Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White says women can't be chefs because they are 'too emotional' and 'take things personally'
Former Michelin star chef, Marco Pierre White, is facing heavy criticism after he suggested that women cannot handle the pressure in kitchens because they are "emotional." He also said that women are not strong enough to carry heavy pans.
The 57-year-old TV presenter and restaurateur made the statement during an interview with Irish Independent: "The real positive with men is that men can absorb pressure better, that’s the main difference because they are not as emotional and they don’t take things personally. Look at the size of some of the pans you are carrying. Can you imagine you’re a lady in the kitchen and saying: ‘Will you carry that pan for me?’”
Multiple professionals from the industry slammed White after the statements became public. The founder of the London Indian restaurant Darjeeling Express, Asma Khan, while talking to Big Hospitality, said that she was disappointed by White's comments. Darjeeling Express is staffed by an all-female kitchen team. "Like a three-day-old fish, [these comments] reek of patriarchy, and there is no place in the kitchen for rotting fish or chefs with these attitudes,” she told the outlet.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Temper steakhouse and barbecue restaurants in London, Neil Rankin, called White a "rambling dinosaur" in an Instagram post. "The only real difference between men and women in the kitchen is that men don’t have to put up with this nauseating baseless antiquated bullshit every day," Rankin said in his post
Byron Burger’s director of food and drink, Sophie Michell, also condemned White's statement, saying she was "fucking sick of this shit and it is prevalent, FYI, across the board."
Some of White's critics pointed out that he himself had shown a significant amount of emotions while on television. A former kitchen worker from Sunderland, James Ritchie, said that White's comments contradicted his own experiences. "The few women I worked with were in complete control of their emotions and handled pressure and casual sexism with aplomb, whereas many male colleagues regularly had tantrums, lost control, and were abusive to other members of staff because of the pressures of working in a high-end kitchen. Not unlike a certain Marco Pierre White back in his heyday," Ritchie said.
White had earlier courted controversy in 2017 over similar sexist remarks after his appearance on Gordon Ramsay's 'Hell's Kitchen'. White, while critiquing a salmon dish cooked by a female contestant and her sister, had said: "And you hope to keep a husband," reports state.