Women and Change

The Michelin Guide

Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Women, Diversity and Change

The great names in the guide's history are mostly men, yet Chapter 4 began with a woman who held six stars. This chapter asks why women became rarer at the top, who has broken through, what the culture of the professional kitchen is accused of, and who actually gets to eat in the starred restaurants. It also looks at how the guide and the profession say they are changing. Names, dates and figures are from general knowledge and flagged "check". Only published achievements are discussed, and no allegation against an individual is repeated.

From the Mères to the Present

The starting point

Eugénie Brazier held three stars at each of two restaurants in 1933 (Chapter 4, check). Other women ran leading restaurants in the early and middle 20th century, often as family businesses.

The long gap

Through the later 20th century the highest ratings went mostly to men. Explanations offered include a male-dominated training system, the hours, the difficulty of raising money and the way the press told the story (check). These are explanations, not proofs.

Recent breakthroughs

Anne-Sophie Pic, at her family's restaurant in Valence, won three stars in 2007 (check). Dominique Crenn in San Francisco was reported as the first woman in the United States with three stars, in 2018 (check). Clare Smyth, born in Northern Ireland, won three stars for her London restaurant in 2021 (check).

A small share at the top Women have always been a minority among the starred chefs in published counts, and the share at the three-star level is smaller still, though figures vary by country and year (check). Ask of any such number: which year, which country, and what exactly was counted (head chefs, owners, or all kitchen staff)?

Kitchen Culture

The brigade. The strict hierarchy of the professional kitchen, devised by Escoffier (Chapter 4), was built for discipline and speed. Many chefs now say that it has also allowed shouting, bullying and long unpaid hours (check).
Public debate. Since the 2010s chefs, journalists and unions in several countries have discussed working conditions, harassment and the pay of junior staff. Some restaurants have changed their hours and rotas as a result (check).
The link to the stars. Some argue that the pursuit of perfection justifies the pressure on staff, while others say that the best kitchens have shown that it is not needed (Chapter 5).
What is established. Surveys of hospitality workers have reported long hours and high stress (check). The detail varies by country, and I have not repeated any allegation about named people, which is a matter for the courts and the press.

Who Gets to Eat There?

Factor	Effect
Price	A top tasting menu may cost many times an ordinary meal, so the diners are mostly wealthy or celebrating (check).
Cuisine	Studies and chefs' comments suggest that French and European fine-dining styles have been rewarded more than others, though the guide's Asian editions have changed the picture (Chapter 6, check).
Formality	Dress, etiquette and menus in French can put people off, though many restaurants have relaxed (Chapter 7).
Geography	Starred restaurants cluster in big cities and tourist areas.

The Bib Gourmand and the Plate (Chapter 7) were in part a reply to this problem, since they point to good food at more moderate prices. Critics say that the red guide still speaks mainly to travellers with money.

Change from Inside

The guide. It has said that it wants a more diverse set of inspectors and cuisines, and it has introduced special prizes for service, sommeliers and young chefs (Chapter 8, check). Whether this changes the results is a question for the data over time.
The chefs. A number of leading chefs have set up training schemes, shorter working weeks and mentoring for women and for people from outside the traditional route (check).
The diners. Online reviews and social media let more people talk about restaurants than the critics of the past (Chapter 8).
What to measure. A careful study would track the share of women and of minority-owned places across years, the pay and hours in the kitchens, and the prices.

A British comparison Britain has its own examples of women who built restaurants and careers: Clare Smyth's three stars for a London restaurant in 2021 were reported as a first for a British woman (check), and British restaurant cooks and writers such as Prue Leith and Delia Smith shaped how ordinary people cook, outside the starred world (check). For an Edinburgh reader, a useful local exercise is to look at the kitchens, pay and training in Scotland's hospitality sector, which employs many people and has its own debates about hours and wages (check).

Check the details Statements such as "the first woman to" are easy to get wrong, because they depend on the country, the date and the level. Check them against the guide's announcements and several sources. This chapter does not repeat accusations about individuals; keep to published and attributed facts.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Write three careful sentences about women in the guide's history, each with a date or a source to check, and none claiming more than the evidence shows.

→ Solution

Exercise 2

List four possible explanations for the small share of women at the top, and for each say what evidence would support or weaken it.

→ Solution

Exercise 3

Design a short study to find out whether the guide is becoming more diverse: what you would count, over what years, and what could go wrong.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

Women: Brazier 1933; Pic 2007; Crenn 2018; Smyth 2021 (check)
Kitchens: brigade hierarchy, long hours, a public debate on conditions
Access: price, cuisine bias, formality, location
Method: "first woman to" claims need a country, a date and a level