Women are so "hot" (yes, hot!) that they literally cook your food just by touching it.

[ipsedixit]

So says Japanese (male?) chefs about women sushi chefs.

Read about it here in a WSJ article titled "Hot Women Serving Cold Fish Make for Raw Feelings in Tokyo" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

Money quote from the article:
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The No. 1 reason most chefs cite as to why girls can't make sushi: they're too hot. "The temperature of a woman's hands is higher, and when you're handling fresh fish, this isn't good," says Keiji Mori, the owner of Maru, a modern kaiseki (multi-course haute cuisine) restaurant in Tokyo that employs two female chefs in its kitchen.
_________________________________________

Hopefully this is one of the last glass-ceilings out there ...

[piccola]

I remember reading that women's extremities are actually colder, since women's bodies are better at keeping their organs warm. So there.

[rockycat]

I read the article. Yes, I agree the whole thing about women can't be proper sushi chefs is ridiculous but is this restaurant selling the sushi or selling the women? "It's best to come in with low expectations" quote from the owner. He only hires women between 18 and 25. If a 30 yo woman wanted to work there, he'd put her in the back, he says. The slogan is "Fresh and kawaii (cute)." This place isn't exactly a great leap forward in empowering women, it's another way to sell food by selling sex.

[goodhealthgourmet]

so there's actually an upside to my circulation problems? i should have been a sushi chef!

[chowser]

I was thinking the same thing! If it's about cold hands, I'd be the best sushi chef. If I could be equally dexterous with my feet, I would be even better.

[amyzan]

Women are more prone to hyperthyroidism...but I jest. This is more about sexism than good food, cultural relativism considered.

[Caroline1]

That's a tale that's been around for many decades and possibly centuries! Yet many of the best sushi chefs fondly remember the sushi of their mothers and grandmothers. Present company (companies?) excepted, men do kind of think funny when it comes to thinking about women.

Just for the record, way back in the 70's I once tried dipping my hands in a bowl of ice water frequently while making sushi, but everyone told me it didn't taste any different than when I made it with warm hands. That was when I lived in California, and my husband scuba dove a couple of times a week. Here I don't do much sushi because the ocean is too far away! Anyway, warm hands are a LOT more comfortable and the sushi still tastes good! '-)

[monku]

I've only seen women making sushi at AYCE places.