I am woman in a world of men.
The egos around me are insane. The bipolar tendancies make PMS look like a carnival ride. No really ... It's true ... I love my guys but dude they cycle with the moon far worse than any chick I know.
So why do I try to make it when it all seems stacked against me?
Because I can!!!!
Put me on a line and we will have to discuss why you're in my way and need to back the fuck up ... Give me some prep time and I will dice the hell out of some shit and turn nothing into something spectacular.
And yet, women are overlooked by the industry "bigs" ... Those guys that everyone knows and thinks make this world spin. I don't personally know many but I do know that I have to scratch my way to the surface to find air when many men are just given roles that they aren't even slightly qualified for.
What I do know is that for years I have had one idol ... She isn't "famous" but she is to me (and to many in my industry too)
http://noras.com/nora/
Nora Pouillion has been my idol for 20+ years ... She was fighting this fight long before the world even cared about chefs. And she was doing it organically before organic became a catch phrase ... So why is she virtually an unknown still?
Because the struggle is real ... (Sorry to be so cliche)
And no one voices that better than my local industry crush ... This lady ...
Crystal is beyond awesome ... She is loud ... She is crude ... She will make you laugh until you pee with her statuses ... She can make your toes curl ... Well at least her sweet potato gnocchi will, in that whole food is sex thing I feel ... But she is fighting our fight ... And she is doing it with pride
What's the industry really like for women?
The world after foodnetwork has made it seem posh to be a chef. It isn't. Quite frankly, it sucks. When people ask me about this person or this show I don't even know what they are talking about most of the time. Why? Because I work 60+ hours a week ... Because when I am not working I am not sitting in my house staring at a screen ... Men don't want to promote women because we might have other priorities ... When I am in an interview it's always a concern I have kids ... Until I say one's an adult and the other goes to boarding school. Then I am questioned on if I can handle the hours ... Ok excuse me while I get a little nasty here but seriously dude ... I have worked a 60 hour a week job while toting a child to sports practices ... Making meals every night ... Helping with homework ... I have pushed two kids out of my vagina without medication ... So the question really is ... can you? Then there is that guy at ever place that thinks I can't lift anything ... Oh honey, I raised cows and pigs growing up ... I have carried a 25# baby in a car seat, toting a diaper bag, college books, and groceries simultaneously ... I don't need your help with this 20# case of chicken ... No seriously if you haven't been there you don't get it ... I can ... And will lift that full stock pot that you think I am too dainty to lift ... And just to prove I can I will also pick you up and throw you over my shoulder (yes this just happened ... My kitchen no longer questions my strength) You will be sexually harassed ... If you show the slightest tinge of fear over it you will be ostracized ... Don't worry my boys you can't shake me ... I will make you blush long before you will make me buckle. My first kitchen I ever worked in had a sign that read "sexual harassment will not be reported, it will however be graded" ... Sounds about right ... And I will suck up everything else around me to make sure I am stronger than any guy I working with ... I went back to work 2 weeks after a surgery I was supposed I take 6 weeks off for ... It sucked ... The pain was intense and I was working with food I couldn't even eat ... It was physically and mentally a challenge ... But I damn well did it
So why do I do what I do?
Because I wouldn't be happy doing anything else ... My father once said to me "Bethany, no one likes what they do they do it because they have to" ... Well sorry to disappoint daddy dear but I do "like" what I do ... I adore every aspect of it ... Yes even the ones that make it suck ... I adore it because it is who I am ... I don't wake up in the morning not wanting to get out of bed and go to work ... An Oprah show once told me that to be happy find someone to pay you to do what you loved to do as a child and you will be ... So here I am ... And that is really why I do what I do ... Because I have loved it since the first time I helped this women make dinner ... And I will love it until the day I can make dinner with her again
