Why Aren’t There More Michelin-Starred Female Chefs?

No one needs another straight white dude telling women what their place is in the kitchen.

At least not in the old ways, where men, fearful of the power of female equality, told them that was the only space they belonged.

That established, I was interviewed recently and asked a lot of questions about the Chicago food scene, many of them pertaining to who may or may not be awarded a Michelin star next year.

Most of the answers were easy. But one question threw me hard.

Which Chicago women might earn a Michelin star next year?

That I couldn’t answer this question really bothered me.

I didn’t struggle because I believe there aren’t Michelin-level talented women cooking in Chicago. Beverly Kim had a star at Parachute, Mariya Moore-Russell at Kumiko, and Genie Kwon still holds one at Kasama as does Anna Posey at Elske and Karen Urie Shields at Smyth.

But, the question wasn’t about existing stars, but about likely future female star winners.

Moore-Russell is working to launch Connie’s Underground, which most recently has been a pop-up.

Kim has Anelya which uniquely celebrates Ukrainian cuisine.

Diana Davila’s regional Mexican at Mi Tocaya is indeed a diner’s dream.

Sarah Grueneberg’s pasta at Monteverde is as silky as it gets.

Leigh Omilinsky’s pastry program at Daisies has made the cafe alone the de facto morning clubhouse for Chicago’s industry elite.

Carrie Nahabedian is still bringing it at Brindille.

Stephanie Izard’s The Girl and the Goat is as good as it ever was.

And so on and so on.

But, none of them are likely to get Michelin stars.

They’re eligible according to Michelin’s criteria:

1. Quality of products

2. Mastery of flavor and cooking techniques

3. The personality of the chef represented in the dining experience

4. Value for money

5. Consistency between inspectors’ visits

But, there’s a sixth unspoken rule, at least for American and European restaurants, which is that Michelin generally only awards their puffy asterisk to tasting-format only restaurants. If you’re not doing pre-fixe, you’re kinda pre-fucked.

So maybe the easy answer is Michelin isn’t awarding stars to female chefs in Chicago because they aren’t doing tasting menus.

I don’t think it’s that simple, nor is that the way it should be. There’s probably more of a general issue to explore, i.e.

Why aren’t there more female chefs in Chicago (and the world) in general? 

Beverly Kim who, in addition to leading her restaurants, runs the Abundance Setting which “encourages and supports the advancement of women and working mothers in the culinary and hospitality industry to have a thriving career while maintaining a quality life at home” shared some data with me from a National Restaurant Industry survey.

It said:

“While females make up a majority of tipped positions in the restaurant industry: 69% of waitstaff and 56% of bartenders are female, females have a lower representation in the back of the house: 1 in 5 chefs and 1 in 3 cooks are female.”

Why is that?

Kim said, “The Abundance Setting partnered with the It's Working Project to conduct a very specific survey to elevate our insights with women in the industry who are parents.  And now we have a more precise understanding of the range of factors that impact women's drop off the culinary ladder.  In other words, what stops women from becoming leading chefs—the answer has to do with motherhood, - we continue to experience a sharp decline based on the dual demands of these two roles - mother and chef.  

Some of the reasons for this include access to

• Paid leave

• Affordable childcare 

• Flexible schedules

• Dependable scheduling

• Access to night and weekend childcare

• And issues now addressed in PUMP (laws addressing break times for nursing mothers) and PWFA (laws that accommodate workers with limitations related to pregnancy, childbearing and medical conditions)

Kim Mok, the incredible Chicago pastry chef, formerly of Boka, told me she recently took a break from restaurant cooking to be a caregiver for her mother. 

Diana Dávila Boldin, owner of Mi Tocaya, was making a name early in her career in Chicago, when her husband was offered a career opportunity in Washington D.C.. The two of them decided to take that opportunity because it offered better pay and benefits than Dávila Boldin was making as a chef locally. Because she wasn’t known as well in D.C. as she was in Chicago, it took her two years to find a new executive chef job.

She said, ”I never wanted to open my own restaurant, but I had to because there were a lack of opportunities for female executive chefs. When we moved to D.C. I looked for two years. A lot of spots were owned by men who asked things like ‘how I would manage men’ or were concerned about what would happen if I got pregnant. I thought those were normal questions. When I finally got an offer, lo and behold, who owns the restaurant? A woman.”

She added, even when I became an executive chef, “There was a lot of questioning of my menus. I don’t care if you’re the owner and you like bananas and cream. I have a vision and that’s why you hired me. I don’t know if some of that stuff was sexist or not, but there were those kinds of issues with ownership.”

The Role of Intelligence and Emotional IQ

Not all women are mothers or caregivers, though, so what about them? Before I make the next few points, I want to acknowledge that just as gender is fluid, so are the attributes we ascribe to gender.

Though it might be true, I can’t say for sure whether women are smarter than men as a whole. Intelligence as a concept in general is nebulous. But, education, the fountain of intelligence, or at least a well-worn path for career advancement, is not. There’s a lot of data out there that suggests there’s a gender gap in higher education. More women than men are applying for and being accepted to colleges.

We know that during the pandemic when the restaurants were closed, professionals of any gender working in hospitality who held college degrees reasoned, “Why would I work in an industry that can just shut down when I have the credentials to work somewhere more sustainably?” And they left in droves.

A lot of rigorous studies have concluded that women are often the possessor of better emotional intelligence. Not all kitchens are like this, but The Bear has shown the world how physically and emotionally draining a restaurant kitchen can be. It has shown us that the back of the house is sometimes a place for those who for whatever reasons would endure chaos of any kind for the rewards of the so-called success that comes at the end of cooking at a high level.

If you’re emotionally intelligent and you’re smart, you’ll heavily question why you’d ever enter the profession of cooking. A lot of women probably realize there are other more humane opportunities available, so they leave or self-select out.

With respect to Michelin stars, truly emotional intelligent people also know that awards don’t matter. They know that the only thing that counts is the pursuit of joy that doesn’t come at the expense of others.  If you’re an emotionally intelligent woman, you’re not even running for a Michelin star, because you know subjective competition performed for the sake of others is often useless.

Even if a dude has good emotional intelligence, social mores have continued to tell men to check their emotions, suck up the pain, get it together, and win at all costs. Winning in the kitchen is sometimes a de facto analog to winning at war. If we raise men to be “warriors” and women to “nurture” then we should not be surprised who has a predilection to go to battle in the hellfire of a kitchen every night.

The Role of Mentors

Few people ever dream or emerge fully formed without the inspiration of a mentor.  Just as white men have seen so many other white men succeed, setting the belief that they too can go to the same places, BIPOC folk and women need a similar north star. If no one that looks like you guides you or serves as an example that there’s a real pathway to Michelin success, it’s hard to believe it’s possible.

Mok said, “I think about representation as a woman, as an Asian American, and as a pastry chef. Representation matters and I believe it can be difficult to become something you don't see as a possibility.  It starts with sexism and lack of opportunity, yes.  There's a lack of validation and consequently a lack of support.  I have seen many female line cooks in many different restaurants leave because of this.  Then it becomes cyclical for generations of female cooks and chefs to come, who continue to not witness strong female chefs being acknowledged for their talent and experience.”

Creating inspiring examples for female chefs is something Beverly Kim is working to address with The Abundance Setting. She said, “This is why we have developed and for the past 3 years executed our “3 Chefs 3 Moms” mentoring program. Our professional experiences indicate that kitchens are still operating as an apprenticeship system … If there are relatively few women in Michelin star positions, then there are fewer women chefs that might be willing to take on other women coming up through the ranks as mentees or proteges.  Thus, women are less likely to have the advantage of someone in the industry that’s actively watching over them and guiding them to success.”

When you get that kind of mentorship and positive example the results can be powerful.

Leigh Omilinsky, chef partner at Daisies in Logan Square said, “I do love that Nancy Silverton (chef and owner of Mozza restaurants in LA) said that she was confused by a question one reporter asked her once that was something like “what’s it like being a woman in a kitchen” because she was always around strong women.”

Not all kitchens have that luxury.  Traditional attitudes toward gender, and sexism, are pervasive and can also impact the way women move in professional kitchens. Sometimes people feel like they have to accept the gender roles expected for them. 

Sexism and the Power of Ego

Omilinsky said, “There are amazing people in kitchens, both men and women and I want to stress this. I think ego is big, but I also think the big part of it is that generally women do not present themselves with the big confidence that men do. We question ourselves, we collaborate. Men present with immediate confidence. If women present that way, we are often termed “the bitch” or something less charming.”

Chef Melanie Salcedo of Duck Sel said, “I am not sure why investors don’t trust women the same way as men. There this misconception of women being “weak” I guess. There are men coming to help me while I’m carrying a 50 pound bag of flour, laughing and asking “are you sure you got it?” “Isn’t it too heavy for you?” like if I’m not capable or strong. It’s not even about chivalry.”

She added, “Also, for investors, I feel like there’s a fear of a woman wanting to start a family eventually and stepping out for months to take care of them. While men don’t really have to do that. They’re more “reliable” and they tend to complain less about working insane amount of hours.”

Many years ago I wrote a story about random sexual escapades in restaurants and kitchens (by diners and cooks) for Time Out Chicago. There’s one story from that piece that haunts me a decade later.

A female chef told me she walked into the walk-in fridge where her male boss was taking a break. Her hair was shaped into pigtail braids. The male chef said, “I’d like to use those braids like a handle-bar and ride you like a bike.”

Who wouldn’t run the hell out of there and never come back, not only from the job, but the profession, and potentially to the cops and therapy? If a male chef only values female cooks as sexual objects, they likely will never promote them or see them as artistic equals.

Speaking of artistry, in America Michelin tends to focus on tasting menus as the ultimate expression. If that’s the only way to earn a Michelin star, why don’t more women do tasting menus?

Dávila Boldin said, “I always imagined doing a tasting menu on Mondays, maybe something just at the counter. I love fine dining and cooking that way. But as an owner I have a lot of responsibilities. We just paid back our investors. I have to manage people, manage the business. If I was just an executive chef, I could do tasting menus and run circles around these motherfuckers.”

Responsibility to investors can have a chilling effect. Let’s say you’re a woman and you’ve forded the gauntlet of sexism, lack of mentorship, the desire to quit due to your superior emotional intelligence, and you’ve made it to executive chef.  Now you’re in the position to court investors and do “your own thing”.  What happens next?

Well, again, let’s return to The Bear where in season 3, Uncle Cicero (Oliver Platt), aka Carmy’s main investor, spends half the season questioning all the insane food research and development costs related to The Bear restaurant.  This isn’t some tension created for television. It’s a fact that running tasting menu-only star-aspiring restaurants is a very risky and expensive proposition. The last thing a woman who’s sacrificed and successfully run the gauntlet of bias may want to do is open a restaurant that has low financial returns and high risk of closure.

Kim said, “The more fine dining the restaurant, the more is at stake with higher food costs and labor costs. The thinner the margins puts a lot of time demand on culinary leadership/chefs which makes it difficult to have flexible hours that working mothers value, so there is a correlation to why there are fewer Michelin starred women chefs.”

Even if a woman wants to pursue tasting menus, if she’s struggled to make a name for herself because of the lack of executive chef opportunities, investors aren’t likely to give capital to an “unproven” or “unheralded” talent.

Salcedo said, “If I had the chance to have my own restaurant I would go for a pre-fixe menu. 10000%. That’s because I’m very organized and I like to have a plan. But I don’t think people would support me because who the hell I am? And honestly, I am pretty much done with the fine dining industry. I love the concept, I miss it a lot, but I don’t miss the toxic environment. I’m also 34 years old. I don’t wanna be around 20 year old people bossing me around with their egos.”

Tasting menu restaurants may be about creating art or pushing cuisine but they’re also often very ego-driven pursuits of the self, i.e. what the chef wants, not what the diner needs. If you’re more emotionally intelligent, you might avoid ego-centered acts like this.

Omilinksy said, “I was at L2O when we got three stars. It’s very much tunnel vision. To the people that follow Michelin guide THAT is what matters. Both cooks and diners alike. It attracts a certain type of person to dine and a certain type of worker. The workers, in my experience, are men. They are ego driven. They name drop. They want to collect restaurants to throw on their resume. They have 27 pairs of tweezers in their knife roll. They may or may not be able to cook. But they will tell you all about their six months at Saison. They can sous vide with the best of them though! Ask them to cook that steak mid rare, that’s a different story. Are there amazing cooks in the bunch? Absolutely. Are there women? Yes. Do these women get very annoyed with the “dick slinging” ego fest? Yes.”

She added, “Does this prohibit them from wanting to stay in this environment? Maybe. It’s not all like this. I loved my 3 years in super fine dining. I viewed it as grad school and was a sponge and met amazing people. There is a LOT of ego there. And in my experience women don’t want to deal with that. Women, in general, question themselves a lot. Men do not as much. This could have something to do with it.”

I saw this first hand while researching this essay. I asked roughly fifteen chefs, mostly women, and a few male cooks I consider to be thoughtful (because I believe men should also take leadership on this issue – this is a societal problem, not a gender-specific challenge) and only a handful of the women were willing to speak here on record about this issue.

If I asked 15 male chefs to comment on anything, most of them would start shouting from the rooftops immediately.  Many of the women were courteous to respond off record, but abstained from commenting on record because they were genuinely concerned about not having the time to be truly thoughtful or incisive.

If ego is not driving your decision-making, you also start to ask yourself, what do I really want to do here? And the answer for the really good non-tasting menu places run by women is often to take care of and feed people physically and mentally. It’s tough to give somebody what they need if you’re telling them what you’re giving them. A lot of women who get to the top decide they want to use their power to nourish others and themselves.

They should be rewarded for this. Nourishing is the best art.  I consider Joe Frillman, Omilinsky’s partner at Daisies as one of those “thoughtful male cooks” I spoke about earlier.  As a veteran of Rick Tramonto’s kitchens and with an apprenticeship at The Fat Duck, he, and Omilinsky with her L2O pedigree, could be out there tweezer-banging with the best of them, but they chose to reward and give people comforting choices instead.  As a result they’ve thus far been confined to Michelin’s “green star” for environmental impact.

And yet, Daisies is literally doing everything Michelin says, offering great value, mastery of flavor, personality in the cuisine and quality of products. They’re doing something no one else is, i.e. mashing up Italian ideas with Midwestern product and sensibility.

But, Michelin Will Never Change!

That’s not true. The guide has evolved heavily. In 1900, they didn’t award stars. They just found good restaurants you could drive to so you would wear out your Peugeot’s tires faster and buy replacement Michelin rubber.

Michelin didn’t award actual stars until 1926. 

Michelin awarded a star to a dim sum parlor in Hong Kong in 2010.

By the middle of the last decade, Michelin abandoned their exclusive independent city coverage and started selling their services for hire.

In 2017, Michelin launched guides for Macau, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore in exchange for millions of dollars from the governments and chamber of commerces.

If you are paid millions of dollars to enter a country where there isn’t a culture or abundance of tasting menus, what do you do?  You surely can’t say, well thanks for the money, but there are no star worthy places and move on. The money fountain will run dry. 

Michelin adapted to the strengths of the food cultures they were reviewing, awarding a Singaporean hawker focused on soy sauce chicken rice a star in 2016. 

They gave a woman (A WOMAN!) named Jay Fai a star for her street food stall serving crab omelettes and seafood noodles.

Michelin recently awarded a Mexican City taco stand a star!

So why not more stars for women in Chicago?

Trump and his big erect building downtown on the river is an avatar to the rest of the world. Surely with buildings and blowhards like that, America must prize male certainty and ego-driven ventures above all and that’s the cult Michelin believes it should award.

But, to Michelin I say, America is also Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Vera Wang, Meg White, Beyonce, Caitlin Clark, Condoleeza Rice, and Kamala Harris!

Mariya Russell’s self-capital-raised future restaurant Connie’s Underground celebrating black liberation and independence is the epitome of entrepreneurial-envelope-pushing, whether it’s a tasting menu or not.

Steph Izard has somehow made “pig face” a national treasure at Girl and the Goat.

Kim’s Anelya is refining and shining a spotlight on Eastern European cuisine in a city built through Eastern European immigration.

Diana Dávila Boldin is promoting unique ingredients like single origin ancestral beans from Mexico at Mi Tocaya. The stories of her family are represented in many of her plates.

I don’t know anything that’s as American bad ass and more deserving of stars than those things.

The ball is in your court, Michelin.