"salary" news and stories

Dig out your fondue pot, because we're about to to get all 1970s on you. The 2009 StarChefs.com salary survey has been released, and the results may awaken your inner radical feminist.

According to the survey, female chefs make, on average, 24 percent less than their male counterparts. And, putting the salary inequity aside for a moment, the survey also points out that women are just plain underrepresented -- only 13 percent in the executive chef category are women. (For a point of comparison, that's even lower than the percentage of women in Congress.) As Grub Street San Francisco put it, it's time for the ladies to "cry fowl" (oof).

Now that we've brought the subject up, let's keep going: During the last round of the James Beard Awards, of the 24 recipients only 3 were women. Grub Street theorizes that the problem is marketing -- women don't drum up the hype that men do, and hence tend to be ignored, both by award-givers and investors. Alex Raij, chef at Txikito and El Quinto Pino, mused to the Village Voice that this may be in part because it's considered sexy to be a male chef, but not so much to be a female chef (Nigella Lawson notwithstanding, one would assume).

Considering a career as a chef or elsewhere in the restaurant industry? StarChefs.com has released the results of its annual salary survey of restaurant industry professionals. Executive chefs, perhaps unsurprisingly, make more money than most in the industry, though they also work the longest hours. The results may be skewed by the fact that some chefs make dramatically more than others, pulling up the average. Salaries also vary by region, with pastry chefs in Las Vegas making over 30% more than their colleagues in California and Florida. Age, job satisfaction and both ethnicity and gender were also taken into account in parts of the survey, so the results are a good starting point to learn about potential careers and where to start them.

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Forbes Top 100 Celebrities list includes 3 celebrity chefs this year, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Palmer, in spots 85, 86 and 100, respectively.

Emeril Lagasse rose in the ranks from spot 90 to 85 this year. The top rated chef on the Food Network is on more than one channel now that he has signed a deal with Crest toothpaste to appear, using one of his signature phrases, "Bam!", in their ads. Emeril made over $9 million dollars this year, but this could increase during 2006, as his line of signature produce is scheduled to hit the shelves.

Wolfgang Puck was ranked number 85 last year, but his pay of over $12 million dollars eases the pain of being bumped out of position by Emeril. Puck is expanding his line of gourmet take-away offerings and "express" restaurants at airports all over the country, which should do well as airlines cut back on inflight meals.

Charlie Palmer does not have a TV show, but he does have 11 restaurants on both coasts and over $4.7 million dollars in the last year for his efforts. Working with only one major investor, this driven but low-key culinary player's roster of restaurants includes the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse, Aureole, Astra, Astra West, Metrazur and Kitchen 82, with a chain of high-end grocery stores in the works. Jean-George Vongerichten held the 100th spot last year.

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