Hey Girl, Success doesn´t find you!

Fanney Dóra Sigurjónsdóttir

Hello everyone, my name is Fanney Dóra and I have the priviledge to talk to you guys for the next 20 minutes or so. My topic is very dear to me; women in the culinary scene and I will be focusing on women (or lack of them) in challenging and sought after positions, such as national culinary teams. It´s a big topic as you can imagine but I will only manage to scratch the surface in the time given. Howerer, I´m hoping it will raise some questions and thoughts in your heads, something to take back home and think about.

My story into the culinary world is not described by a straight line or a well paved path that was easy to follow. It was however exactly the path I needed to take, and the path that has lead me to the place where I´m at now. Let me tell you a bit about how I ended up here.

I come from a family where food is always delicious, always something to look forward sitting down with and enjoying with your loved ones. In family gatherings the tables are brimful of delicacies, both dishes handed down for generations as well as new and experimental things. Food was an actual interest, not just something to get by with.

After graduating from high school and taking a break in lovely Spain, I had a think about what I wanted in life, which career to choose. At that time, and this is about 15 years ago, there were not many female chefs visible. I say visible because obviously there were some, just not in the spotlight of the restaurants or the workplaces. I remember having talks with family and friends about my desire to go to culinary school. Many of them thought that I wasn´t really being serious, sure I liked food and all, but to cook all day??? Some even told me that being a chef wasn´t really a job for a woman, long and tideous workdays, working all nights and weekends and always when everyone else was off. Then it was the whole „having a family“ thing. I was told it was hopeless to be a mom and a chef, those two didn´t mix well. How is being a chef any different to say, being a singer or a nurse? Terrible working hours for them, always working when others are off, stressful jobs – and no problem at all to have a family. We as a society encourage people to study what they´re interested in, to choose a profession where talent and interest combine, except when we think it´s not really suitable because of for example gender. No one asked me if I´d like to work evenings and weekends, like if that mattered when you´re doing what you love. No one asked me if I wanted to have children, like if the child didn´t have any father! Not many people said: of course, Fanney, you´re so interested in food and cooking – and you´re really good at it. That´s what you should aim for your career!

So… I studied the second most interesting thing I could find and graduated as a social worker four years later. A typical ,,women´s job“ I would say, not that I paid any attention to that at that time. I certainly don´t regret those studies, as it has a big role in making me the person that I am today. To cut long story short, after working as social worker for 7 years with a second job in a kitchen, I got an opportunity to go to Norway for one summer and work at a restaurant. Little did I know then, that I wouldn´t return home until 5 years later, determined to finish what I had started. After only a couple of weeks in Norway, I knew that I couldn´t go back after just one summer. I was doing what I genuinly loved and it cetrainly didn´t feel like a job. After two and a half very interesting and challenging years in Norway I moved to the UK to work for one of my all time idols – Jamie Oliver. At this point in my life, everyone that knew me knew that I was on the right path. THIS was what I was meant to do, despite the long workdays with all the negatives. At Jamie´s I got to learn so much more than ever before, with it´s ambitious seminars available to us chefs. I did every single seminar I could – and boy did it pay off when I applied for culinary school years later.

At Jamie´s there were quite a lot of women working as senior chefs, and I looked up to them. The management skills and people´s skill some of them had was very inspirational. I knew I was good with people, I knew I could grow more than I already had – so that became my goal. Along the way I kept meeting more very talented women working in the industry, some with children and a spouse, some single moms with children… how was this possible in a country that certainly hasn´t got as good welfare and support system as we so luckily have here in Iceland and other nordic countries? Women in kitchens are often put in boxes, given certain tasks in the kitchen. It is however important for us to go out of our comfort zones, seek challenges, accept them and beat them. Success doesn´t find you, we have to go after it and be willing to work for it.

With each success, you not only learn, but also you gain confidence, something that I think many female chefs could use more of. Male chefs seem to be a lot further along the confidence line than we are!  According to Sheila Dillon, a food journalist at the BBC in UK, Female chefs have brought in a new energy to professional kitchens, but investors don’t seem as interested in investing in women as they do men. It’s a finance thing she says. If we take a look at the world renown Michelin guide;  the First women to recieve a Michelin star were awarded in 1933, that´s 33 years after the Guide started. however, Today only 96 women have recieved, or hold a star or stars of OVER 2000 restaurants. That´s less than 5%! But why? Why are women STILL in 2019 such a small part of it?

Let´s take the nordic culinary teams for example. Last season there were only 2-4 women on the nordic culinary teams. We all know that there could be more talented women on those teams.

Some argue that women don´t seek high demanding positions, like executive chefs or head chefs, being a member of a culinary team or running a restaurant. I personally don´t think that´s true. I think we need to switch focus. A lot of people all over the world work long hours and, yes, it is hot and can be extremely tough, but the thrill of being in a busy service with your entire brigade and absolutely nailing it is unlike anything else. Then there is the talks recently about burnouts, depression and anxiety, that has to leave us thinking that maybe it´s time to evaluate how we work in kitchens? Do we really need to have 12-14 hour workdays? Studies have shown that depression is a growing factor among chefs, which worries me but doesn´t surprise me. Men working in our field also have families and friends they want to see and spend time with.

It´s not just us women! Why is it so, that women aren´t seeking those positions more? I´m sure they want it, what´s stopping them? I do not have the answer unfortunately, but I let you have a think.

I believe we need to empower women to seek after their success, jump on that position, give it a go. Luckily we do have more women graduating from culinary school each year, but that´s not enough. We, women need to find the courage and confidence in ourselves, to belive we CAN do it. And you guys, have to believe we can do more than bake a cake and fry up some fishies. We as guests at a restaurant need to break out of the habit of thinking all restaurants are run by men. Yes, many of them are, but not all. I can´t count the times people have asked to speak to the headchef and being shocked and amazed when I, a female chef, came out. It shouldn´t be something special, I´m not less or more of a chef than any of you guys, and certainly don´t want to be treated either way.

I hope I have raised some thoughts in your head with my little talk here today. I am so proud to be a member of a community that really want´s to change these things, and so proud of my fellow members here in Iceland organizing this congress with women in mind. I know that none of you is like the old chefs we´ve worked with or heard stories of, the old French chef you know. We are all here to make our community of chefs better, better for everyone.

I would like to end my talk with a poem I saw the other day. I don´t know who wrote it, but I think it´s very fitting for me as a woman in the culinary world and I hope it speaks to other female chefs too. It´s called From one to another.

Be strong, be brave

be fearless and proud.

Look up, dream high

always speak your mind out loud.

Be whole, be true

follow your heart and desire.

Respect yourself the most

and the future is what you require.

© Fanney Dóra Sigurjónsdóttir matreiðslumeistari flutti þessa áhrifamikla ræðu á NKF þinginu.