A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen : Panel Event & Book Signing – Tuesday 11th June 2024

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A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen – Panel Event & Book Signing – Event Recap

Women in the Food Industry hosted an event centred around the launch of Sally Abé’s debut memoir – A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen – a chef’s dispactches from behind the pass. Sally’s book is about her journey of becoming an award-winning chef in the brutal world of restaurant kitchens. It is also a stirring manifesto which shows how we can change them for the better. On 11th June we met an inspiring panel of women working to bring hope for the culinary landscape’s future.

I often reminisce about the first time my mom went away by herself and left us with my dad for a week. Until then, he’d never cooked us a meal. His first attempt was grilled lamb chops. Needless to say, he burnt those chops to beyond recognition and ended up having to take us out for dinner. We laughed for weeks about that incident and still chuckle about it to this day. My dad has come a long way since then and now has a few signature dishes under his belt. The irony is that his best and most requested dish nowadays is his braaied lamb chops. He marinates and cooks them to juicy perfection,

Celebrating you being you - Women in the Food Industry Panel

“The dominant view of a professional kitchen is one of chaos and pent-up fury – a gladiatorial contest of male ego. Why then do we also hear the misogynistic refrain that women ‘belong in the kitchen’ if, in a professional context, they’re all but erased from them?”

Our panel explored the hot topic of women in professional kitchens , what it’s like working in that environment and how professional kitchens are portrayed by the media. Does the media portrayal shape what we expect from kitchens? Why has this macho environment been tolerated for so long? What can we do to change the culture in professional kitchens?

Mex Ibrahim co-founder of Women in the Food Industry worked with Sally when they were both at leading recipe website Great British Chefs. Mex chaired this thought provoking panel with the following dynamic speakers:

Sally Abé is a fine-dining chef at the top of her profession. She has worked in some of the best establishments in the UK, including The Savoy, The Ledbury, retained a Michelin star at The Harwood Arms, the UK’s #1 gastropub and featured in the 2020 and 2022 seasons of the BBC’s Great British Menu. She currently runs The Pem, named after the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, which boasts a team of 80% women producing some of the finest dishes in London. She was named Female Chef of the Year in 2021 by SquareMeal, and was shortlisted for GQ’s overall Chef of the Year in 2021. Her other work includes supporting women in the hospitality industry and creating fairer, safer, and happier living standards within kitchens across the UK.

Amanda Ross, is the CEO & Co-Founder of Cactus TV, who amongst other shows, has produced the multi-award winning show, Saturday Kitchen, for 18 years. Amanda is a strong champion of women in the food industry and shares why this is important. She recorded a podcast for Women in The Food Industry where she candidly explored her experience of working as woman in the TV world. In that podcast we learnt more about Saturday Kitchen & what Amanda looks for as guests for the popular BBC show.

Antonia Lloyd is a producer of award-winning TV cookery and professional chef competition formats and a regular Food and Features Writer and Ambassador for Women in the Food Industry. She has been Series Editor of BBC Two’s flagship series Great British Menu for the last five years, has won a Bafta for BBC’s MasterChef: the Professionals, and has worked with the UK’s top chefs for two decades from Monica Galetti to Mary Berry, Gordon Ramsay to Michel Roux Jr. For Women in the Food Industry, she interviews trailblazing women chefs to shine a spotlight on the changing industry, reviews the very best new cookbooks and writes features.

Mursal Saiq was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, raised in Mumbai, India and then grew in Hackney, London. Her family were forced to evacuate their home and give it up to members of the Taliban during the Afghan 1990’s civil war. During uni she worked part time in street food markets & met Josh Moroney. Together, they opened Cue Point Ldn, an inclusive catering company, named one of Time Outs best London restaurants. Merging British and Afghan flavours, specialising in smoked meats, it creates inclusive and delicious recipes. Cue Point Kitchen, is the a social impact arm of the business and focuses on building the generational wealth of racialised individuals in the hospitality industry.

A Womans Place is in the Kitchen - Sally Abe

‘Wow. Sally’s book is an insightful, honest account of a young cook’s journey to an inspirational chef‘ Angela Hartnett

‘Sally really tells it how it is . . . This book will be a go to for those needing that bit of bravery and resilience in a world that needs more people like her’ Candice Brown

A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen was published by Fleet on 6th June 2024 and is set to become a classic!

At our panel and Q& A we discussed the issues raised by Sally’s memoir including:

If women belong in kitchens, why are they all but erased from professional ones?

How can women make a mark for themselves in professional kitchens?

Does this mean becoming more like men?

What role does the media have in reflecting what takes place in professional kitchens?

Is the manic drama seen in shows like Boiling Point & Great British Menu a reality or can kitchens run successfully with a different culture?

A Womans Place is in the Kitchen - panel - Halifax HQ

A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen book signing

From 8pm Sally was available to sign copies of her book

Sally Abe Book Signing at Halifax HQ with bookseller Burley Fisher

Nibbles and alcohol free drinks

Food and Drinks Founders for A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen

At the event attendees enjoyed nibbles & alcohol free drinks from award winning female led companies – including Bemuse alcohol free honey wine (Co-Founder Anna Chalov), hydrating Luxwells waters botanically infused with real flowers and plant based ingredients (founder Kristal Baker), vegan oat milk tea lattes from HumaniTea (founder Tina Chen), sparkling water kaffir Rithm (founder Hadden Fray-Smith), Chili Maven Salsa Macha (founder Alexa Fernandez) and vegan Plantain Chips from Olu Olu Foods (Sales & Marketing Lead Krushna Ananda).

A Woman's place is in the kitchen photo at Halifax

Event Highlights:

It was an amazing experience where our audience met the people who are working to change the culture of how women are seen in kitchens. We celebrated an evening where women can rise in the ranks of professional kitchens without compromising their personalities, lifestyles or families !

Read Antonia Lloyd’s review of Sally’s book here

If you missed this event, why not join – Women Chefs and Cooks on TV : The Realities of Reality TV – Wednesday 3rd July 2024

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