THE 1OO MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN HOSPITALITY Welcome to CODE’s inaugural list of she’s mature but she stays relevant by that despite the traditional view of the 100 most influential women working knowing everything that’s going on.” it being a business too punishing in British and Irish hospitality. With In the first category, chefs, for parents, it’s possible to combine industry stalwarts Ewan Venters (CEO judge Diana Henry noted that Pam motherhood with a successful career. of Fortnum and Mason), legendary Brunton is really ploughing her own Jeremy King came to the judging restaurateur Jeremy King of Corbin & furrow at Inver, and says of Angela table with a carefully annotated list. King, highly respected author Diana Hartnett, “I have huge admiration His own company is well known for Henry and Bloomberg food expert for her – I think she’s one woman its initiative to keep women in the Richard Vines, Adam Hyman and Lisa who shows other women that you business, and to help those returning Markwell have selected the women can be a successful female chef in after career breaks. King had studied who are trailblazers, highly successful, what is mostly a male world.” She the candidates in detail. “These inspirational, socially conscious … and also mentions the supportive kitchen women are not only doing their jobs just damned good at their jobs. environments run by Skye Gyngell as well, or better, than any man – they From the young woman pushing and Asma Khan. are also inspiring others, making at the staid world of sommeliers We believe this is a really waves and are full of the innovation to the chief executive of a major powerful, positive list at a time when that singles them out as special.” drinks company; from the ex-chef there are stories in the press about There are lots of women who transforming Britain’s school canteens both struggles in the hospitality do brilliant work to produce and to the Michelin-starred patron at the business to recruit and keep staff, promote food and drink in Britain, height of her powers – the diversity and the difficulties women face in but we had to keep the list strictly to and creativity is astonishing. The list reaching its higher echelons (kitchens hospitality – so authors of the myriad is deliberately not ranked to reflect have long held the reputation for brilliant cookbooks have not been that influence is shown in many being brutish and inflexible). Talking included, for instance. different ways. candidly about mental health, And, as judge Richard Vines As Ewan Venters said, on studying running kitchens and front-of- house pointed out in his assessment of the the list, “what’s important here is where there is zero-tolerance of abuse list, “there are many more I could relevance – it can be someone who’s and either modelling or establishing mention, but they fall into a ‘rising a long-standing success but are they customised working hours are all stars’ category, so they can be on the still fresh, still influential? I’d put Fay highly significant in 2018. There are list next year!” Maschler firmly in that category – many women on the list who show We look forward to it. -1- restaurant in Paris and two-Michelin- Lisa Allen Pam Brunton star restaurant at the Connaught in Executive chef, Northcote Head chef and co-owner, Inver London, and juggling motherhood too, Allen joined Nigel Haworth’s restaurant Brunton is making waves on the Darroze is a brilliant role model for a at Northcote Manor as a demi chef de shores of Loch Fyne with her full-time chef/restaurateur. In 2012, partie in 2001 and by 2004 was named as seasonal, elegant Scottish menus. She Darroze was admitted into the French executive chef of the restaurant, running abandoned her philosophy degree at Legion of Honour as a Chevalier the kitchen at just 24, and retaining the Edinburgh and got a kitchen job to pay (Knight) by President Sarkozy. She was Michelin star that Haworth had won. In the rent. Later she moved to London also the inspiration for the character 2010, she reached the final of The Great in 1999 and cooked at Restaurant Tom Colette in the film Ratatouille – much British Menu; this year she created her Aikens and The Greenhouse. After to the delight of her daughters, own dinner at Northcote’s prestigious returning to academia, and a part- Charlotte and Quiterie. annual Obsession event. time role as a cheesemonger at Neal’s __ __ Yard Dairy, Brunton decided to leave Chefs London and open a restaurant. With Monica Galetti her partner, she launched Inver – a Chef and TV presenter, Jane Alty favourite of critic Marina O’Loughlin co-owner of Mere - in 2015. Head chef and co-owner, Galetti is to be applauded for her __ The Begging Bowl visibility both as a top-flight chef and Before many of the Thai restaurants as a woman of colour. Samoan-born, getting plaudits in London, there was she moved to New Zealand at eight. The Begging Bowl. This Peckham After studying hospitality, in 1999 trailblazer was opened by chef Jane Alty, Galetti moved to England and got a job with business partner Jamie Younger. with Michel Roux Jr at Le Gavroche as Alty had previously worked at the a first commis – a role she didn’t even some of the top restaurants in London know existed – and rose to senior sous. including the Michelin-starred outpost Since 2009 she has been a judge on of Nahm, where she spent four years MasterChef: The Professionals and last working with chef David Thompson. year, she opened her first restaurant, __ Mere, alongside her sommelier husband David Galetti. Melanie Arnold & __ Margot Henderson Romy Gill MBE Chefs and co-owners, Head chef and owner, Rochelle Canteen Romy’s Kitchen Impressive, inspiring and inseparable, British-Indian chef Gill opened her first Arnold and Henderson first met at the restaurant, Romy’s Kitchen in 2013 in French House in Soho (opened by their Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. She husbands, Fergus Henderson and Jon was appointed an MBE in 2016, has a Spiteri). After taking over the fabled, female-led kitchen and spends much time tiny space, the pair then went on to flying the flag for women in the industry. launch their catering business Arnold Gill is writing her first cookbook, to be and Henderson in 1995. They opened Sam Clark published this year. Rochelle Canteen in 2006 in east Chief proprietor, __ London and opened a second outpost Moro and Morito at the ICA on Pall Mall last year. __ Clark met her husband Sam Clark in the early ‘90s (fascinatingly, her maiden Ravinder Bhogal name was Clarke). After a stint at The Chef patron, Jikoni Eagle in Farringdon, they both joined The River Café, where they learned Bhogal has been described by Gordon techniques and philosophies that would Ramsay as his new Fanny Cradock. be the foundations for the cooking at The accolade is interesting, for Bhogal’s their restaurant Moro. The Clarks have greatest strength is the warmth and run Moro and Morito for more than 20 vivacity she brings, with her cosy years and published four cookbooks. restaurant and multicultural dishes. The __ Kenyan-born chef and food writer has worked at Trishna, Le Café Anglais and for Mark Hix, wrote her first cookbook, Sally Clarke MBE Cook in Boots, in 2009 and has appeared Chef patron, Clarke’s on many TV shows. She opened her first Sally Clarke is one of Britain’s culinary restaurant, Jikoni, in 2016. legends. Cordon Bleu-trained, Clarke __ worked for Prue Leith, before moving to California in 1979, where she met Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, who Nieves Barragán became a friend and mentor. Back Mohacho in London, she opened Clarke’s Issue 14 | Spring 2018 codehospitality.co.uk Chef and co-owner, Sabor Restaurant on Kensington Church Street in 1984 offering very simple, Sabor, in W1, is one of this year’s most incredibly elegant fixed menus – artist Helen Goh Head pastry chef, Ottolenghi raved-about openings – thanks to the Lucian Freud ate there almost every passion and skill of its co-creator Nieves single day. Clarke can be found most Helen Goh was born in Malaysia. Barragán Mohacho. She grew up in days in the restaurant and shop. After seven years as head pastry chef Bilbao and, after arriving in London in __ 1998, she worked for Nico Ladenis before at Donovans, a landmark Melbourne joining Sam and Eddie Hart as sous restaurant, she moved to London chef at Fino in 2003. Four years later she Hélène Darroze and soon joined Ottolenghi. She has Chef proprietor, Hélène Darroze at become the group’s executive chef and worked closely with Yotam Ottolenghi The Connaught launched Barrafina, one branch of which as the lead product developer for the was awarded a Michelin star in 2014. Constantly travelling between her past ten years – and the pair published -2- ‘Sweet’ last year. Helen draws widely on Asian, Western and Middle Eastern Rachel Marianne Lumb influences in her cooking – and is Humphrey Chef patron, Marianne known as a perfectionist. Executive chef, Women reaching the final stages of __ Le Gavroche Masterchef: The Professionals is rare Rachel Humphrey has a fascinating enough, so it’s gratifying that Marianne __ professional trajectory: she joined Lumb is making the most of it. She Skye Gyngell Le Gavroche as an apprentice in was already an accomplished chef, Chef proprietor, Spring 1996. But between 2000 and 2003 dropping out of an architecture degree at UCL to train at the Michelin-starred A stint in Skye Gyngell’s kitchen she took a break to expand her Gravetye Manor.