Furious row erupts in culinary world as 70 ‘outraged’ female chefs hit back at restaurateur Jason Atherton after he said he ‘hasn’t seen’ sexism in the industry

A furious row has erupted in the restaurant industry after male celebrity chef Jason Atherton said he ‘doesn’t really’ see sexism in professional kitchens.

Furious female chefs who say they have experienced rampant sexism in the male-dominated industry have hit back at the Michelin-starred restaurateur’s comments – with one telling FEMAIL the extreme measures she has taken in her career to avoid unwanted attention from her male peers.

Mursal Saiq, who chef and founder of Cue Point Afghan BBQ based in Jujus Bar and Stage in east London, said she has deliberately worn ‘frumpy’ clothes while pitching business ideas to men, for fear of leering eyes and in a bid to be taken seriously as a chef.

Her comments come as 70 female chefs, including Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown and ‘queen of potatoes’ Poppy O’Toole hit back at 53-year-old Atherton’s inflammatory comments.

The Sheffield-born restaurant owner, who has since claimed his comments were ‘taken out of context’, told The Times he felt that there was ‘too much focus’ on the issue of sexism within professional kitchens.

In a post on Instagram the following day, Atherton said he does not condone sexism and insisted many of the senior positions in his restaurant empire are held by women.

Nonetheless the interview has left some women in the industry ‘fuming’, sparking a #MeToo-style movement as they sign an open letter to Atherton. 

Sally Abe, previous contestant on Great British Menu, chef at The Pem and author of A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen, jointly penned an open letter, published in the Telegraph, in which they said Atherton’s comments had ‘outraged’ them.

Discussing Atherton’s remarks, Abe told the publication: ‘It’s insulting and painful. It’s so hard to speak out because there are so many powerful male chefs that you daren’t speak against. But now, luckily, there are 70 women in this WhatsApp group… This feels like our #MeToo movement, in some way.’

The letter further clarified the groups experiences, with a section reading: ‘Sexism has been and remains a pervasive issue in our industry, shaping the culture of our kitchens in ways that diminish the potential and contributions of countless talented women’.

The letter was also signed by Dara Klein of Tiella, celebrity chef and Saturday Kitchen regular Anna Haugh, Candice Brown and Romy Gill.

Sharing a snippet of the letter on her Instagram account, Abe said: ‘Let’s work for a fairer future, a diverse workplace is a happy workplace.’

Her Instagram post also featured a screenshot from a WhatsApp chat in which Abe said she was ‘fuming’ and Klein sarcastically said of Atherton’s comments: ‘Wow, not inflammatory or biased at all.’

Responding to the row, Cue Point chef and founder Mursal Saiq, told Femail that misogyny in the industry is so rife that she’s self-financed her business to avoid the distressing work environments that men can create.

Saiq said: ‘As a female chef and female founder, my biggest… struggles are pitching, and just trying to do the same things that men are doing, [with] the same exact model, same investors, and same restaurateurs.

‘When you’re a woman, and when you’re a single woman, it seems to also mean that there’s an extra caveat that ‘you should sleep with me and then I will give you what you want’.’

‘It’s becoming way too much, it’s becoming a constant, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve been self-financed for so long… it’s those old school mentalities that have not left or changed, people just pretend they have, but they really haven’t.’

To avoid unwanted attention in pitching meetings, Saiq would alter her appearance by wearing ‘frumpy clothes’ and ‘not putting make up on just so I could get my pitch meeting through’.

She added: ‘Then, what some people would do, they would pretend to be interested, or even if they are interested, they would make you come to multiple meetings to just see you and… potentially be a creep. So, you’re just totally messed around.’

The chef concluded: ‘As a founder in my own kitchen, I feel comfortable, but I do not feel comfortable in the larger industry at all.’ 

The open letter also raised concerns about awards bodies, claiming that the winners and categories do not fairly represent female talent.

Responding to the backlash on Monday, Jason released a lengthy statement to his Instagram account to ‘put the record straight’.

He wrote: ‘I do not condone sexism in the industry or anywhere. A high per cent of our staff are women. Some of our most senior positions are held by women. 

‘My family is all women except for me – my wife and three young growing daughters, so sexism couldn’t be further from my worldview. 

He added that he had been caught ‘off guard’ by the sexism question, and that his response had been ‘taken out of context’. 

Jason continued: ‘I didn’t feel it was my place to answer that question myself and tried to move onto another topic, by simply saying I hadn’t witnessed any sexism, however those few comments have been taken out of context and used in the headline.

‘And regarding my quote on moving on from the past, that was about negativity in the industry, not sexism. 

‘I do generally believe our industry has moved on a lot in the last decade. I simply meant we are all working hard to make it a much better place. Of course nothing is perfect in life.’ 

When asked whether women still experience sexism in kitchens today, he had replied: ‘No, not really. I’ve not seen it. Any industry has its ups and downs. I think there’s way too much focus on our industry because of that.

‘In the past, the hours have been long. It’s been brutal, but that’s behind us. But that [sexism] was also in journalism, it was also in fashion. It wasn’t just our industry. It was society in general.

‘I think there’s too much focus on the negative side of our industry, rather than what is great like the fact that you can be any gender now in our industry and flourish.’

The backlash to his comments was led by self-described Poppy O’Toole on Instagram, who criticised the ‘male chef’ for ‘telling women they do not experience sexism’. 

Poppy, 29, who boasts more than one million followers on social media, shared her own horrifying experiences of sexism and harassment in the workplace, including being inappropriately grabbed by her employer, who spoke to her about sexual positions in front of the whole team, and sent her sexual propositions outside of work hours. 

Writing on Instagram, she said: ‘It is disappointing to see a leader in our industry diminish the experiences of those who have spoken out openly about the sexism in the hospitality industry.’

She added: ‘I’m lucky and proud to be in a position where I don’t have to go to work for these type of men anymore to maintain a successful career in the industry and it means I can speak openly and call it out, while also sharing the experiences of others in a bid that the more we speak about it, the less we stand for it.

‘I wholly understand there are great men in the industry and toxic-free workplaces – however it is important that the leaders in this industry (that are sadly 99.99% men) are receptive to these conversations and push for change rather than ignoring it’s happening.

‘I understand the industry is on its knees at the moment – but there’s also been a great deal of incredibly talented women who are no longer a part of it because of its toxicity. 

”It was worse before’, ‘we have bigger problems’ and ‘we’ve moved on’ doesn’t really cut it. It’s a tough pill to swallow that we should be celebrating diversity in an industry where it simply is not there. Also if we’re writing articles headlined about sexism in the industry, do we think it’s worth talking to a woman?

‘Let’s not continue to ignore a problem. I have shared the previous messages I received from women in and out of the industry. Let their stories be enough reason to be better.’

Other female chefs soon rushed to the comments to support Poppy, saying her response was ‘excellent’. 

Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown wrote: ‘Always bl***y proud of you girl. Insanity right now. We are together.’ 

British chef Andi Oliver added: ‘What a completely excellent response! Jeeeeeeez.’

Meanwhile chef Gizzi Erskine said: ‘For crying out loud. Why are these guys compelled to answer on our behalf. Still. At this time. When we need the acknowledgment more than ever.’

Poppy has since commented on Jason’s statement, thanking him for ‘clarifying that this was a mistake and not what you meant’. 

She told him: ‘It may be worth reading the hundreds of comments on my post which highlight that it is still very much an issue and as a leader in the industry, it is your responsibly to look inwards as well as not speak on the behalf of women.’

Atherton has today further explained his comments in an op-ed in the London Standard.

He wrote: ‘I categorically do not believe there isn’t sexism in the industry, of course there is. There is in every industry. I just have not witnessed it personally. I was answering for me, no one else.’

He added: ‘I back every single female working in our industry: sexism is not acceptable in the workplace.’

The restaurateur concluded he had ‘said my piece’ and there was ‘nothing more to be said’.