A male cook, is it better? An overview on the gender dimension of cooking ( Western Europe, 16th to 19th centuries)

Abstract

This paper analyses the preparation of food in Western Europe (16th-19th centuries), focusing on its gendered dimension. Three main variables are considered: social stratification, geography and time. It suggests that in Italy, Spain and France in early modern times the cooks employed at the courts and by the aristocracy were generally men; a feminization of the preparation of food started in France from the 18th century onwards. In Central and Northern Europe women were much more involved in the preparation of food in the upper classes, too, even though the fashion for French cuisine in the 17th and 18th centuries implied a growing recourse to male cooks. The paper suggests explanations of these differences and trends over time and discusses the role of nurturing and cooking for the definition of the female identity in different contexts.

Gender; Preparation of Food; Cookery Books; Europe; 1500-1800