Now, Antoinette Bruno of StarChefs has added her voice to the fray. Bruno recently interviewed eight of America’s top female chefs (and, somewhat mysteriously, Danny Meyer), including Cambridge’s own Ana Sortun (of Oleana) and Jody Adams (of Rialto, which someone should inform StarChefs is not, in fact, located in San Francisco).

Both Chef Sortun and Chef Adams came across as totally awesome badasses. Adams neatly dismissed Marco Pierre White’s recent claim that the physical demands of restaurant work keep women from reaching the top of the culinary ladder: “I think men and women are equally strong, both emotionally and physically. My back is incredibly strong. There wasn’t anything that I couldn’t do that at a man could. There have been men who couldn’t keep up with me — and plenty that could!” She also recounted an excellent anecdote about an interview she did with the New York Times in the early 90s wherein the photographer declined to take her picture for the story because “I already have a picture of a woman.” It was Sortun, however, who really summed up our own feelings on the matter: “What it takes is ‘game.’ You’ve got to want to play ball. It is not about being physically stronger or tolerant. It’s about wanting to play bad enough.” The question, of course, remains why more women don’t want to play bad enough or if there’s something taking them out of the game. As always, we welcome your comments on the matter.

At The Top of Their Game [StarChefs]
Oleana [Official Site]
Rialto [Official Site]

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Jody Adams And Ana Sortun Weigh In On Female Chefs