Can Mum's really 'make it' in restaurant kitchens?
Post birth - can women hold a sustainable and balanced career in kitchens with young children?
It feels great at team member level right now, women are entering the industry in back of house positions like never before, certainly in our network and community. There are women leaving marketing, retail, PR roles and taking a step into the kitchen because cooking is their passion and they want to build a career in it. They have looked up to other female chefs who have progressed through kitchens and also want to show that women make great leaders as well as cooks. In many of these women, the enthusiasm and that feeling of inspiration dwindles slightly when the reality of the day to day and bigger questions around their ‘future’ set in. The women they look up to in the industry, the ones they watched on the telly, opening their own restaurants, they realise that they are child-free and the question looms ‘are there actually any role models for women with young families in kitchen management’? It would be a great to have more women who dream of being an Executive Chef over a Food Stylist, or a Culinary Director over a Development Chef, or a restaurant Head Chef over an Events Head Chef BUT in the back of the mind of a woman is the constant need to pave their route that looks sustainable for them long term.
I am fully aware that it is not only women who have children, but they do have to grow them, whilst earning a salary. I think in comparison to other similarly physical industries, we do not do enough to promote how we could and would look after our employees when they become pregnant, as if it is a natural, expected and welcomed occurrence. As part of the interview process and even job advert, it should outline what being a pregnant person with that company looks like.
Post birth - can women hold a sustainable and balanced career in kitchens with young children? I once asked Anna Haugh this, knowing she was one of the only female chefs working in kitchens with a young family. She confirmed to me, it is only due to a supportive partner who sacrifices a lot themselves to do it. I wasn’t happy with that at the time, and thought there must be other ways to make it work with two people in parenting/full time jobs, but now, three years later, I have made peace that there probably isn’t. It is very important to add that there aren’t many industries where both parents of young children can pursue their career dreams at the same time, one always has to take the passenger seat, to allow the other one to drive at speed. Just like hospitality, small people are taxing and unpredictable. So we do have to face it that our industry, as creative, rewarding and (recently) well paid it is, it isn’t that structured and sh*t goes wrong, all the time, and the schedule goes out the window. So, to answer the question…
With a supportive partner by your side, willing to take a temporary hit career wise and be the first phone number on the list for the nursery to call, Mum’s really can make it in restaurant kitchens.