Top women chefs rare and unseen

According to the Northern Statistics Office, fewer women began training as chefs in 2023. Yet, the share of women trainees is increasing and resulted in a surplus of trained women chefs  in 2024 or 297,000 women and 256,000 men. However, the share of women dropped the further up the career ladder they rose. Women hold only 33 per cent of managerial positions in the catering industry. This year, 14 women in Germany won a Michelin star compared to 337 men.

So, do women dislike the harsh tone in the kitchen or are they too weak? Wachter, a food journalist with Stern magazine and a communications consultant, begs to differ. She also heads Germany’s first website dedicated to top female chefs, “Chef:in,” which launched in January 2025. Kitchens are still run by men which makes for a structural problem. "We live in a patriarchal system in which men tend to promote men, and men take up space. Women have to assert themselves and work twice as hard," she says. As a result, professional kitchens have for generations been male-dominated.

The Chef:in website aims to raise the visibility of female chefs and give them a stage. But networking is a must, says Wachter. To this end, she published a first watch list of 18 women in catering on the website and social media channels as well. Workshops will also be held on e.g., press and public relations. "We want to show that there are strong role models who prove that talented, creative and entrepreurial women can excel," says Wachter. 

Clicking on a photo of Zora Klipp, head chef at Hamburg's Café Weidenkantine and Restaurant Blattgold, on the Chef:in website reveals a passionate advocate of plant-based cuisine. The 34-year-old also strives to break through traditional kitchen hierarchies. Her latest discovery is timut pepper, which tastes of grapefruit making it suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes. Klipp is also a judge on the Küchenschlacht TV show and has just become a mum.

Although motherhood remains a barrier to a career, change is afoot, according to Wachter. Many top female chefs advocate for more family-friendly working conditions, e.g., such as sharing management positions. Despite the hurdles, women are coming up with innovative, strucutural or culinary concepts or precisely because of them. 

The Hamburg-based chef, Clara Hunger,  is another example. On completing her training at Tim Mälzer's Bullerei in Hamburg, Hunger moved to Vienna and Berlin and opened the "Nullkommaeins" pop-up bar with two friends in St. Pauli this summer. The temporary use of the Tazzi-Pizza venue hinges on a mix of high-quality food and good wines. This is a gain for Hamburg, says Wachter "Catering in Hamburg  is marked by instrinsic neighbourhood links and many owner-managed restaurants. You won't find that anywhere else in Germany." Modern and novel concepts such as Nullkommaeins bar are a breath of fresh air.

"Women need more visibility in a male-dominated sector," says Hunger. In her experience, things are far more harmonious in mixed teams. "Kitchens that are run by women mean more women apply for apprenticships" and that has a snowball effect, says Wachter. Interest in the Chef:in webpage is rising and encouraging more female chefs. Chef:in can already boast initial success stories: "Production companies are becoming aware of women for TV shows via our list," says Wachter. And visibility is increasing. More women are slowly being drawn into the top echelons of the catering sector, says Poletto, and perhaps in front of the television cameras as well. 
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