The Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Awards 2024 concluded on 9th August with a ceremony at Fortnum & Mason.  Nine talented young chefs were celebrated for reaching and important milestone in their careers. Following a challenging five-hour Graduate Awards final exam at the University of West London, those chefs who achieved the all-important pass mark. Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim celebrated with the women who reached the finals and the examiners involved.

Returning to work after becoming a mother is a challenge for many women and particularly for first time mums. We have some advice and thoughts to share on balancing family and work, asking for help and more from Georgia Sommerin. She is Head chef at Home in Penarth and recently returned to its Michelin-star kitchen after having her first child.

Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry is packed with discounted Early Bird offers for our September events, a competition to win sets of Nisha Katona’s cookery books, FREE tickets for Speciality & Fine Food Fair,  free networking events at The Conduit for the food industry. Plus a great opportunity for “free-from” & healthy eating food producers in Greater London looking for export opportunities. 

This November, the Global London team is inviting a group of innovative, London-based free-from & healthy food businesses to join a three-day immersive trade mission to Amsterdam to explore the Netherlands as an export market and the gateway to Europe. Find out how you can apply.

Quick and Easy Vietnamese: Everyday Vietnamese Recipes for The Home Cook  is the latest book from multi-talented writer, cook, food and prop stylist, and photographer Uyen Luu. When Uyen is not writing or taking photographs for a number of best-selling cookbooks she runs supperclubs and Vietnamese cooking classes in her London home.  Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim, reviews Quick and Easy Vietnamese after Uyen’s joyous launch party on 9th August.

The latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry includes discounted Early Bird offers for our September events, recaps of our events in July, FREE tickets for Speciality & Fine Food Fair, AND a free networking event at The Conduit for the food industry. Plus our latest cookbook reviews and more!

You can tell a lot about a person by the cookbooks they own.  Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim discovered through Bee Wilson, that Esquire magazine had published in-depth look at Vice President Kamala Harris’s cookbooks. Bee noted that British food writer Diana Henry’s book From The Oven to the Table was not only included amongst the pile of cookbooks, but that Diana Henry had also given her thoughts on the books. Mex took a look at the women food writers who feature in Kamala’s kitchen.

There are two female chefs competing in Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) finals and both are new to The Craft Guild of Chefs’ competition. Keira Carolan and Rosie Welch both work in restaurants by Simon Rogan in the Lake District.  They were part of twelve talented young chefs who received a special delivery on July 31st 2024. The exclusive YNCOTY chef’s jacket from Continental Chef Supplies (CCS) confirmed the chefs had done enough to impress the judges and earn one of the much sought-after spots in the final which takes place on Tuesday 8th October.

Speciality & Fine Food Fair, is the UK’s leading showcase of artisanal food and drink. Now in its 25th year is returning from the 10th – 11th of September at Olympia, London. It’s a free industry event, designed as a food festival. Our co-founder, Mex Ibrahim, is delighted to be chairing a session in the Trends Theatre on 10th September called Diversity: More Than Just Ticking Boxes. Read on to find out about the inspiring women in the food industry on the panel and what you will take away from the panel and the event.

Agak Agak – Everyday Recipes from Singapore – is the second cookbook by Shu Han Lee. Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim knew Shu from the times when Mex commissioned recipes for Great British Chefs, so it was with great pleasure to attend a launch of Shu’s book which included a demo of recipes at, so it was with great pleasure to attend a launch of Shu’s book which included a demo of recipes at Divertimenti cookery school.

Elizabeth David’s first cookery book, A Book of Mediterranean Food, was published almost 75 years ago in 1950 and it changed British eating habits forever. Our Ambassador of Women In the Food Industry and Writer, Antonia Lloyd, reviews the 2024 hardback reissue.

In today’s dynamic global market, the food industry emerges as a sector ripe with opportunities but also fraught with challenges, especially for women entrepreneurs aiming to specialise in their niche. To help address this, the Global London programme is designed specifically to support and bolster women’s ambitions in the food industry.