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Ruth Hansom, Head Chef of The Princess of Shoreditch, has reached the finals of the Roux Scholarship. Ruth was the first woman to win National Young Chef of the Year. Ruth was a finalist in Great British Menu 2020 and cooked at the banquet. She also won BBC2 Million Pound Menu in 2018. Our co-founder Mecca Ibrahim, interviewed her just before the regional finals.

Great British Menu (GBM) returned to our screens in March for season 15. The BBC2 show puts the nation’s most talented chefs to the test. At Women in the Food Industry we are continuing our series of interviews with the strong female line-up of chefs from across Britain competing to serve their dish at the final banquet. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, interviewed Ruth Hansom, Former Head Chef at Pomona’s and first ever female winner of Young National Chef of The Year.

We had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with Head Chef, Ruth Hansom, of Pomona’s on Hereford Road in Notting Hill who  joined the line up of chefs who competed in the Bocuse d’Or National Selection on 30th September at The Restaurant Show. The Bocuse d’Or,  is the world’s largest and most prestigious cooking contest and Ruth was the only female chef to make the finals to represent the UK. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, spoke to Ruth about the competition behind the scenes at London’s busy Olympia Exhibition Centre in our podcast and interview.

We were delighted to hear there is finally a female chef in with a chance of representing the UK in the Bocuse d’Or, the world’s largest and most prestigious cooking contest. Head Chef, Ruth Hansom, of  Pomona’s on Hereford Road in Notting Hill has joined the line up of chefs who will compete in the Bocuse d’Or National Selection.

Thanks to new Head Chef, Ruth Hansom, Pomona’s in Notting Hill is going through a transformation. One that celebrates the best of British ingredients with an assured hand, inventiveness and an emphasis on sharing. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, was invited to lunch with a select group of food writers to sample the menu.

Following the success of our Women In Food Yorkshire events throughout the year, we’re ending 2025 by spending lunch with one of our previous speakers, Ruth Hansom-Rigby. It’s been fantastic to see Ruth’s restaurant grow, and it feels lovely to be able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and her wonderful food together.

The YNCOTY Award Winners for Young National Chef of the Year were announced on Tuesday 7th October at a lively ceremony at London’s Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. Keira Carolan from Henrock wowed the judges and claimed the prestigious title of the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Young National Chef of the Year, after serving up three exceptional plates at the University of West London. Women In The Food Industry co-founder Mex Ibrahim went along to see who would take the prestigious awards.

Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry has news of all our upcoming events for June & July. June is one our our busiest months for events ever including our first collaboration with the US.  Plus find out more about our brand new event in July on B Corps.

June Events Newsletter 2025 – Women in the Food Industry events. Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry has news of all our upcoming events for June  – it one our our busiest months for  events ever including our first collaboration with the US.  

The best way to keep up to date with all of our news, opportunities, events, features and podcasts is to subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter.

Our June Women in the Food Industry Yorkshire event was all about business growth and expansion. We explored the realities of scaling up without burning out or risking it all. You will have heard from inspiring female entrepreneurs who are in the thick of growth, have built successful large-scale operations, or have navigated the path to a profitable exit.

This year Plates became the first UK plant-based restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star, after siblings Kirk and Keeley Haworth opened in July 2024 in Old Street, East London. After speaking to Keeley about how Kirk & herself built up their success, Women In the Food Industry Ambassador & Writer, Antonia Lloyd, interviews Plates, Head of Wine, Alex Price, about her creative approach to the wine list.

This year Plates became the first UK plant-based restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star, after siblings Kirk and Keeley Haworth opened in July 2024 in Old Street, East London. Together they’ve built up Plates into an award-winning restaurant with a sustainable, dynamic, innovation business model at its core. Women In the Food Industry Ambassador & Writer, Antonia Lloyd, interviews Keeley on how they’ve built their success, their summer launch of Plates farm and retreat in the south west of France.