There’s a reason the restaurant business plays host to so many big egos: Everybody loves fancy food, and reality TV has only encouraged the industry to grow flashier while elevating its baddest (or lamest) dudes to larger-than-life status. One question, though: Where are all the women?

Beyond April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig and Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune, we can’t think of too many prominent female chefs (sorry, but Sandra Lee, Paula Deen and Rachael Ray do not count). Sure, we know that our knowledge is pretty much limited to New York, and there are quite a few very talented women running kitchens around the country right now—check out The Daily Feast’s great list of 15 “badass” female chefs—but guys’ guys like Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali still hog the lion’s share of the spotlight.

In a telling interview with the Village Voice’s Fork in the Road food blog, current James Beard Foundation president Susan Ungaro talks about why the industry feels like such a boys’ club—and what it will take to encourage young female chefs to take the reins and step into the spotlight. Here’s the money quote:

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Paula Deen has announced that she has Type 2 Diabetes and, certainly, everyone wishes her the best of health. However, Deen learned of her diabetes three years ago and coupled her announcement with the news that she’s now shilling for the drug company Novo Nordisk.

She went on the Today show to make this announcement, equating herself to Al Roker when he pointed out that she’s a spokesperson for the company. “Absolutely, I’ve been compensated, just as you are for your work,” she said. Ugh. Because being a reporter is the same as being a spokesperson for a drug company. Tacky, tasteless Paula Deen. The interview continues with her talking more crap. She sounds like she’s been media trained almost too well.

But many say that’s not the only tasteless thing about this situation.

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Smithfield Foods, a pork processor and products company, has chosen GolinHarris to handle the internal comms program for the company’s 75th anniversary celebration. The firm will organize a gala event to be held in May, create a bilingual internal communications program for the company’s 12,000 employees, manage a college scholarship fund, and preview Paula Deen‘s new book Whole Hog Cooking. Golin EVP Laura Layton and the Atlanta office will lead the program.

We Care Home Health Services has selected Apex Public Relations as its AOR. The Toronto-based firm will handle media relations and internal comms for the company, focusing on the importance of home care planning and managing chronic conditions. [via Marketer]

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