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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."
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Calendar
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Party in the Park @ Mint Museum Randolph
- Sun., June 22, 1-5 p.m.
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Mario Kart Madness at Monday Night Garden Co.! @ Monday Night Garden Co.
- Sun., June 22, 5-9 p.m.
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Sunday Supper at L'Ostrica (June 22): Parm Night @ L'Ostrica
- Sun., June 22, 5:30 p.m.
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Juneteenth Finale: Hennessy On The Rocks @ Blush CLT
- Sun., June 22, 6-9 p.m.
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The Blush Brunch: R&B Day Party @ Blush CLT
- Sundays, 1-7 p.m. Continues through June 29
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