Beauty and Her Feast: Domestic Expectations Impact on Women’s Experiences in Professional Kitchens View Digital Media

Poster Session
Peyton McConnell  

There is a dearth of research on women's role in professional kitchens and how domestic expectations of women influence women’s experience in professional kitchens. Professional kitchens are masculinized spaces that lead women to face many barriers regarding work in professional kitchens. At the same time, women are expected to be in charge of all food-related activities for their private families and execute the planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, and serving of family meals. Professional kitchen culture is male-dominated which results in a masculine work environment where women are sexualized, forced to prove their competency, and seen as generally unfit. Through 16 in-depth interviews with women who work in professional kitchens, I explore the consequences of the assumption that women belong in the kitchen - as long as it isn't a professional one - has on the work environment. I wish to know more about the barriers that prevent women from advancing to higher positions, such as chef, in professional kitchens and I want to explore the tools women chefs used to overcome these barriers. This study examines how women navigate the masculine and male-dominated workplace environment of professional kitchens. I ask about challenges that arise from this and how these women navigate them. Additionally, I explore how women navigate their own domestic duties and family while working in professional kitchens. I consider how societal expectations of women in domestic kitchens negatively impact women chefs' career advancement, workplace experiences, and work/family balance.