KELLI BRETT, EDITOR, CUISINE
Another issue for you that is jam-packed with magnificent tastes and flavours and – as you can see from our cover – curates an important theme to showcase the announcement of our Top 50 Women in Food & Drink for 2024. We’re incredibly proud to bring you this list of inspiring women who have been nominated by members of our newly initiated Women In Food & Drink Aotearoa New Zealand network, and as you peruse it you will be impressed by the diversity of the industries and careers that it spans. While working on this project it has become increasingly clear how important it is that we encourage young women to pursue careers within our food-and-drink industry. This list, and the resulting awards on 7 March at the Park Hyatt Auckland, are just a starting point for what I hope will become a huge and valuable conversation for all of us, male and female.
Beyond the list, as I’ve been reading back through these pages the talent, passion, intelligence and kindness of so many of the women working on this issue has shone through. Every one of them is influential and inspiring in their own right, with a fierce focus on telling our New Zealand food story thoughtfully and effectively. And so, I thought that instead of promoting the usual content highlights here – if you are reading Cuisine then you know it’s all good – I’d give you a snapshot of just a few of the voices that make our March issue so special.
Alice Taylor on pursuing a career in hospitality on page 138: “Eventually I realised that the most important woman in my life and my career was myself.”
Mary-thérèse Blair in search of female winemakers on page 119: “I hope the day will come when I’m not called on to write a story about female winemakers because it will no longer be a story that needs to be told.”
Sarah Meikle celebrates no longer having to go it alone on page 14: “It is clear that connecting with women right across the breadth of the food-and-drink community will help us all be better storytellers of Aotearoa’s cuisine.”
Fiona Smith pays homage to the classics on page 56: “I have been inspired by some of those wonderful, evocative dishes, remembering and honouring these remarkable women.”
Rachel Hall makes a brave statement indeed on page 127: “Women have better, more refined taste receptors and a better palate. That means in gin they can taste the botanicals better.”
Fiona Hugues explains her need to entertain on page 44: “It’s a creative, nurturing, hereditary urge that was put there by my mother, my grandmother and her mother before that, and this love to nourish with style continues with me.”
Danielle Alvarez on being a woman in the professional kitchen on page 70: “Because I have worked for amazing women who never made me question my ability, I’ve never stopped to question whether I deserved any less than a man.”
Lauraine Jacobs on the sharing of ideas on page 14: “The skills, ingenuity and sheer hard work – plus an infinite amount of talent - of women in the industry never cease to amaze me.”
Don’t miss Ginny Grant’s sensational summer salad ideas on page 82 or chef
Ben Bayly’s shout-out to the Kiwis who are behind some of the world’s best ingredients on page 30.
Read on and cook, eat & travel well. Kel