Making the Cut: The Future Generation of American Culinary Arts

Today’s growing food culture has reshaped the dynamic between restaurants and chefs, mixing the techniques and inspiration in the dishes they serve. Chefs from top restaurants often go on food journeys, traveling the world to discover the regional cuisines unfamiliar to American tastes. They aim to continue pushing the bounds of fine dining by bringing in new techniques and ingredients to their kitchens, and have inspired a growing number of women and minorities to pursue formal education in the culinary arts. 

In the modern American landscape, rising chefs blur the lines between cultures, delivering dishes that are unfamiliar and “exotic” to the average American as staples for their menus. Furthermore, these chefs are pushing the creative bounds of food, revamping traditional dishes into modern interpretations: roti pizza, vegan sushi, bulgogi tacos, and cronuts are just a few of the many hybridized foods that have emerged from diverse food influences that have taken root in America.

The U.S. workforce is in the midst of a sweeping demographic transformation that favors more diverse and inclusive employment. A 2015 report conducted by McKinsey & Company found a strong correlation between a company’s above average racial and gender diversity and above average profits: companies in the top quarter for racial diversity are 35% more likely to surpass peers, while those in the same bracket for gender diversity are 15% more likely to do the same.  These work environments are more successful because they incorporate more viewpoints from their diverse employees and allow workers to express their individuality, improving professional performance as a result. 

But why is it that the food and beverage industry, one of the largest employers of minorities in the American workforce, lags behind in minority employee representation in management and upper-level positions? Why do top kitchens and fine diners rely on a steady foundation of chefs and kitchen hands from diverse backgrounds, but the owners and management are most often white? Why are women rarely seen among the ranks of top chefs?

This disparity is most evident among the upper tier of the culinary world. The most prestigious restaurant accolades—Michelin Stars and World’s 50 Best—have historically presented their awards to white men and restaurants that primarily serve European cuisine. In 2019, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants made a number of changes to “not only to champion excellence, but also to promote humanity, inclusivity and opportunity”, hoping to better reflect the diversity of the world's culinary landscape. Such actions address a broader field of restaurants and chefs and celebrate the culinary work of women and people of color instead of cornering culinary prestige to a racial and gendered elite in society. 

However, this outlook on diversity and inclusion in the restaurant industry is not shared by the top culinary schools in America, despite the rising number of women and people of color who are enrolling in such institutions. Currently, the top culinary schools in America show disparities between diversity and inclusion in school admissions versus curriculum and faculty. According to CollegeFactual, the Culinary Institute of America student body consists of 51.2% women and ranks above the national average for ethnic diversity of its student body. However, its faculty is 82% white and focuses on a curriculum based in French culinary traditions, ingredients and culinary methods that cater to audiences who are familiar with European cuisine. When there are classes catering to more diverse regions–such as Thailand, Argentina, and Morocco–they are often taught by the majority-white and male faculty. Furthermore, they teach a diverse student body how to prepare non-European dishes with French culinary techniques, reinforcing the social hierarchy present in kitchens across America. The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), another top culinary institute in America, reflects the same institutional barriers for its diverse student body. When asking a representative from the ICE which culinary techniques are emphasized in their classes, he responded that “French knife skills are the backbone [of] every style of cooking”, reflecting the same reverence for the French culinary repertoire in American culinary education.

That’s not to say French system and techniques are not important for the education of these students. Its hierarchical brigade system has become the cornerstone of Western restaurants, featuring a head chef as the leader of the kitchen and an assortment of positions beneath that in descending order of command, covering roles from cutting meat, creating sauces, and plating dishes. A shared French culinary vocabulary and repertoire of techniques facilitate communication and preparation among chefs in the kitchen, so the French brigade system has stayed popular among American restaurants to increase efficiency and establish standard hiring practices amongst kitchens. 

However, the current culinary education system feeds into several problems. First, there is heavy cultural bias towards cooking in the French style among restaurateurs: aspiring chefs who lack these culinary skills are significantly less likely to be hired than those who have received a formal education in the French culinary techniques. 

Second, the curriculum as a whole disregards the traditions and importance of other global cuisines. A quick perusal through the course listings of the top culinary institutes of America reveal faculty from a different culture teaching students how to make regional cuisine from cultures they are not from. Students have the option to take elective classes to learn other international cuisines, but there is a significant lack of emphasis on Latin American, African, South Asian and other regional styles in their foundational curriculum. Clearly, these schools are capitalizing on the dynamic international food culture taking root in America, but culinary schools have not fully incorporated these interests into their curriculum. 

The next generation of culinary talent should also be able to explore the expanding food landscape instead of being sequestered in the bounds of their culinary education. International cuisine should not be sidelined in favor of French and other European culinary tastes, and culinary schools need to make a greater effort to hire more diverse and inclusive faculty to foster the culinary aspirations and understandings of the next generation. It’s clear that restaurant and consumer demand are shifting towards a culture that celebrates diverse food knowledge, but culinary education in America must match those trends through meaningful changes to the current and outdated standards of the past.