translated from Spanish: “There are many men who do not believe that a woman may lead a haute cuisine restaurant”

Only 10% of the most recognized restaurants have to front a woman. Why the chefs want to make visible the inequality that living in an environment of high competition.
From countries where there is haute cuisine is said to be the same, including Chile: to Excel should have strong character, the stereotyping of roles still playing and motherhood can be against professional success. There is also a degrading treatment and abuse of power.
The Dominican María Marte spent scrubbing the dishes in the Club Allard, in Madrid, to become the chef of that restaurant in 2013. She also denounced the machismo that still reigns in Haute cuisine and the difficulties that women have to reconcile their family life with this work.
Mars, 40, who returned last year to his native country after almost 16 years outside the country, achieved two Michelin stars when she was in charge of the kitchen at Club Allard. She first saw that the “role of women in Haute cuisine is a pity, because everything is matter of machismo”.
“A woman with Michelin stars live for restaurant, have to forget husband, children, House and everything. That’s where the problem is, there is not a man who has not learned to cook from a woman, and however they are those who succeed in Haute cuisine. Why?. Through the same situation that man is Street and the woman is the House that I grew up listening to that and, today still”, he added.
Cooks are more questioned Mars, self-taught Cook and you have now in your country a company that holds private events, he recalled that today laughs from situations like those that came to life in the Club Allard, in which she dressed in chef jacket they got you to question what was where the chef and to respond that she was told: “No, is impossible to do this”.
“I’ve lived that. I have lived very complex by being a woman,”he said, and said”there are many men who do not believe that you by being a woman can wear a haute cuisine restaurant, and that’s a shame “.
In the view of Mars, is questioned cooks less than them. “I experienced it firsthand. To us we questioned a lot, we watch with magnifying glass or we look over the shoulder. It is as if is gave us more follow-up, as yet we believed able to become equal to or larger than them,”he added.
María Marte, national gastronomy award to the best kitchen Chief in 2014 given the Real Academy of gastronomy of Spain, won in 2017 together with Luisa Orlando, Director general of the Club Allard, international Eckart Witzigmann (ECKART), in the category of innovation.
Dominican chef has allocated most of the endowment of the ECKART prize of 50,000 euros, for a year’s scholarship to three women of scarce resources of the school, Jarabacoa, in the Allard Club, where she began working in 2003.
Opening up opportunities Mars explained that this award is aimed to the girls, carrying some months in Madrid, “come with a title under his arm, which is what I never had, and that to them life is not done them so difficult” as did her for not having a diploma.
“With a title respect you more, and I want is that they do not pass by what I spent”, added.
“There is a vast majority of women who want a career and that in my time almost not heard;” “in my time was I want to get married, I want to have my husband and I want to have my children”, stressed.
But today the Dominican woman “you want to better prepare for a future”, said.
According to Mars, the road is still long and the women still regarded them over his shoulder and still believed that women unable to care positions of responsibility in a great financial or a large multinational as a man occupies it.
“It is a pity that today women earn less than men. Why? There is no right”, he lamented.
The challenge María Marte, now has what most admires in a Cook is the passion that is the product, the delicacy with which makes things and the dedication that makes him this job, is the create a 16 course menu , but all based on Dominican products, as well as rescue some plants in your country that are being lost, as the guáyiga.
“This job is passion. It is passion for what we do, food talk and a chef reflected through their creations what feels like”, he concluded.

Original source in Spanish