We’re so used to our TV screens being dominated by male TV chefs — from James Martin to Matt Tebbutt and Marcus Wareing — that you may be left wondering, where all the female TV chefs are. The well-known phrase “it’s a man’s world” definitely rings true when it comes to the kitchen, as figures show that 58 per cent of senior restaurant and catering roles are still held by men, despite 54 per cent of the hospitality workforce being female.
Traditionally speaking a woman’s place was seen as ‘being at home in the kitchen’, but despite this it’s still more common to see more male chefs on our TV screens. Women have been fighting hard for equality for decades, including in the kitchen. However, we are seeing some positive changes, as according to the Office of National Statistics, in 2021 the number of female chefs in the UK rose by a third, the biggest increase since 2016.
Here, we share five female TV chefs who are currently cooking up a storm in the kitchen and should definitely be on your radar if they're not already.
Clare Smyth, MBE
You may not recognise Clare Smyth, but it’s a name that should definitely be on your radar.
The Northern Irish chef, who trained under Gordon Ramsey, is the first and only British female chef to hold three Michelin stars. She’s the owner of Core by Clare Smyth in London, England and Oncore by Clare Smyth in Sydney, Australia and in 2018 received the title ‘World’s Best Female Chef’ at World's 50 Best Restaurants. Clare even catered for the private wedding reception for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
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Monica Galetti
You most probably recognise Monica from her time judging on Masterchef: The Professionals alongside her co-judges Marcus Wareing and Gregg Wallace.
Monica moved to the UK in 1999 after she landed a job at the two-Michelin starred restaurant Le Gavroche, which was owned by the famous chef Michael Roux Jr (who has also appeared on many TV cooking shows). She started out as a ‘commis’ (a junior chef) but Monica’s talent shone as she quickly worked her way through the ranks up to senior sous-chef, and was the first woman to hold this position in the restaurant. Monica then took her her cooking skills to the TV presenting on various different shows and was even one of the judges for The Queen’s Platinum Pudding Competition. She also released two cookbooks: Monica’s Kitchen and The Skills.
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Dame Prue Leith
Prue is a judge on the popular baking show, The Great British Bake Off. Before she was a judge on BBC Two’s Great British Menu and a food columnist for various publications.
After training at a cookery school in London, Prue started up her own catering company, Leiths Good Food, in 1960 before opening her Michelin-starred restaurant, Leith’s, in Notting Hill. She even opened up her own chef academy in South Africa (where she was born) and Leith's School of Food and Wine, which trains amateur cooks and professional chefs. Prue’s released a whopping 12 cookery books, as well as several novels.
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Rosemary Shrager
The no-nonsense female TV chef is most recognisable for being a cuisine teacher on the ITV show, Ladette to Lady (and had quite a scary reputation too).
Despite always having a love for food, Rosemary actually specialised in interior design and designed kitchens for a living. However, she then went on to work in some kitchens and eventually set up her own successful cookery school. After Ladette to Lady she launched her own competition TV show Rosemary Shragers School for Cooks, where contestants compete to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant. But in 2012 Rosemary decided to move away from fine food and settled for a more obscure dinner plate as she took part in the reality TV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
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Ching He Huang
Having sold 10 best-selling cookbooks and regularly appearing on numerous TV shows, Ching is the pro when it comes to cooking up Chinese food. She regularly appears on Lorraine, This Morning, as well as ITV’s Saturday Cooks and many more. In 2020 she was awarded an MBE for her services to the culinary arts and even runs her ownvegan Chinese masterclasse online, where you can learn to make your own authentic Chinese cuisine.
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