Sauté the Status Quo

It’s summer. Out-of-offices are pinging. And The Chief Brief is leaning into a bit of R&R, because in the news game, rest is survival.

But lighter doesn’t mean fluffier.

We’re still spotlighting women’s expertise worldwide this August. Just in sunnier tones and still On Brief: From the chefs you’ll want to hunt down on holiday, to the politics (and power plays) waiting on the other side.

So hydrate, unplug (a bit), and keep your global lens shady.

Holiday research or hostage situation?

Travelling with a foodie (I cannot be the only one traumatised by one) means every village, town or island stop becomes a high-stakes hunt for the most authentic regional bite. Add in the wine bible I’m expected to compile and suddenly it’s less beach holiday, more PhD.

But here’s what gets a bee in my bonnet every single time. I mean. Every. Single. Time. The detective work needed to unearth women-run kitchens in the places we visit. Oh Lord, help!

While women make up over half of the global hospitality workforce (54–60%), they hold only 17–20% of chef roles. And at Michelin or critically acclaimed restaurants the number drops to just 6% of top chef positions. What about those who are insta-famous, or on the covers of food and wine magazines, you know? Those highly visible head chefs? Data says, they’re around the 10% mark.

So this fortnight, The Chief Brief team thought: why not make your summer hunt easier?

We’re compiling a global list of extraordinary chefs and women-led restaurants worth tracking down, wherever you land.

Let’s kick things off this edition of our own Chef’s Table, with three from our hometown since London seems to have the highest percentage of visible and successful female chefs!

U.K.

Core by Clare Smyth, London

Chef: Clare Smyth MBE

3 Michelin Star European cuisine ( & its bar ‘Whiskey & Seaweed’ is to die for). This Northern Irish chef left Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to start her first solo restaurant Core in Notting Hill and is the first and only British female chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. Come for the most elegant cocktails and bar snacks. Stay for the clean lines and clean food, elevated to create the most magical of evenings.

Chishuru, London

Chef: Adejoké Bakare

1 Michelin-starred West African restaurant. Largely self taught, in 2024, Adejoké became the first Black woman in the UK to be awarded a Michelin-star, following that win with being named Chef of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards. Her Fitzrovia restaurant is the opposite of cold, sterile and stiff. Warm, bright, clever spicing and food that saves you a flight to Nigeria. Two words describe Chishuru perfectly: Itura! Iyanu! (Yoruba for: Cool! Amazing!)

Darjeeling Express, London

Chef: Asma Khan.

She got famous thanks to the Netflix show, Chef’s Table. But what keeps the punters (like King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Riz Ahmed, Dan Levy, Kumail Nanjiani, Cobie Smulders, and Paul Rudd) coming back to lick their fingers? It is Asma’s heritage on a plate. Perfectly spiced Mughal food, the warm indian hospitality of her staff and a women-only kitchen that reminds you of home.

Spain

Arzak, San Sébastien

Chef: Elena Arzak.

Serving up 3 Michelin Star Basque cuisine (We still dream of our meal there, many years later) and the fourth generation of Arzak’s to continue her family’s legacy. Elena has maintained the three Michelin stars awarded to her father and the restaurant back in 1989 and still works with him to keep the Arzak name at the top table of the restaurant world.

I remember asking her what was in the food transporting me to heaven? Her answer was simple. Love. In every ingredient and every plate. That menu, more than a decade later after that meal, is framed and still hanging in my kitchen!

Italy

Glass Hostaria, Rome

Chef: Cristina Bowerman.

Puglia-born, US-trained, and Rome-based, Cristina isn’t your average Italian chef and that’s exactly the point. Her Michelin-starred (with 2 Forks from Gambero Rosso) Glass Hostaria, tucked into Rome’s Trastevere, defies tradition with bold, American-influenced Italian dishes that still honour the Italian holy trinity of: fresh, local, seasonal.

She was the only woman to snag a Michelin star in 2010 and she’s been pushing boundaries ever since. Fodor’s calls her work “as innovative as the building she works in.” Michelin calls it “excellent cuisine” with “highly modern touches.” We call it a must-eat.

Greece

Iodio, Athens

Chef: Georgianna Hiliadaki.

The first Greek woman to earn 2 Michelin stars, Georgianna Hiliadaki has never played it safe with food or with career paths. After training in New York and co-founding the famed Funky Gourmet in Athens (now closed and relocated to the Athens Hilton), she went on to co-launch OPSO in London and lecture on Culinary Psychology at Harvard.

Now, she’s back in Athens with IODIO, a seafood-forward, modern Greek restaurant in the up-market neighbourhood of Kolonaki. The team? All-female Culinary Directors, including Danae Voridou as Head Chef and Erasmia Balaska leading R&D. The vibe? Fresh, refined, and fearless.

Lebanon

Em Sherif Group, Beirut, and branches across the world (including London, Monaco & Em Sherif Sea Café at Rosewood Abu Dhabi Hotel)

Chef: Yasmina Hayek.

The 29 year old co-owner and executive chef of Em Sherif Group was the 2024 recipient of the MICHELIN Young Chef Award for the Em Sherif Sea Café. Em Sherif was founded by Yasmina’s mother, Mireille Hayek. Yasmina is the first woman in the Middle East to win the award which recognises young chefs who are dedicated to culinary artistry, as well as their contributions to the world of gastronomy.

Thailand

Potong, Bangkok

Chef: Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij.

In just five years, Bangkok’s Potong has gone from buzzy newcomer to global heavyweight thanks to Pam, now officially The World’s Best Female Chef 2025.

She’s the first Asian woman to take the title since the award began and her journey from wannabe journalist to CIA-trained culinary star (via judge on Top Chef Thailand) is the stuff of foodie legend. If you’re heading to Bangkok, you will want a seat at her table.

If you’re flying Turkish Airlines this year, you’ll find her prominently featured in their inflight video too. She has partnered with the Airline for a "Restaurant in the Sky" collaboration, creating special in-flight meals and showcasing her progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine.

Gaa, Bangkok

Chef: Garima Arora.

She changed the game. Garima became the first Indian woman to earn a Michelin star in 2018, with her Bangkok-based restaurant Gaa, awarded two Michelin stars in 2023.

A former MasterChef India judge and full-time boundary-pusher, the description by Michelin says it all: “Gaa's setting reflects Chef Garima Arora's culinary style: blending tradition with modern techniques. Garima personally serves a tasting menu inspired by her Indian heritage, featuring inventive street food reinterpretations.”

India

Banng, New Delhi

From Bangkok to Banng. Chef Garima Arora’s new Thai restaurant in Delhi, Banng, ditches the fine-dining polish of her two-starred Gaa for bold, playful plates. “It’s more fun,” she says: think cultural mashups with a nod to Thai tradition.

Bawri, Goa/Mumbai

Chef: Chef Amninder Sandhu.

Amninder has been quietly building one of the most consistent culinary careers in India. From leading the country’s first gas-free fine-dining kitchen, launching pandemic-born delivery brands (Iktara, Ammu), and and now the celebrated Bawri in Goa and Mumbai—her food reflects deep technique, fire-cooked tradition and is an exploration of nostalgia: it seeks to recreate home-style cooking, using quality ingredients, and is the very antithesis of what North Indian restaurant cuisine has degenerated to, oily and over spiced.

Australia

Karkalla On Country, Myocum (near Byron Bay)

Chef: Mindy Woods.

The first Aboriginal woman to earn an AGFG Chef’s Hat, Mindy Woods is rewriting the recipe book on native Australian food. Her Byron Bay spot may have closed, but it left a big impression: “a funny little diner with its big heart on its sleeve,” said one reviewer.

Now she’s going bigger.

Fresh off winning the 2025 Champions of Change Award, Woods is launching Karkalla On Country this October - An immersive culinary and cultural experience on Bundjalung Country. Think native ingredients, wisdom from First Nations Elders, and a menu that honours land, ancestors, and deep connection. Registrations are open.

Done Reading? Book a Table.

You’re officially out of excuses for not knowing where the women are! Outside the home kitchen, they are running the show and flipping the narrative on professional cooking and power.

This isn’t a singular list. We will keep adding the names of Chefs who are on fire (figuratively!) Because this list is a reminder: talent and leadership can be found everywhere on this planet, if you just pay attention.

To keep nurturing that talent, it needs reservations.

So what are you waiting for? Bon appétit!

Please share widely, like and comment to help us beat the algorithm! Spread the word! Women are more than a check box in world affairs!