Furious row erupts in culinary world as 70 'outraged' female chefs hit back at restaurateur Jason Atherton after he said he 'hasn't seen' sexism in the industry

A has furious row has erupted in the restaurant industry after male celebrity chef Jason Atherton said he 'doesn't really' see sexism in professional kitchens. Furious female chefs who say they have experienced rampant sexism in the male-dominated industry have hit back at the Michelin-starred restaurateur's comments - with one telling FEMAIL the extreme measures she has taken in her career to avoid unwanted attention from her male peers.

Mursal Saiq, who chef and founder of Cue Point Afghan BBQ based in Jujus Bar and Stage in east London, said she has deliberately worn 'frumpy' clothes while pitching business ideas to men, for fear of leering eyes and in a bid to be taken seriously as a chef. Her comments come as 70 female chefs, including Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown and 'queen of potatoes' Poppy O'Toole hit back at 53-year-old Atherton's inflammatory comments.

The Sheffield-born restaurant owner, who has since claimed his comments were 'taken out of context', told The Times he felt that there was 'too much focus' on the issue of sexism within professional kitchens. In a post on Instagram the following day, Atherton said he does not condone sexism and insisted many of the senior positions in his restaurant empire are held by women. Nonetheless the interview has left some women in the industry 'fuming', sparking a #MeToo-style movement as they sign an open letter to Atherton.

Sally Abe, previous contestant on Great British Menu, chef at The Pem and author of A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen, jointly penned an open letter, published in the Telegraph, in which they said Atherton's comments had 'outraged' them. Discussing Atherton's remarks, Abe told the publication: 'It's insulting and painful. It's so hard to speak out because there are so many powerful male chefs that you daren't speak against. But now, luckily, there are 70 women in this WhatsApp group... This feels like our #MeToo movement, in some way.'.

The letter further clarified the groups experiences, with a section reading: 'Sexism has been and remains a pervasive issue in our industry, shaping the culture of our kitchens in ways that diminish the potential and contributions of countless talented women'. The letter was also signed by Dara Klein of Tiella, celebrity chef and Saturday Kitchen regular Anna Haugh, Candice Brown and Romy Gill. Sharing a snippet of the letter on her Instagram account, Abe said: 'Let's work for a fairer future, a diverse workplace is a happy workplace.'.

Her Instagram post also featured a screenshot from a WhatsApp chat in which Abe said she was 'fuming' and Klein sarcastically said of Atherton's comments: 'Wow, not inflammatory or biased at all.'. Responding to the row, Cue Point chef and founder Mursal Saiq, told Femail that misogyny in the industry is so rife that she's self-financed her business to avoid the distressing work environments that men can create.

Jason Atherton's sexism comments has led to a heated row in the culinary world, with female chefs, including Sally Abe (pictured), hitting back with an open letter. Saiq said: 'As a female chef and female founder, my biggest... struggles are pitching, and just trying to do the same things that men are doing, [with] the same exact model, same investors, and same restaurateurs. 'When you're a woman, and when you're a single woman, it seems to also mean that there's an extra caveat that 'you should sleep with me and then I will give you what you want'.'.

'It's becoming way too much, it's becoming a constant, and it's one of the reasons I've been self-financed for so long... it's those old school mentalities that have not left or changed, people just pretend they have, but they really haven't.'. To avoid unwanted attention in pitching meetings, Saiq would alter her appearance by wearing 'frumpy clothes' and 'not putting make up on just so I could get my pitch meeting through'.

She added: 'Then, what some people would do, they would pretend to be interested, or even if they are interested, they would make you come to multiple meetings to just see you and... potentially be a creep. So, you're just totally messed around.'. The chef concluded: 'As a founder in my own kitchen, I feel comfortable, but I do not feel comfortable in the larger industry at all.'. Talking to Femail, the chef and founder of Cue Point in London, Mursal Saiq (pictured), discussed her experiences of inequality in the food industry.

A group of 70 female chefs and restaurateurs, including Marie Mitchell (pictured), signed the open letter. Jason Atherton (pictured) responded to growing backlash against his comments about sexism, saying his words were 'taken out of context'. The open letter also raised concerns about awards bodies, claiming that the winners and categories do not fairly represent female talent. Responding to the backlash on Monday, Jason released a lengthy statement to his Instagram account to 'put the record straight'.