Women are carving out new paths in the culinary industry

Jo Anne Cloughly, a professor of culinary arts at SUNY Cobleskill in upstate New York, considers watching young people learn and grow to be the best thing about working in the food industry. As a culinary and agricultural retail educator, she teaches students that their creative talents will take them places if they apply themselves, though improvements are still necessary. She would like, for example, to see pay for men and women become more comparable.

“Culinary careers are definitely different for women,” she says. “Women are gaining ground, but still have a way to go to gain the respect that men have in the kitchen.” Women need to be a bit tough, more confident, she adds.

In her teens, Cloughly began working for a caterer in New Jersey. Today she’s certified as an executive pastry chef and chef de cuisine and was selected as the 2011 Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Educator of the Year. She was inducted into the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier, an American society of professional women in the food, fine beverage, and hospitality industries two years later.

Membership in Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI) is open to women who have achieved distinguished roles in the fields of food, wine, other beverages, nutrition, the arts of the table and related disciplines.

Breaking down barriers

Women make up nearly 60 percent of the U.S. restaurant workforce, according to Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, a New York-based nonprofit, although that proportion is certainly skewed by the number of women working the floor rather than the kitchen. But that could be changing. For instance, nearly half of enrollees at the Culinary Institute of America in the fall of 2023 were female. 

But despite their outsized contributions, women in the culinary industry often face underappreciation, with low pay, lack of paid time off and poor working conditions among the primary reasons. ROC also reports that harassment claims in the U.S. — sexual, verbal and physical — are most common in the restaurant industry. Their vision is to support restaurant workers through education, training, and advocacy, including offering professional development opportunities at no cost to employers or employees.

The nonprofit recently highlighted women's leadership to advocate for the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights, equal pay, LGBTQIA and reproductive rights, and better working conditions. 

In a 2024 Nation’s Restaurant News article, LDEI’s president, Kathy Gold, stressed the importance of breaking down barriers and cultivating environments that are inclusive and allow women to succeed in the industry.

Kate Howell, third vice-president of LDEI, said the organization’s mission is “to inspire and empower women across all facets of the food world — from chefs and restaurateurs to writers, entrepreneurs, and advocates — so they can shape the future of our industry.”

To achieve this, LDEI offers supportive initiatives including mentorship, scholarships and opportunities for professional growth that connect aspiring women with industry veterans and provide networking events to help expand their careers. “Together we can create a landscape where women are not only present, but are leading and innovating at every level,” Howell said.

Michelle Rivera, formerly a 15-year private chef who recently opened Love Shine Tea on Schoharie’s Main Street, is an example of a woman whose innovative perspective is making a difference in her community through food preparation. As a young girl, she researched teas and herbs — both medicinal and culinary — becoming intuitively able to bring flavors together well. “I can almost taste before I make it how something is going to be,” she explained.

As an adult with food allergies and a mother of children with food sensitivities, she saw a need for an establishment that provided both gluten-free and dairy-free foods, while being aware of allergens. Her insight regarding food needs that were not being met in her locale has allowed her to provide a unique service to the community, which she calls “communi-TEA.”

As a mother, she also accommodates children and their parents in her shop by providing teas and enjoyable and healthy snacks, as well as a play corner where they can “just be themselves, whatever that looks like.” She also stresses her desire to be a collaborative rather than competitive business owner, and she partners with other food service businesses in the region.

As Les Dames’ President wrote, “Let us celebrate these achievements and continue to work towards a future where every woman has the chance to pursue her dreams and make her mark on the world.”