What's cooking mann....?

Women are supposed to be the best cooks but ironically males dominate the commercial industry of catering......... Chamintha Thilakarathna. finds out more.....

Ask a hundred men what women are best at and the an swer would undoubtedly be 'cooking.'

Visit any restaurant or hotel and what would you find? Well.......... male chefs. Ironic huh? Does it not make you wonder if women are so good at cooking, how come they are such a tiny minority in professional kitchens?

There's little disagreement, however, especially after one has enjoyed a sumptuous meal at a speciality restaurant that the male chefs do a fantastic job. And they enjoy doing it. But what's most interesting is that despite having mastered the art of cooking, we find they are even bigger fans of female cooking.

"Professional cooking is very different to ordinary cooking done at home," was what the chefs that The Sunday Times interviewed had to say.

Chefs need to be familar with different types of cuisine, different methods of cooking, in short know all the tecnicalities as well as having a flair for cooking.

Executive Chef at Colombo's five-star Galadari Hotel, Lloyd Opatha said, "This is a profession. And, as in the case of every other profession one has to learn and train oneself to do what seems like an easy job. It's an enjoyable art with room for creativity."

"I definitely enjoy cooking although people say that it is a woman's field. But what people don't realise is that this a different kind of cooking that we are engaged in. I don't think that a woman can handle this kind of cooking," says Executive Chef at Trans Asia hotel, N.M.Kalith.

Sous Chef Lakshman Liyanarachchi of Hotel Inter Continental, who has been in the field for 40 years agreed with the other chefs that one cannot compare professional cooking with domestic cookery.

That is not the only thing that they did agree on. Believe it or not, they confessed that their wives, in their opinion, cook much better than they do.

"Nothing could taste better than my wife's cooking," said chef Liyanarachchi. And, one thing that they eagerly look forward to at the end of the day inside a busy hotel kitchen is going home to a meal prepared by their wives. "Something about female cooking has a magic touch that gives a heavenly taste to any meal," they felt.

"Women's cooking tastes much better," said chef Kalith, "sometimes I teach my wife my recipes, because she likes my cooking. But still she cooks great."

Chef Lloyd said that for men it is either the love of cooking or the profession that gets them involved unlike in the case of women where it is to a great extent compulsory, which is why men enjoy it a lot more than women.

But it's not only professional cooks who like to cook. The Mirror Magazine came across a few husbands who are fond of cooking themselves.

"I love cooking," said Sidath Kodikara, Group Manager at Cargills and a father of two little girls. "If one asks me why I cook that is due to two reasons. One because it is relaxing, secondly because I have a fascination for it," he said.

According to him, his father used to cook and the boys in the family joined in. And, as a result he has been spending time in the kitchen ever since he was a kid.

"I like cooking Chinese and Italian meals best," said Sidath, who feels that being able to cook has given him a sense of independence. "I think boys should be given a chance to try it out," said he.

Believe it or not, some of his friends are such cooking fanatics that they even go to the extent of importing their ingredients. Sidath's two brothers are also fantastic cooks, according to family members.

Although culture constraints traditionally restrict cooking to females, one finds that majority of those applying for professional cookery classes are males and not females. However, as in many other fields cooking is another field where one can enjoy and experience one's own tastes while getting a chance to be innovative.

D.L. Seneviratna, a retired government officer has found a fascinating pastime in cooking. He is a very creative cook. When he enters the kitchen it is dificult to get him out, he confesses. He has his own methods and dishes. But what he cannot do is repeat the same dish twice.

"I don't go by a specific recipe, I just add in whatever I feel will taste good and look colourful. So, most of the time I find it difficult to get the same taste twice," he said. And, when he cooks, he makes sure to switch on the radio, for music he feels adds to his enjoyment.

Most men we spoke to, even if they don't cook themselves agree that times have changed and boys just like girls shoould learn the basics of cooking.

No doubt about it, there's room in the kitchen for men too.

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