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The
New York Post
SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
By Braden Keil
A Woman's Place
...is in the kitchens of top N.Y. eateries, but that's still a man's world.
QUICK, name five top female chefs in New York. When The Post set out to
identify the city's leading female cooks, the chefs themselves couldn't
come up with more than a few names (even though we found a dozen).
"I didn't even
know there were 10," says Lobster Club chef-owner Anne Rosenzweig.
With few exceptions,
mean are the rock stars of the galleys.
"We've always
had the skill," says Anita Lo of Annisa in Greenwich Village. "It's
a sexual thing. You get into the pastry ghetto or the garnish ghetto if
you're female."
Sara Moulton, star
of TV Foot Network's "Cooking Live," says it's easier for women
on the West Coast. She came to New York from Boston several years ago.
"I had an interview
with one of the top chefs, who shall remain nameless," she says.
"I thought it went well and he was charming. But a waiter friend
of mine there overheard the chef later say he'd close his restaurant before
he'd hire a woman."
Some women say family
obligations keep them from making it to the four-star level. "Four
stars really means you're always in the kitchen," reasons Katy Sparks,
the chef-owner of Quilty's in SoHo. "Chefs like Jean-Georges or Daniel
are constantly working."
Lidia Bastianich,
considered a pioneer among female chefs—and one of the most prolific—got
started by buying a restaurant, hiring a male chef, and then working beside
him until she took the reins. She has received the James Beard "Best
Chef Award" and has owned or co-owned seven restaurants since 1972.
Though now she leaves
day-to-day cooking to other chefs, she's writing a new cookbook (her third),
opening a new restaurant (her eighth) and beginning a new season of her
PBS show.
When her children
were young, they joined her on her daily rounds. "I dragged them
along. They played on tomato boxes, helped with the chores, and even went
to the wineries with me."
Were the kids happy?
Apparently. They're now her partners.
Who's
Who
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Patricia
Yeo (1)
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Training:
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Bolo
& Mesa Grill |
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Cuisine:
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New
Asian |
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Restaurant:
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AZ |
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Milestones:
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Masters
in biochemestry, Princeton |
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Rating:
|
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3
stars (NY Times) |
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Lidia
Bastianich (7)
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Training:
|
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In
the kitchens of her restaurants |
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Cuisine:
|
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Italian |
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Restaurant:
|
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Felida,
Becco and Esca in NYC; Lidia's in Kansas City, MO; Lidia's in
Pittsburgh in 2001 |
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Milestones:
|
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1999
James Beard Award "Best Chef in New York"; Host of
PBS series, "Lidia's Table"; three books |
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Zagat
Rating:
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26
for Felidia |
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Mina
Newman (2)
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Training:
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Chef
Claude Troisgras and Susan Weaver |
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Cuisine:
|
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Contemporary
American |
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Restaurant:
|
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Dylan
Prime |
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Milestones:
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First
Executive Chef for New York Steakhouse |
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Zagat
Rating:
|
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No
rating available |
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Sara
Moulton (8)
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Training:
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Four
Seasons Hotels and Le Lancaster Hotel in Paris |
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Cuisine:
|
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Contemporary
American |
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Restaurant:
|
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Fifty
Seven Fifty Seven at the Four Seasons Hotel |
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Milestones:
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3
Stars (NY Times); 1994 Hotel Chef of the Year, National Executive
Chefs Association; 1999 Ivy award, Restaurants and Institutions
magazine |
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Zagat
Rating:
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23 |
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Anne
Rosenzweig (3)
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Training:
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New
York restaurants |
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Cuisine:
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New
American |
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Restaurant:
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Lobster
Club |
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Milestones:
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First
female three-star chef in New York |
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Zagat
Rating:
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22 |
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Katy
Sparks (9)
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Training:
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Family
and Bobby Flay |
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Cuisine:
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New
American |
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Restaurant:
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Quilty's |
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Zagat
Rating:
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24 |
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Anita
Lo (4)
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Training:
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Family |
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Cuisine:
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Eclectic
Asian |
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Restaurant:
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Annisa
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Zagat
Rating:
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No
rating available |
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Zarela
Martines (10)
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Training:
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Beverly
Hills caterer Lillian Haines |
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Cuisine:
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Regional
Mexican |
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Restaurant:
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Zarela |
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Milestones:
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Two
books ("The Food and Life of Oaxaca" and "Food
from my Heart"); PBS TV series |
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Zagat
Rating:
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22 |
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Amy
Scherber (5)
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Training:
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New
York Restaurant School and Bouley |
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Cuisine:
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Bakery
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Restaurant:
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Amy's
Bread |
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Milestones:
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Cookbook,
"Amy's Bread" |
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Zagat
Rating:
|
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23 |
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Diane
Forley (not pictured)
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Training:
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French
restaurants |
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Cuisine:
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Contemporary
American |
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Restaurant:
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Verbena
(chef/owner) |
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Milestones:
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One
of the country's top new restaurants, 1995 Esquire magazine;
"America's Hottest Young Chefs," 1994, Wine Spectator |
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Zagat
Rating:
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24 |
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Sue
Torres (6)
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Training:
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Culinary
Institute of America |
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Restaurant:
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Hell's
Kitchen |
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Milestones:
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Executive
Chef, Rocking Hourse Cafe Mexicano, at age 25 |
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Zagat
Rating:
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No
rating available |
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Odette
Fada (not pictured)
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Training:
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Instituto
Professionale, Italy |
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Cuisine:
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Italian
|
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Restaurant:
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San
Domenico |
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Milestones:
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Voted
one of the best Italian restaurants, Food & Wine magazine |
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Zagat
Rating:
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23 |
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