The machismo of celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White could be the reason for a curious upturn in the number of men applying for PGCEs in home economics.

New figures for England from the Graduate Teacher Training Registry show 13 men have lodged applications to train in the specialist subject from this September, compared to just one last year.

The chosen few men will compete with applications from 92 women.

And it could be a good career move: all schools must offer cookery to all pupils who want it by this September, so a boom in job advertisements is expected.

Photograph: Rex Features.