Celebrating Women in the world of Gastronomy
In honour of International Women’s Day earlier this month, Le Cordon Bleu London have released a series of videos to celebrate talented women in hospitality.
In the past the hospitality industry was often seen as male-dominated, but now there is a greater gender balance, and we are proud to count many impressive women in our alumni network, from Michelin-starred chefs and culinary competition winners to successful business owners and entrepreneurs.
Elaine McCarthy, Programme Development Manager at Le Cordon Bleu London, commented “The hospitality and in particular the culinary industry is growing in its diversity of people, more and more women are opening food businesses, taking leadership roles and taking food innovation rapidly into the future. At Le Cordon Bleu we see many graduates leading kitchens, writing books, creating food concepts, designing food technology and taking management and specialised roles across the hotels and restaurant industry all over the world. Right now, in the industry there are wonderful networking opportunities and a very strong momentum of women supporting and encouraging each other in a dynamic forward moving manner.”
To explore this and help to highlight women's role in this industry, Le Cordon Bleu London spoke to three alumni, all women in leadership roles in hospitality - Shaheen Peerbhai, Head Chef and Owner of Miel Bakery; Patience Hlophe, Director and Pastry Chef of Madeleine’s Cake Boutique and Laura Dove, Director of International Operations at AllBright. The series also features Julie Walsh, Head Pâtisserie Chef at Le Cordon Bleu London. The interviewees were invited to share their experience of being a woman in hospitality, the importance of gender equality and how people can support this in hospitality. You can view all of these videos on the Le Cordon Bleu London YouTube channel.