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The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

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The Conversation: Star Chefs

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(L) Dominique Crenn by Matt Edge (R) Skye Gyngell by Carol Sachs

Star Chefs

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Star Chefs

Two female chefs who have both won Michelin stars

A French chef who made it big in San Francisco and a woman who earned a Michelin Star in a garden centre café discuss why women are such a rarity in the professional kitchen.

The professional kitchen is often seen as a place where bravado, machismo and sexism are standard. Kim Chakanestsa brings together two top female chefs to ask why there are so few women in the industry - and what if anything is holding women back?

Dominique Crenn is a French chef living and working in San Francisco. She has two Michelin stars at her restaurant 'Atelier Crenn' - the first woman in North America to do so. In 2017 she also won the Best Female Chef in the World award - although she called the very idea of the accolade 'stupid' and questioned whether it was really the best way to promote women in the industry. In her own kitchen Dominique aims to support women by creating an environment in which people feel secure and where bullying is not tolerated.

Skye Gyngell won a Michelin Star unexpectedly, when she was running a garden centre café in leafy south-west London. But she says the honour was a mixed blessing and meant customers turned up with unrealistic expectations. She's now moved on to start her own restaurant called Spring. Skye was classically trained as a chef in France, before working in fine-dining restaurants in London. She says her early experiences of the professional kitchen were sexist and terrifying, but that she loves cooking and hopes that by promoting more women the industry will change.

Image: (L) Dominique Crenn by Matt Edge (R) Skye Gyngell by Carol Sachs

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