Women at the top: 15 exec chefs reveal their ingredients for success

Editor's note: Meg Votta, chef and co-owner of Sycamore, a BYO that recently opened in Lansdowne, died Tuesday of ovarian cancer. Her business partner, Stephen Wagner, said yesterday that Votta "never got to dine in her own restaurant - she only cooked there," but added, "I'm just glad she got to realize her last dream."

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THE KITCHEN is still a man's world. But that's changing, at least in Philadelphia.

While women may do most of the cooking at home, in restaurant kitchens across America, more often than not, the top toque is a man.

According to an industry report by the National Restaurant Association, women account for just 17 percent of the chefs and head cooks in professional kitchens today (about 1 in 5), with ownership of 25 percent of eating and drinking establishments nationwide.

Why this is so is up for debate. But the kitchen as a macho bastion is something most women chefs have to deal with early on in their career. "Generally speaking, kitchens are very male-dominated places that thrive under powerful, no-nonsense leadership," said Erin O'Shea, executive chef at the about-to-open Percy Street Barbecue. "It can be especially challenging, as a woman, to earn the respect necessary to lead people in this environment."

While doyennes like Susanna Foo and Margaret Kuo have long led the way in their respective restaurants, a bumper crop of women is now leading the charge in kitchens from Manayunk to Center City to Lansdowne. Here are 15 - count 'em, 15 - women executive chefs, some of whom also own their restaurants.

In every case, these hardworking women cook with style, creativity and the particular passion that beats in the heart of a woman.

Roberta Adamo

Penne Restaurant & Wine Bar

3600 Sansom St., 215-823-6222

www.pennerestaurant.com

From co-owning a family restaurant to making pasta in the kitchens at the Ritz Carlton and Brasserie Perrier, Adamo has left her flavorful mark on the Philly and New Jersey food scene. A resident of Marlton, she's been executive chef at Penne at the Inn at Penn since 2004. The mother of three is especially adept at consensus-building among her staff.

QUOTE: "Women make great chefs because multitasking is a way of life (for anyone who is married with children). We possess determination under difficult circumstances and refuse to give up. And we are sensitive to the needs and wants of others, our guests and staff alike."