Meet one of the newest chefs who added another Michelin star on top of the two she already had for a four-year-old restaurant in London. While there are only a handful number of female chefs in the fine dining scene, Chef Clare Smyth and her passion for culinary art shattered the glass ceiling in January 2021.
Chef Smyth, who started cooking at the age of 16, is living proof of sexism behind the kitchen counter.
During her interview with The Guardian, she shared a reminiscence of when she first took off her journey in tough, heavily testosterone-driven kitchens. Even Chef Gordon Ramsay, who later made Chef Smyth the head chef of his flagship, told her she won't last a week. After her rigorous years through sexism that required her to work harder than anyone, Ramsay declared: βweβre going to teach you how to be a leader. Margaret Thatcher was a young woman once and she ran a country, weβre going to get you to lead the kitchen.β She was only 28.
In hindsight, she added that "The cliche of the volcanic-tempered chef is laughably out of date. The approach we take more now is trying to inspire, rather than rule by fear."
Today, her Notting Hill kitchen is a cooperative and inspiring environment that operates with very strict and meticulous procedures.
CORE by Clare Smyth is now one of the youngest, but most prestigious restaurants in the world, presenting Chef Smyth's delicate touches on British artisanal ingredients with French haute cuisine techniques.
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Mamakoo believes that women's achievements are to be celebrated not only today but every day to empower and celebrate women in the hospitality industry and in every profession.
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Photo π·Β @corebyclaresmyth
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