The Food Issue '09: Women in Charlotte's food industry 

Food and women have a complex relationship.

Of the two genders, biology assigned females as a food source for the young, prehistoric communities gave women the task of gathering and many anthropologists even argue that agriculture was invented by women. Later, women became primary food preparers and shoppers for the home, recorded the first recipes, began teaching home economics in schools, and, more recently in some cultures, started obsessing over the connection between food and the body.

Yet in 2009 -- when it comes to farming and/or working in restaurants -- it seems that more men have embraced food as an occupation.

While the number of women in agriculture is growing, the percentage is barely above two digits: The number of female farm operators in North Carolina in 2007 was 13 percent, up 2 percent from 2002. Harriett Baucom, who (along with her husband Milton) owns the Union County-based farm Baucom's Best, suggests though, that the statistics for females involved in farming may be skewed. She says that today the farm is viewed as a team: "Before, the man was the farmer and the wife was a supporting role. They had different areas of responsibilities, but a lot of that has changed."

In the areas of local restaurant ownership and executive chef rank, reliable statistics do not exist. In truth, most women -- in all walks of life -- do not want to have the "female" codicil attached to their name. Recently, however, when Elinor Ostrom -- a professor at Indiana University -- won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the fact she was the first woman to win that award became news. In August 2009, my selection for Creative Loafing's "Best New Restaurant" was Common House, the first in that category to have a woman, Chef Emily Hahn, at the helm of the kitchen.

But, to find out what's really going on with women in the local food community, I checked in with a variety of female farmers, restaurateurs and chefs and asked about their careers and their place in Charlotte's "food-scape."

Sowing Seeds

At the time I spoke with farmer Baucom, she was worried about whether it would rain the coming week. "In farming you deal with unknowns; weather and animals can be the wild cards," says Baucom. "But this is part of the challenge."

She acknowledges that farming, particularly large agribusinesses, has been dominated by men. "There was lifting heavy things, fixing engines, wire and electrical work. That part of agriculture we have a physical disadvantage, but so many other areas are evolved -- for example, speaking to customers about health and nutrition."

Additionally, animals raised in a natural environment -- as are their Angus cattle -- require low-stress handling and nurturing, not strength. Baucom says that smaller farming and especially sustainable farming doesn't require that larger (and heavier) skill set. "I can change a tire," she says, adding that she is also better at the local farmers markets where much of their meat is sold. She suggests that women going into agriculture have an advantage. "Women seem to be open to new ideas. The traditional multigenerational [male] farmer may do things the way his grandfather and father did."

Denise Smart, owner of Nise's Herbs, says ownership of a farm is not gender-specific, but it is family-oriented. Sixteen years ago, when she started her 18-acre farm in Stanfield, N.C., she did it to give her the freedom to be with her children. They are grown now but often come back to pick for market.

Smart enjoys the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market where she sells her produce. She has noticed, however, that from year to year, some women show up with products at the farmers market and sell for a season, and then not return. "Farming is hard work, but rewarding," she says.

With all the work required on the farm, is there time remaining to mentor future farmers? Natalie Veres, co-owner of Grateful Growers Farm in Lincoln County, says, "One of the cool things about women farmers [is that] they have been more willing to share information and mentor."

The one area of farming that is growing is small-scale sustainable farming, a category in which the farms of Baucom, Smart and Veres fit. "Statistically speaking," Veres notes, "most of the new organic and small farms are led by women."

But getting into farming may be even more difficult nowadays. Veres cites difficulty acquiring bank loans and increasing land prices may prohibit some from getting into farming, but these increases have a benefit as well: With the higher price, stewardship of the land becomes more important. "The tendency is to take good care of the land and farm in a sustainable way," Veres remarks.

How have the local farms fared since September 2008? While the restaurant business dropped off a cliff, Smart said her business at the farmers market "didn't miss a beat." At Grateful Growers, though, the sales have been down at both restaurants and the farmers markets they attend. Veres says business "has been OK -- just not as well as we had hoped."

A WOMAN'S PLACE?

The restaurant business is a brutal one even in first-rate economic times. The old saw is 90 to 95 percent of restaurants fail in their first year. Since the third quarter of 2008, local restaurateurs have felt the pain. The city has a growing list of shuttered eateries. For those who have been in the business for two decades or more, the past year qualifies as the worst of times.

"My customers asked me about the economy, and I said that you have to choose where you want to go and support them. Our customers have taken to heart what we told them," says Lupie Duran, owner of Lupie's Cafe. "We are seeing more of our lunch customers coming for dinner. We are lucky."

But it's not just luck that has kept a group of female restaurateurs in the business for more than 20 years. Duran laughs, "It's because we are hard-working women."

Count them: Catherine Rabb of Fenwick's and the legendary (and now-defunct) Catherine's; Susie Peck of Pewter Rose; Cathy Coulter of 300 East; sisters Bonnie Warford and Tricia Maddrey of Carpe Diem; Ellen Davis of McNinch House; Toi Rogers, creator of Thai Cuisine and Thai Orchid and now owner of Thai Marlai; and Lupie Duran of Lupie's. All are owners of remarkable local restaurants with roots in the 1980s. All, notably, are still standing.

"And most of us had small children," Duran adds.

Susie Peck, whose children were three years old and one year old when she started, attributes her longevity to stubbornness and loyalty. "The restaurant became our children -- our family -- although maybe dysfunctional at times. I've had one server for 20 years." Peck also credits a wine salesman, Jim Broderick, with Pewter Rose's early success. "No one was pouring high-end wines by the glass in the 1980s," she notes. "And he suggested, we serve Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay by the glass."

Around the corner on East Boulevard, Cathy Coulter opened 300 East on Valentine's Day 1986. "It took a lot of courage back then," Coulter says. Her opportunity came when her employer, White Horse, filed Chapter 11. "I had been the manager, and knew I could get a deal in the debt assumption." But the bank wouldn't just take her signature or that of her mother. She needed her father to cosign the loan. Coulter credits her success to paying attention to details. "Owning a restaurant is tedious, but there's never a dull moment."

Anyone who has a sister knows she can be a best friend and an irritant simultaneously. "We have a rule," says Tricia Maddrey. "Only one person can be mad at a time." Maddrey and her sister Bonnie Warford have worked together daily in Carpe Diem since opening in 1989. Any Charlottean who has followed the saga of Carpe Diem knows that wherever these restaurateurs open, construction follows. Their first location was in the old Radcliffe flower shop, which had to be vacated so the building could be moved down the street. Next, they relocated to a property that was subsequently destroyed to make way for the Time Warner Cable Arena. In its latest incarnation, Carpe Diem moved to Elizabeth Avenue -- which just reopened after being closed for more than a year for street construction.

The sisters' philosophy for their business has been consistency, moderate pricing and quality customer service. Wolford notes that she's been surprised not more women are in the business -- either in the front or the back of the house. "It's more exciting than it used to be, and more women are in food. But we don't see as many female applicants for the kitchen." She estimated that the business is "still 80-percent men" but notes she "looks for female applicants."

Why do so few women apply for a chef position? Alissa Gorlick, who graduated from the Arts Institute in Charlotte with a culinary degree, says that before she started working at M5, it was rare to see women working the line. "But if you look back here on any given day," she says, "you'll see three girls on the line."

One of the few female chefs to head a kitchen in Charlotte is Tessia Harman, the Chef de Cuisine at the Ember Grille in the Westin Hotel. Harman is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

"The field is definitely male-dominated. When I started classes, it was probably 70-percent male and 30-percent female. By the time I left, it was more of a 60-40 split," Harman says. She adds that she is "amazed" by the number of female culinary students coming out of Johnson & Wales. Harman continues, "I have never been intimidated. I knew absolutely I was going to be a chef. Kitchens have evolved and grown."

Harman says that some cities, like Boston, have a strong, talented female presence on the restaurant circuit, but whole regions -- like upstate New York -- have few female chefs. "Part of it has been male-dominated from the beginning. It was a 'good old boy' network and some places didn't hire women in the kitchen. You could serve, but not be in the kitchen. Women have worked hard to move forward."

Penny Craver agrees with Harman. She is the co-owner of Dish with Maggie McGee-Stubbs and hired Kristie Floyd as their kitchen manager. "Nothing's stronger than the good old boy network," she says. "You have to be a strong woman to be in this business."

Twenty five years ago, when Catherine Rabb was opening Fenwick's, a food rep came in, put his feet up on one of her new tables, and asked to see the boss man. "As he realized he was looking at the 'boss man,' his demeanor changed, and he still asked for my business," recounts Rabb.

Elizabeth Hales, the executive chef for Balanced Choices, Culinary Development at Compass Group's headquarters in Charlotte, trained at City College in Norwich, England. By 2009, she had expected to see "a lot more women coming up through school" but adds being a chef is not an easy job -- "and not very nice either." She left a position in the kitchen of a corporate dining room to have her current "banker hours."

As Rabb asks: How good can a young woman look in a chef's coat designed for a man, baggy chef's pants and perhaps a hairnet, or other hair-covering device, little makeup, and no jewelry?

"You can't look pretty all the time in a kitchen," says Tamara Thompson, co-owner and managing partner of Sadie's Soulful Southern Experience. "A customer came in yesterday and told me, 'Today you look like a business owner.' Most of the time I wear a hairnet."

Many women choose the pastry route or catering. Charlotte is home to several woman-owned bakeries. Owners Elaine Magalhaes and her daughter Acyra Godoy have Pão Brazil, a Brazilian bakery. Nona's Sweets, an Italian bakery, is owned by Jo-Ann Morlando. Lynn St. Laurent was a customer who became an owner at Amelie's: a French Bakery, and the pastry chefs there are Kelly Stegenga and Erin Stanton. Business partners Jennifer Chapman and Michelle Miller opened Charlotte's first cupcake emporium, Polka Dot Bake Shop. Earlier this year Sonia Jain and Anjali Tewari opened the Cakes n Flakes Bakery and Café in the University area.

You can also find pastry chefs in restaurants. "The hours are good," says Ashley Boyd. Not only is she the pastry chef at 300 East, but she grew up in that restaurant. "My mother [Cathy Coulter] used to put my baby seat under her desk while she worked. Later, I was big enough to sit in the booths and terrorize her employees."

Within the category of smaller restaurants in Charlotte, many women can be found at the helm of both the front and back of the house. Olympia Pelliccia Basso owns Amalfi Italian Cuisine. Ngan Nguyen has probably won more local awards for her food than most, but her name is not known. Nguyen was the original chef in the kitchen of her daughter's restaurant Lang Van. When the family sold that restaurant several years ago, she crafted dishes in her son's restaurant Ben Thành. In the kitchen at Sadie's Soulful Southern Experience is Wanda Berry, who learned her skills in the kitchen of the legendary McDonald's Cafeteria, a West Charlotte institution for decades.

Toi Rogers opened her first restaurant, Thai Cuisine, on Central Avenue in 1989. She sold that to move to Strawberry Hill and open Thai Orchid. Rogers sold that business, moved to Cornelius, and opened Thai Marlai in 2003. Her cousin Toon apprenticed in her aunt's "country style" Thai restaurant in Bangkok. Rogers says that although the economic climate has been more challenging for her business than at any other time in the past, she enjoys "working with the public and explaining to people how healthy and refreshing Thai food is."

Rogers says, "We serve people the way we eat. We cook like our parents did with homemade ingredients."

But some women do not cook like mom. Many have the training to cook a variety of foods and have earned degrees in culinary arts, baking, business management and agriculture.

Lisa Burris is one such restaurateur and chef. She and co-owner Lori Pearson opened Savor Cafe & Catering on West Morehead Street earlier this year. Burris holds degrees in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University as well as an M.B.A. Burris says her training and education has been essential, while networking helped her to open her restaurant. She says she loves what she does. Her advice? "Get ready to be alone." Then she laughs and quickly adds, "I'm just joking."