WTF?
So I need a job, right? I'm out handing out resumes, and I walk into a sushi bar that has a sign into the window that says sushi helper needed. It was a sheeshy place, which looked good, cuz, if I may toot my own horn for a minute, I'm kind of a hot shot cook.
Well, the polite young Japanese man who was holding up the counter told me the position was for men only.
I started laughing. I looked around for the camera. I was going to pull on the guy's hair, to see if he was really Jaime Kennedy, when I realized he was serious.
I told him how the first time someone ever said that to me was in 1990, after I had finished cooking school. And my response every single time had been to kick the ass of the person who said it. (I meant by producing a better product, faster, but I left that part out, cuz he looked a little afraid, and tested the counter he was holding up, to see if it was sturdy.)
I left, still laughing. My 9 year-old daughter was with me, and I had to explain to her my continued shock and amazement at the men-only kitchen thing that still persists, despite the statistical fact that 90% of the world is fed by women.
If I've made any cultural blunders, by insulting Japanese tradition, or anything, I'd like to apologize for finding it so humorous. I guess I must have been fooled by all the kick-ass, chick-made sushi I've eaten.
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oops.. double post..
i worked at Nobu and asked the master sushi chef there why i've never seen a woman sushi chef. its tradition in japan. he said it wasn't meant as sexism, but they believe the temperature of a woman's hand is hotter than that of a man's, and that a woman could "cook" the raw fish a little, ruining it.
this ain't Japan, and we actually, OCCASIONALLY, can affect a change re: discriminatory hiring policies.
But only if we say something.


All little girls should be told they're pretty--even if they aren't.
--Marilyn Monroe
women's hands run warm. that is the issue.
y'all can disagree with me.... i dont mind keeping tradition sometimes. i am okay with men being sushi chefs.
arent you in portland?
She sure is.
"Kids are made of poop, elastic, and run on nuclear batteries..." -My friend Drew
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I can't see any reason that wouldn't be illegal...just sayin'...
25/MN and WA. Queer, veg, single, AP mama to DD2.5.
I'm fairly certain that you can't discriminate against sex when hiring someone. That might be worth looking into... if not for you, then at least for the sake of the next woman who might want to work there.
Sorry that happened to you - especially in front of your daughter! I woulda been pissed...
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that just seems totally archaic!
their loss.
yeh, give me the name of the place and the addy, and I'll give it to the labor board.
I think all the activist mamas on here should do the same.

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I knew, but had forgotten about the tradition. Somehow, "Warm hands" sounds like, "we can't have a woman president, cuz what if she has PMS?" My friend who does henna tattoos says some people run warmer than others, and age & gender are a factor, but not absolute. My mom has the world's coldest hands, but I wouldn't hire her to make sushi, cuz she doesn't know how.
I've been looking for the address, but I can't find it. It's new, about 27th & NE Broadway.
I think we should flood them with qualified woman applicants. Maybe bring them some fabulous, gourmet samples?
But then, maybe that's too much drama.