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Shelf Number | Material Type | Copy | Shelf Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 641.50820973 COO | Book | 1 | Standard shelving location | Searching... Unknown |
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Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a worthwhile but slow-going effort, Cooperherself a 20-year veteran of professional kitchensrelates carefully researched information gleaned from surveys of and interviews with 500 female chefs and other culinary personnel. The results are grim and predictable: women face special hardships in the culinary workplace. Certain facts (that grueling restaurant hours often sabotage relationships, that women are often automatically placed in subordinate roles) are reiterated through statistics and quotes, many of them vague and repetitive. Women are often portrayed here as having special talents: well-known chefs such as Anne Rosenweig and Lidia Bastianich are quoted as saying that women have a more intimate connection with food. But this is indicative of a certain fuzziness, lending a sense that Cooper has tried to cover too much ground. The boxes with adoring biographies of well-known female chefs such as Barbara Tropp and Julia Child and footnotes with general food trivia (a 1941 study showed that fewer than one-fourth of Americans had healthy diets) seem consumer-oriented. But in fact, the book is probably aimed at culinary students who will appreciate its ample load of history and the generous reference section that includes a wide-ranging bibliography, a list of professional organizations and a section of brief "Women Chef Biographies," which, strangely, include Alain Sailhac, André Soltner and Fritz Sonnenschmidt. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
In a reportorial fashion, the executive chef at Vermont's Putney Inn captures both the heartaches and the joys of women chefs. Many world-famous names are profiled here, from Julia Child to Madeleine Kamman; others of the more than 130 interviewees represent new faces as well as new words with which to talk about the culinary profession. Rather than simply rail against statistics (less than 10 percent of executive chefs are women), Cooper carefully outlines the challenges, roles, models of success, goals, and a future that newcomers to the restaurant business could learn from and expect. Most useful are the multiple segments of interviews, where, say, the women discuss the balancing of work and family. Powerful and compelling, this should launch a series of books about different professions and the glass ceiling. --Barbara Jacobs
Library Journal Review
This excellent book by the executive chef at the Putney Inn in Putney, Vermont, examines the role of women in the male-dominated professional kitchen. Surveying 500 women chefs, Cooper covers the reasons they became chefs, sacrifices made, challenges faced, mentoring, goals, success, and the future of women in the culinary world. She also relates culinary history, defines positions, discusses training, and gives information on owning a restaurantsome of which can be found in other sources such as Andrew Dornburg's Becoming a Chef (LJ 8/95). Cooper's well-researched book includes her survey questions, short biographies of women chefs, and descriptions of professional organizations. Inspirational, fascinating reading for anyonefemale or maleconsidering a culinary career, this may also interest women's studies scholars. Highly recommended for career and cookery collections. [See also Beverly Russell's Women of Taste: Recipes and Profiles of Famous Women Chefs, reviewed below.Ed.]Bonnie Poquette, Appleton P.L., Wis. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.