Being gay in kitchens

[shahar]

Throwing a question into the air.

You're gay/lesbian and you work/working in a proffesional kitchen... Now, we all know, kitchens aren't only associated with a masucline enviroment but also with agrassiveness. On the other hand restaurants back of the house are known for eclectic enviroments.

So what was you experience like?

[chrose]

While not gay myself (last time I looked) one time I was asked what type of person was a chef. I replied half were alcoholics and the other half was gay. They said "which one are you"? At that point I revised my answer to a more serious one. My experience has been that cooking can be a very eclectic art form and attracts a certain artistic and occasionally sensitive type (such as myself. No, really ) this seems to encompass a lot of gay people. Therefore the gay community seems to have a large presence in the field. This I think makes the cooking community more accepting of the gay community, more so than perhaps the construction field lets say. Also realize that aggressiveness is a trait adopted by many people, including gays.
To get back to the question, I worked with MANY gay people in the kitchen and they were not treated any different than anyone else. Every member of the brigade received equal abuse!

[Pete]

Gay? Straight? Male? Female? Who cares, as long as they are willing to cook their *** off for me. Though, I have a pretty free kitchen, one of my rules (and this goes for everyone), I don't want to here about what you did last night and with who.

[culinarian247]

I don't think sexual preference, gender etc. would matter to me if I were an executive chef or otherwise. I'd rather work with a homosexual that cooks like Jacques Pepin than a heterosexual that cooks like Jacques Cousteau.

[Greg]

Unless Jaques Cousteau was a fine cook, that is! I'm with Pete, it's all about whether you can cook or not.

Any opinions from the gay/lesbian community?

[momoreg]

Ditto all of the above.

[marmalady]

Worked with a gay guy once; no one had any problems with him but the latino line cooks and prep people, who seemed to have an almost pathological fear of him. Much muttering and body language and laughing and talking in Spanish (I HATE that!) behind his back. The head chef finally had a little talk with them, and they backed off, but the vibes were still there.

[katbalou]

as the master chef who trained me said " i don't care if your green, blue, male or female; as long as you do the job that's all that matters". sexual preference shouldn't be an issue - what you do out of work is your own business.

[chiffonade]

Being gay or straight in a kitchen doesn't mean a hill of beans unless one group overpowers the other and makes the environment uncomfortable for the minority group. This is the only time it becomes an issue. If he or she, no matter sexual preference, color, gender, number of heads, or planet of origin, is willing to do the work and not bring inappropriateness into the kitchen to an uncomforable degree, they're all right with me.

[Suzanne]

I do not go to work to find a partner; I go to work to do the work. That is my focus, and that is what I expect everyone else's focus to be. If anyone else there makes it too difficult for me to do the work, that matters. If anything ANYONE does makes it too difficult for anyone else to do their work, that matters. Nothing else matters.

I have heard all sorts of annoying talk. How do you think I've learned all those derogatory terms in other languages? But so long as I can still do my job, I don't much pay attention. (Of course, I would come to the defense of anyone who asked for my help against that foolishness.)

It does not matter what anyone's gender or sexual orientation is. Period. What matters is that the work gets done. Anything that gets in the way of putting out the food must be dealt with.

Oh, and BTW: what's this about agressiveness?!?!?! If that's what goes on in the kitchen where you work, you need to rethink working there. The best kitchens are about TEAMWORK, not agression.

[mirepoix man]

it doesn't matter what one's sexual orientation is. however, we should respect each others differences and be careful in what we say or do while working!

[Nick.Shu]

ive worked with a few gay chefs. And it was quite educating. Why you ask? to me its almost like asking someone "what is like to work in the US", or "what is it like to grow up ______ country" (just fill in the blank).

To me it is a question of curiousity that i will inevitably ask. Not directly like: "how does it feel to be gay" or "why are you gay", because these guys n gals are by all means very much over this question, and have tormented themselves more than enough over it (by my assumption).

By the way of banter, i managed to learn a few things and probably the better for it. I know better cause i grew up in Aus over a big period of migration and i copped it myself sometimes.

[monkeymay]

One of the best kitchens I ever worked in was predominately queer, mostly female, pierced and tattooed. The level of camraderie, freedom, creativity and work ethic was exhilarating. It wasn't about being gay/straight -it was the joy of being accepted no matter how you looked or what you were - if you cooked well and got it done right - that was all that mattered.
One of the hardest kitchens I cooked in was all male - 2 young Italian chefs and a Hispanic line/prep crew.- I was the only woman. Ugly and agressive!- until I stood my ground and got as ugly as they were - then they left me alone - and I got my hard won respect by continuing to do my job the best I could. But sex was still a major issue and it sucked. (no pun intended)! Now I run my own kitchen and my crew knows-
we can trade insults on levels of cooking skills , but I will seriously bust ANYONE who shows a lack of respect to their fellow workers regarding gender, sexual orientation or race.

But on a lighter note, in my kitchen, we ALL want to hear about what you did last nite and with who... (sorry Pete)

[monpetitchoux]

Actually, Being gay in the kitchen does make a difference to me. I value diversity at the workplace and try to foster an environment where one can invest her/his energy into doing a better job rather than using it to worry about or fight off inappropriate, sexist and homophobic remarks from coworkers. Conversely, I don't approve of someone using sexuality as an excuse to get preferential treatment. But most of the gay staff I've encountered is FOH. And as one waiter put it about a fellow server, "His flambouyance does not bother me at all. It's his personal inconsiderate laziness that bugs the S#!t out of me."

[shahar]

Well, I'm not claiming that being gay in a kitchen is different than being, let's say, french or albino.
But as a gay cook(not chef yet, but I'm working on it), I've exprienced all kind of enviroments. Luckly I was brought up not to let other views diminish my self respect. So, never let aggrasive beheviour of any sort bother me.
I just went through a tough period with a sou-chef. He would throw anything on me(verbaly). On my jewishness, foreigness or sexulity. He though I wasn't agrassive enough, that I wasn't trying to backstab everyone, like it should be done.
Servers would come to me at the end of everynight and ask my how I survive.
Patiance paid it self though. He ended up quiting, and I took half his responseblitis!