Top chefs join call for gender-neutral Easy-Bake


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en espaƱol

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Some well-known male chefs are getting behind a New Jersey girl's call for Hasbro to make a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven.

Chefs including Manuel Trevino of TV's "Top Chef" and Michael Lomonaco of Porterhouse New York are featured in a YouTube video applauding McKenna Pope's online petition, which had reached about 40,000 signatures as of Tuesday on the website Change.org.

The 13-year-old 8th-grader from Garfield, N.J., started the petition when she went to buy an Easy-Bake Oven for her 4-year-old-brother, Gavyn Boscio, but discovered it comes only in purple and pink. She wants Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro to feature boys on the box of the toy and to make it in gender-neutral colors.

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay said last week he agreed that Hasbro should make an oven in other colors to appeal to boys, and in the nearly 3-minute-long video posted online Tuesday by Flay's publicist, several chefs from around the country joined in on the call.

A spokesman for Hasbro did not comment.

Lomonaco is known for his TV appearances and was executive chef at Windows on the World atop the north tower of the World Trade Center at the time of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the video, he and other chefs root for McKenna.

"We signed your petition McKenna! You get Hasbro to change that packaging! Little boys and little girls can all be chefs," he says to cheers from the rest of his kitchen.

Laurent Tourondel, who has started restaurants around the world, says cooking is for girls AND boys, while New York chef Spencer Rubin asks: "Hasbro, please make an Easy-Bake for dudes."

Joshua Whigham, of The Bazaar by Jose Andres in Los Angeles, says he supports making an Easy-Bake that's more friendly for boys.

"I can understand not wanting to cook on a pink oven," he says. "Ask Hasbro for a steel, or a black or a something really cool oven."

Brad Spence of Amis Trattoria in Philadelphia says he has young children at home.

"My son, I cook with him every Sunday, so I'd love to see something like that happen," he says.

McKenna's mother, Erica Boscio, told The Associated Press that McKenna is scheduled to meet with Hasbro on Monday.

___

Online:

http://bit.ly/ZbpkUU

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Related links

Related stories

Most recent Features stories

Related topics

EntertainmentFeatures
Michelle R. Smith

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
    Newsletter Signup

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button