Celebrity chef and MasterChef: The Professionals 2017 judge, Monica Galetti says she wants to see more females apply for this year’s MasterChef: The Professionals before applications close next month.
Taking to the social media platform, Twitter, Monica tweeted that she would like to see more female chefs enter this year’s competition along with a link to the online application form.
After sending out the tweet Monica was bombarded with positive responses from her impressive 71.5K followers who applauded the chef for encouraging and supporting her fellow female chefs.
Shelina Permalloo, winner of the 2012 spin-off series, MasterChef was the first to comment:
Asked about her initial response to Monica's tweet, Shelina told The Staff Canteen: "I love Monica! She represents a brilliant chef who just so happens to be female - I respect that when other women try to support other women into the industry."
She added: "I think having more positive role models like Monica makes a massive difference if people can see female chefs in the limelight succeeding it encourages more women to do the same."
Although the show has always largely been dominated by male chefs since it first aired on the BBC back in 2008, their female counterparts have definitely stepped up in recent years. Claire Lara was the first woman to win back in 2010 with Keri Moss coming in joint first with Anton Piotrowski in 2012. Claire Hutchings also made the final three of the fourth series in 2011 and Shelina Permalloo won its sister competition, MasterChef, in 2012.
Speaking exclusively to The Staff Canteen, 2010 winner, Claire Lara feels we are already seeing a growth in female chefs.
She said: "I think people like Monica mentioning it on social media is always helpful and I suppose over time we are starting to see more and more female chefs around, I saw Lisa Allen on Saturday Kitchen. When I was growing up there were very few female chefs and I think now they are starting to come through a little bit more."
When asked about how becoming the show's first female woman helped her career in a male-dominated industry she said: "I think seeing people like myself, younger chefs, and of course Monica it's probably encouraged more females to come into the industry. I think the more exposure the better really."
Monica’s tweet comes not long after Alain Roux expressed his concern for the lack of female chefs applying for the Roux Scholarship earlier this year.
Gary Maclean from Glasgow came out on top to win the competition last year with Mark Stinchcombe winning in 2015 and Jamie Scott claiming pole position in 2014.
Entries for this year’s competition close on May 8. Chefs will need to fill in the online application form to apply for this year’s competition which can be accessed here.
By Michael Parker
@canteenparker
