These female chefs are determined to whip the culinary world into proper shape.
While the popular saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” applies to a variety of circumstances, it also fittingly applies to chefs. Today, many female chefs, bakers, and restaurateurs are determined to not only face the fire, but also turn up the heat on an industry they argue has been untenable for decades. The James Beard Foundation (JBF) has taken notice.
Robynne Maii, chef and co-owner of award-winning restaurant Fête in Honolulu’s Chinatown, is one such example. On her first JBF nomination in 2022, she was named the JBF Best Chef for the Northwest and Pacific Region.
Robynne Maii, chef and co-owner of Fête in Honolulu (Photo by Sean Marrs)
“I can’t teach anybody how to be empathetic and how to be kind and how to want to take care of their employees. But if you don’t possess those character traits, then you’ll never be able to replicate what we do. Plain and simple.”
–Robynne Maii, chef and co-owner of Fête in Honolulu
“I think the James Beard recognition had to do with everything holistically that we do at the restaurant,” she explains. Before opening Fête with her husband, Chuck Bussler, Maii had left the restaurant industry over the low pay, unworkable hours, and “rampant sexual harassment and misogyny.” So, at Fête, they were determined to provide a cordial environment, paid vacation and sick days, 401(k)s, maternity leave, flexible scheduling, and overtime pay. They also committed to procuring complete health care insurance for every employee who works at least 20 hours weekly. “Our goal was to just make our little restaurant better to work in for everybody,” Maii recalls.
At n/naka, a two-Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles, co-owners and co-chefs Carole Iida-Nakayama and 2023 JBF nominee Niki Nakayama agree restaurants are no place for a negative attitude.
Niki Nakayama, one of the world’s few female kaiseki chefs and the co-owner and co-chef at n/naka in L.A. (Photo courtesy of brand)
“I’d love to see the actual work of the chefs, cooks, and restaurants be celebrated versus the branding of the business or constructed image of a business. More recognition for the people and what they are creating—what’s on the plate.”
–Niki Nakayama, one of the world’s few female kaiseki chefs and the co-owner and co-chef at n/naka in L.A
“The old school way some kitchens are run—the whole ‘angry chef problem’—is something that still exists and is, in part, turning good people away from the industry,” Iida-Nakayama says. “[It] has had such an adverse effect on so many cooks that we’re losing people with great potential because they do not want to be part of that culture.”
Nakayama says she and her partner promote workplace harmony by searching out female chefs and setting an example for them: “We aim to create opportunities for women as much as possible, and we also strive to be a place of learning. We do not require applicants and potential hires to have big Michelin names on their resume.”
In Philadelphia, Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group (HSHG)—who was the JBF’s 2023 Outstanding Restaurateur—helped to create a solution by co-founding Sisterly Love Collective, a group focused on supporting women-owned businesses on the local and national level through mentorship, educational programming, advocacy, and networking. Inside HSHG, Yin says she and her team aspire to foster “a greater sense of belonging,” provide more human resource support, and make opportunities for learning and growth. “The result has been low turnover, greater job satisfaction, and longer commitment to the organization. Ultimately, a positive work culture.”
Chef Benchawan “Chef G” Jabthong Painter (Photo by Michael Ma) Right: Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group in Philadelphia (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Magazine)
“(CHEF G) wants women to realize, ‘hey, if I can come here and I can do this, you can do this.’ One of her dream goals was to get [a James Beard Foundation Award]. And when it did happen, it’s like, ‘OK, now I’ve got it. I gotta keep earning it.’”
–Graham Painter, Chef Benchawan “Chef G” Jabthong Painter’s husband and co-owner of Texas restaurants Street to Kitchen and th_prsrv
Hiring diversity is a hot topic for Chef Benchawan “Chef G” Jabthong Painter, raised in Thailand and the 2023 winner of JBF’s Best Chef: Texas. She is also co-founder and executive chef at Street to Kitchen in Houston and co-chef at th_prsrv in Kemah, Texas (along with co-owner and co-chef David Skinner). Graham Painter, her husband and a co-owner of both restaurants, says Chef G values the contributions different ethnicities provide to our palates and our understanding of culinary authenticity. “Thai curry should not be heat adjustable,” he cites as an example. “And pad thai is a shrimp dish. No chicken.” At th_prsrv, which, incidentally, has a primarily female-run kitchen, the menu takes diners back to 2400 BCE so they can appreciate Native American and indigenous Thai ingredients and cooking techniques that eventually intersected with modern Thai cuisine. The offerings are Chef G’s way of helping to redefine America’s understanding of her familial fare.
“For each winner, it is our responsibility to ensure that we continue to set an example for the community and continue to push forth the values and integrity that represent such a tremendous honor.”
–Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group in Philadelphia
Marissa Gencarelli, the co-founder of Yoli Tortilleria in Kansas City, also dedicates her career to preserving ancestral food staples. “The tortilla was here before Europeans arrived and has survived hundreds of years of oppression, revolutions, and famines,” she says. Having her business win Outstanding Bakery in 2023, the first-ever tortilleria to be recognized by the JBF, was validating.
Marissa Gencarelli, the co-founder of Yoli Tortilleria in Kansas City (Photo by Alyssa Broadus)
“Changing how people are paid would change a lot of the toxic culture you see in kitchens. It would create households that are more stable and provide brighter futures for generations to come.”
–Marissa Gencarelli, the co-founder of Yoli Tortilleria in Kansas City (Photo by Alyssa Broadus)
“Ethnic foods are usually seen as ‘cheap eats.’ To recognize them at this level changes perspectives of the work that goes behind it and hopefully how it’s valued,” Gencarelli says. After the JBF invited her to participate in its Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change last year, she began advocating for regenerative agriculture with government officials and working to support the passage of the latest federal farm bill.
Whether taking their knowledge to Capitol Hill or setting an example inside their restaurants, these female chefs and restaurateurs know how to create a culture of support and inclusion. And with that culture, everyone can thrive in the kitchen.
