When the World's 50 Best Restaurants recently released its 2017 list, just three women-run businesses made the cut. And, as of 2016, it has been estimated that only 4.7 percent of American chefs and head cooks are female. The professional kitchen, it seems, is still a man's turf.
But Bay Area diners are quite accustomed to seeing talented women at the helm of their favorite restaurants, following in the footsteps of such culinary trailblazers as Alice Waters, Traci Des Jardins, and Dominique Crenn. This year, in fact, some of the city's most promising restaurants star lady toques in executive and ownership roles.
To sit down and talk with them about their challenges and goals is telling: There are tales of kitchens fraught with subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination, snubs from investors, and a lot of dudes telling dirty jokes. Nearly all of these women said they are driven by the hope of nurturing young chefs and restaurant talent, men as well as women, and of fostering community, whether through collaborations with nonprofits and school programs or among their own teams and customer base. Every last one of them has, as Barzotto's chef Michelle Minori put it, "developed plenty of grit" to get their jobs done to delicious effect.
Meet eight of the city's hottest chefs (who just happen to have xx chromosomes) who are leveling the playing field in San Francisco.
Melissa Chou, Pastry Chef, Mister Jiu's
BONA FIDES: 2017 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chefs; stints at Quince, Presidio Social Club, Aziza, and Mourad.
PASSION DRIVER: "Making things like a sponge cake, where air is incorporated to make it light and fluffy but there are no chemical leaveners. There are a great number of variables in a sponge, and I love trying to control them into a consistent product every day. I also love working on a team."
PRIORITY (FE)MALE: "A certain level of bad behavior from male chefs is tolerated. When a cook has worked with a hard-ass chef—meaning they've endured yelling and screaming and tantrums and general disrespect—it seems like a badge of honor. You're a badass if you've worked for someone like this because you took it and came out the other side. If I acted this way, no one would tolerate it. They'd say I was a bitch and quit and I'd have a hard time finding people to work with me. However, being a woman, it's also very important that I not be seen as a pushover, so on many levels I have to be strict. This doesn't win me any friends and puts me in a very difficult position."
FUTURE PERFECT: "It feels like I'm just getting started on creating a Chinese-focused dessert menu. There's still a lot to explore within the Chinese pantry as well, so I'm excited to continue developing and honing the menu."
