FEST PREVIEW: FEMALE CHEFS ARE MAKING THEIR MARK
Female chefs make their mark at Austin Food & Wine.
Fourteen female chefs will cook, lead demonstrations, sign books and test their skills in culinary competition at the seventh annual Austin Food & Wine Festival — the largest collection of female chefs ever to be featured at the fest.
“Inclusivity has always been a core tenet of our philosophy, and now, more than ever, it’s an essential recipe for any festival,” said Shelley Phillips, festival director for producer and partner C3 Presents. “Introducing new chefs, sommeliers, artisans and other culinary personalities helps keep AFW fresh, and festivalgoers have shared that the discovery is one of the most rewarding experiences of the weekend. We are proud to showcase so many female chefs and beverage experts this year and look forward to seeing what all of our participants bring to the table this weekend.”
Last year’s fest featured nine female chefs. Women this year make up about 25 percent of the chef talent, slightly more than the representation of executive female chefs in the male-dominated industry, according to recent industry reports. And the strength of the female lineup is important in the age of Me Too, following a year in which several famous male chefs nationwide made headlines for tolerating or cultivating hostile work environments rife with sexual misconduct. It also comes as women become more involved in the historically male-dominated profession, with Vogue reporting that 2016 was the first year the Culinary Institute of America enrolled more women than men.
Chef Nyesha Arrington, who has been celebrated for the progressive California cuisine served at her restaurant Native in Santa Monica, Calif., says the shift in demographics at food events recently has been a welcome change.
“For me it’s really exciting and powerful right now, instead of kind of seeing the same faces every year,” Arrington said. “You see a lot more female chefs and a lot more chefs of different races and backgrounds.”
Arrington has helped cultivate and foster young female chefs at her restaurants and takes pride in being able to help them “emerge and grow and have a voice” following a long and challenging period in restaurant cultures when she said women have had to work twice as hard for recognition as their male counterparts.
The chef who came to national attention during her run as a contestant on “Top Chef ” will put her skills to the test in the Rock Your Taco competition April 28, where she will apply her seasonal and local approach to a braised spring lamb belly taco.
While Arrington is new to the festival, this year will mark the fifth time Austin chef Sonya Coté (Eden East, Hillside Farmacy) has participated. The chef will once again feed guests from the grill at the Fire Pit station April 28.
Coté, who said she felt held up as something of a token of diversity when she opened East Side Showroom in 2009, said she never felt shut out because of gender but still felt driven to prove
herself in the male-centric field. The Rhode Island native said she thinks that in the intervening decade the power dynamics and the opportunities have changed, as has the perception of female chefs.
“With a lot of the shows that have come out, we can see women working,” Coté said. “I think it will flow eventually into women being recognized as women but also for being that great chef. We’ll be getting the respect we deserve in the workplace, and it will even the playing field. Just chefs being chefs.”
Coté said she is looking forward to meeting the other female chefs at the festival and getting the opportunity to talk to them about their experiences rising through the ranks, and she believes that the empowerment and flourishing of female chefs portends good things for the restaurant world in general.
“I think it’s amazing to watch. I think it will awaken a lot of creativity in restaurants. And I’m super excited to see,” Coté said. “It’s not going to just be a male egodriven kitchen. That whole thing is going to bed.”
Here’s a look at all the female chefs being spotlighted at this year’s festival. Note: Some dishes may change depending on availability of ingredients or other factors.
Feast Under the Stars
Mary Catherine Curren, the executive pastry chef for the Elm Restaurant Group’s 24 Diner, Irene’s and Italic, will prepare dessert at the star-studded unofficial kickoff dinner. This event is ticketed separately from the rest of the fest ($250). (6:30 p.m. April 26, Auditorium Shores)
Saturday Chef Showcase at the Grand Taste
Jo Chan, the chef de cuisine at Eberly and a veteran of chef Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurants, will prepare an heirloom bean and quinoa salad. Expect fresh poke from Poke Poke co-owner
Trish Fortuna; a pork terrine from new Foreign & Domestic co-owner Sarah
Heard, who bought the restaurant last year with her partner, Nathan Lemley; and jam and biscuits from Confituras Little Kitchen owner
Stephanie McClenny. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 28, Auditorium Shores)
Saturday Cooking Demos
Five of the seven cooking demos at this year’s fest will feature female chefs. The demo tent on the first day showcases three festival newcomers, with PBS star and Eataly (among others) co-owner Lidia Bastianich and Cassidee Dabney,
executive chef of the Barn at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, each cooking and conversing in individual sessions; and Chicago chef
Stephanie Izard, owner of the Girl and the Goat, giving her tips on brunch. (Bastianich 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Dabney 12:30-1:15 p.m. and Izard 2:30-3:15 p.m. April 28, Auditorium Shores)
Fire Pits
Chefs work the open flame at this popular cooking demo where Coté will grill tri-tip with coal-roasted pineapple and burnt onion oil, and new Parkside executive chef Jennifer Nguyen will cook a whole hog. (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 28, Auditorium Shores)
Rock Your Taco
One of the festival’s most popular events each year features chefs battling for taco supremacy, and this year about one-third of the competitors are women. Arrington will take her lamb taco up against a dozen entries, including those from “Chopped” judge Amanda Freitag, Dabney and Izard. (6:30 p.m. April 28, Fair Market, 1100 Fifth St.)
Book signings
Bastianich will sign her latest book, “My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food.” Izard will sign her new book, “Gather & Graze: 120 Favorite Recipes for Tasty Good Times,” and Freitag will autograph “The Chef Next Door: A Pro Chef ’s Recipes for Fun, Fearless Home Cooking.” (Bastianich 12:30-1:15 p.m. and Izard 1:15-1:45 p.m. April 28, Freitag 12:30-1 p.m. April 29, Auditorium Shores)
Sunday Chef Showcase at Grand Taste
Carmen Valera presents tacos and tamales from her Tamale House East. Maribel Rivero offers her Peruvian ceviche from East Austin’s Yuyo, and Heard returns with another taste of her Foreign & Domestic. (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 29, Auditorium Shores)
Sunday Cooking Demos
Arrington will focus on curing, and Freitag will explore French cuisine. (Arrington noon to 12:45 p.m. and Freitag 2-2:45 p.m. April 29, Auditorium Shores)