There's always going to be more men in London's kitchens, says Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett

 
Inevitable: Murano head chef Angela Hartnett
Rod Kitson7 April 2015

It is unlikely there will ever be as many women as men in London’s professional kitchens, according to chef Angela Hartnett.

The Michelin-starred chef-patron of Murano, pictured, said: “It just happens that it’s a male-dominated industry, so there’s always going to be more blokes — and I’d be bloody amazed if it doesn’t continue like that.

“Why is that? It’s the golden question — is it the hours, is it the money? Is it hard work? It’s not impossible to have families and all the rest of it. It’s just the choice, I suppose. I don’t think it’s a case of redressing the balance, because we make a bigger issue out of it saying there’s a problem.”

Two of Hartnett’s restaurants have female head chefs — Pip Lacey at high-end Italian Murano and Sam Williams at its sister restaurant, Café Murano. A second Café Murano opens in Covent Garden in June, headed by Richard Lloyd. Hartnett added: “There are lots of female head chefs out there. It’s just that it’s a business that will always be male-driven. I don’t judge it and think,‘I’m going to employ Sam over someone else because she’s a woman,’ I do it because she’s a better person for the job. It’s whoever is the better chef, because if you start trying to be ‘I want so many women, or so many men’ you’ll end up making mistakes.

“Have I got more than average? Possibly. Look at Jason [Atherton] — has he got any female head chefs, probably not. Gordon [Ramsay] has got a few. It’s swings and roundabouts. I don’t consciously do it. I don’t look at the CVs and think,‘I’m not looking at them because they’re a bloke.’ ”

Hartnett, 46, made her name as Ramsay’s head chef at the Connaught — and says she is the only one of his “big three” protégés not to have fallen out with him.

Ramsay and Marcus Wareing’s 15-year partnership ended in a bitter legal dispute, and he fell out with Atherton over money.

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