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The Black Bull, Sedbergh, is gearing up to host its first ever spring chef dinner series, with top female chefs set to take to the Black Bull’s stoves to create three one-off small plates tasting menus alongside chef-owner Nina Matsunaga who was recently seen on Great British Menu.

Adejoké Bakare’s Michelin Star is an achievement that has made history. In a glittering awards ceremony on 5th February 2024, she became the first black woman in the UK to win a star and the second black woman in the world to win one.  Chishuru winning its first star marks Adejoké’s  journey from running a north London supper club to her West End restaurant which has helped bring West African cooking into the mainstream.

Women in The Food Industry member and award-winning chef, Amber Francis, hailed as one to watch on Great British Menu, is taking on a new challenge – cooking incredible food in a school as she joins Chefs In Schools. The pioneering non profit, Chefs in Schools recently won a BBC Food and Farming Award – the Derek Cooper Award for Outstanding Achievement. 

We are enormously proud and humbled to have Irini Tzortzoglou 2019 Masterchef Champion as one of our Ambassadors. She is a very busy woman but she took the time to share with us some of our latest news.

Hundreds of votes from gastropub chefs, food writers, pub-guide editors, top pub industry suppliers and critics were counted to reveal the country’s best gastropubs across the country. This year’s Estrella Damm List of Top 50 Gastropubs shows a number of inspiring women running award-winning pub kitchens including the pub which reached the number two spot – The Parkers Arms.

Following the fantastic news that Core by Clare Smyth secured a third Michelin star this week, Bocuse d’Or UK is delighted to announce that she has accepted the role of Global Chef Ambassador for the Bocuse d’Or UK.

We recently caught up with inspiring young chef Amber Francis, Senior Sous Chef at Bermondsey Larder (previously known as The Dairy Bermondsey), to discover more about the resilience of working in the restaurant world during lockdown. Plus as Youth Ambassador for The Craft Guild of Chefs, discover her thoughts on importance of training, development, women in the industry and her clear love for the hospitality world.

At Women In The Food Industry we are delighted to partner with The Craft Guild of Chefs. Established in 1965 as a Guild of the Cookery and Food Association, the Craft Guild of Chefs has developed into the leading Chefs’ Association in the UK and has many members worldwide. Look out for some exciting offers for our members and also news from the Guild’s annual National Chef of the Year Awards.  We spoke to three female members of the Guild about their experience, how the industry has been for female chefs / managers and what piece of wisdom would you give your younger self right now.

The SquareMeal Female Chef of the Year award was launched in 2018 to celebrate the huge contribution female chefs are making to the UK restaurant industry.  On 21st October 2019 Skye Gyngell chef-patron of Spring and culinary director of Heckfield Place became the second winner of the title. Skye was presented with her award at a Champagne reception at The Goring in Belgravia for the shortlisted chefs.

Acclaimed chef Léa Linster won a Michelin star in 1987 and owns three restaurants in Luxembourg: Restaurant Léa Linster, Au Quai de la Gare and Kaschthaus. She became a gold medal winner of the 1989 Bocuse d’Or, which made her the first  and to date only woman to ever accomplish this.  Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, was lucky enough to speak to Mrs Linster about her inspirations and how she put Luxembourgian cuisine on a global map with her achievements.

In the ninth of our series of Female Food Founders interviews we turn again to  education and training.  We met Catherine Farhina Founder of The Chefs’ Forum – an organisation that brings together leading chefs, colleges and food trade suppliers in the UK and beyond.  She also set up The Chefs’ Forum Educational Foundation to raise funds for young people in the hospitality industry. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, chatted with Catherine  about how she got into the hospitality business, the importance of developing young chefs and her food inspirations in the industry.

Celebrating winning a place in the Estrella National Restaurant Awards Top 100 and being the only woman in the north of England to win, our co-founder, Janie, chatted to Chef Patron, Stosie Madi from The Parkers Arms about what that feels like. Stosie shared her inspirations, style of cooking, passions, what it’s like to run a business and her views on issues facing women in the food industry.