Padma Lakshmi Talks James Beard & Being A Woman In The Food Industry

The culture of the restaurant industry has to change from the ground up. There are some great chefs and restaurateurs who are taking considerable steps to remedy the inequity in the professional food world and we must follow their lead. One example is Danny Meyer, who provides maternity leave. Another is Enrique Olivera, whose kitchen at Cosme is run almost completely by women. The life of a chef is not conducive to family obligations or maintaining regular business hours. It has traditionally been a very tightknit boys club. But with gender attitudes changing, and men helping out considerably more with domestic responsibilities at home, there are more women entering the field. That is not to say there aren’t some talented and super successful female chefs and restauranteurs- some examples are Barbara Lynch, Suzanne Goin, April Bloomfield, Nancy Silverton and Dominique Crenn, to name a few. But as an industry, we must support and encourage a new generation of female professionals. The #MeToo movement is a painful but necessary reckoning, and I hope it’s just the beginning.