'Chefs are too macho'

Nigella Lawson may have won fame as a domestic goddess and Delia Smith may have made millions from her cookery books, but young women are increasingly reluctant to embark on a culinary career.

One of the top chefs' schools in the country has revealed that out of 51 students currently enrolled on its three-year course, just seven are female.

Organisers of the specialised chef scholarship, a renowned training course where students are sponsored by top-flight London restaurants such as The Ritz, Rules and Langans, are desperate to boost the number of female recruits to the ranks of professional chefs. Next year the course anticipates being able to accommodate up to 30 new students because it has won a sponsorship deal with the Waitrose supermarket chain.

The next course, which starts at Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education in September, is already oversubscribed, but only a few applications have been made by women. More are now being encouraged to apply.

Jenny Brett, the course's training co-ordinator, said there were a number of reasons why women were not considering cheffing as a serious career option.

"There is a macho perception of the industry," she said. "And it is true that in some of the high-pressure kitchens it can be difficult for a female to survive.

"But also career advisers do not seem to know enough about it; when students go to see them they are often actively deterred from pursuing a career as a chef or else the option is simply not put in front of them.

"But the opportunities at the end are fantastic, including working for magazines and newspapers and international travel. We want to turn 16 to 18-year-olds into professional chefs. But we are determined to recruit more young women into the specialised chef scholarship and challenge the perceived image that only men make professional chefs."

Graduates from the three-year course at Bournemouth and Poole work in some of Britain's finest kitchens, from Claridges to the Savoy. During the intensive course, students learn a wide range of skills from patisserie and confectionery to wine appreciation and culinary and conversational French. They are paid a small wage, and also spend time on release, training in the country's finest kitchens.

But a poll conducted among students on the course showed that rather than being inspired by female role models, Gary Rhodes and Rick Stein were the most popular figures.