We need more women running restaurants. This dinner is to help make it happen
If you don’t know who chef Angie Mar is, you should: The owner of The Beatrice Inn in New York’s West Village, Ms. Mar has garnered headlines for years for what’s becoming a New York essential restaurant. It’s relevant outside of Manhattan because she’s especially accomplished among the 6% of female head chefs in the country — and she’s cooking for Pittsburghers on the South Side over the weekend.
Free reservations are available through OpenTable starting at a suggested donation $ 30 for the 7 p. m. events on Aug. 9, 10 and 11. PROOF is hosted by Audi at 2829 East Carson St., where Ms. Mar is spearheading savory courses and will be joined by beverage director Ping Ho of Marrow and The Royce — both in Detroit — and pastry chef Sandra Cordero of Gasolina Cafe in Los Angeles.
Ms. Mar may argue that she’d blaze trails regardless of gender, but it’s relevant this weekend since James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program is the cause. The dinners are part of a multicity tour that includes dinners in Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; and Seattle, that along with Pittsburgh, are eligible for a female chef to receive funds to attend the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program through the Audi Drive Progress Scholarship. It has been created to help usher in more women at the top of the industry.
Before Ms. Mar bought The Beatrice Inn, the space had a storied history as a speakeasy, a neighborhood restaurant and a notorious party spot. Around 2016, Ms. Mar — who had been head chef at the restaurant for three years — bought it outright, did some revamping and reopened it, showcasing a menu of whole animals and decadent sides. But there’s no mistaking that the star is the meat: 90- day dry- aged porterhouse, or a 120- day Pinot Meunier wine beef rib, and the over- the- top 160- day whiskey- aged Tomahawk rib- eye, served with lobster butter, smoked vanilla and summer truffles.
Before landing at the Beatrice Inn, Ms. Mar worked for New York restaurateurs such as Andrew Tarlow and at The Spotted Pig under April Bloomfield, over a decade before the # MeToo fall of her partner, Ken Friedman. A James Beard nominee and one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs, Ms. Mar will be releasing a cookbook memoir, “Butcher + Beast: Mastering the Art of Meat,” in October.
She shared this post on Instagram on July 15:
“‘ For the strength of the pack is the wolf. And the strength of the wolf is the pack.’ — Rudyard Kipling
“The transition from being an employee to an owner is like nothing else I can describe. It has its ups and downs, its frustrations and its joys. Being an owner means you come in to answer the phones when no one else can. It means you take out the trash at the end of the night when someone doesn’t show. It means accepting that everything that goes wrong is your fault even if you weren’t there.
“But it also means you have the opportunity to set the tone to empower your team so things can go right. It means accepting that no one will ever truly be emotionally attached like you will, as your skin is in the game. But you have the opportunity to let people in and inspire with your dream and share your vision so they will shed the blood, sweat and tears in the trenches with you, and hopefully one day their skin will be in the game like yours.
“Being an owner often feels like you’re drowning, because you feel as though no one can do what you can ... Until you look in the mirror, and remember that the most important part of ownership is knowing that you, yourself can not do it all, but instead need the strength of your team, and your family, to help push the entire pack to the next level. Thank you @ theraclark for sharing this amazing quote. It was inspiration today as we work to push our own pack to the next level.”
The Post- Gazette caught up with Ms. Mar to talk to her about the industry during the # MeToo era, the culture of her restaurant, her advice to young women in the industry and her coming book.
Your restaurant was in peak restaurant popularity when # MeToo dominated headlines in New York ( and still is). As a Spotted Pig alum, you were more than familiar with that oldschool NYC restaurant culture.
How have you done things differently in terms of the culture of your restaurant. How has the culture of your restaurant evolved?
My time working at the Spotted Pig taught me a lot of things, and honestly, I was there to learn how to run a Michelinstarred restaurant, and I did. Working for April [ Bloomfield] gave me a dedication to perfection that I didn’t know existed prior, and I will always thank her for that. The one thing that most people who know me will always say is that I am all business. When I was coming up, regardless of what restaurant I was working in, I was there solely to learn and become a better cook.
As far as post # MeToo, there was never
any evolution needed in our culture at the Beatrice, because we started at a high level of mutual respect and professionalism. We’ve simply continued to do what we have always done, and both set and raise the bar for how things should be.
Do you think diners are seeking out more women- owned restaurants — or restaurants run by women? What advice would you have to up- and- coming young cooks who look up to you?
I don’t think diners have changed their habits; they have always wanted, and always will want, good food, regardless of who is in the kitchen.
If I can offer any advice to young cooks, it’s to really immerse yourselves in a kitchen for more than a year. So often I see young cooks who bounce around from place to place, 6, 9 months only, and it’s a shame. There’s no dedication or work ethic or commitment, and that is truly what I believe will be the death of our industry. I’d like to see a return of a culture that is less interested in instant gratification and a promotion, and more interested in the betterment of their skill set, the fostering of discipline, and commitment to a craft and to the craftsmanship itself.
What can we expect from “Butcher + Beast” when it comes out? Can you share a story that you reveal in the book? And how was that process for you of writing your first cookbook?
I hesitate to call “Butcher + Beast” a cookbook, because it’s so much more. There are, of course, recipes, but truly, this book is about the journey, the life, the growth, all of which happens around a dinner table. I think you can expect that for the first time, I did not hesitate or hold back my words, my opinions or my thoughts. I have always been a very private person, and regardless of what I have gone through, or how I was feeling, whether it be happy or sad, I have only ever been able to cook through those emotions to convey what I wanted to say. This book was the first instance where I was able to commit my thoughts and views to the page. So just like my cooking, I think you should expect it to be controversial — I’ve never been shy at saying the Bea isn’t for everyone. The book will be the same.
In an era where more people are dialing back on meat either for the environment or for health reasons, what advice would you give them as far as how to enjoy it? Just like in all things: moderation.