Domestic kitchens have historically been a territory feminine. But in front of that traditional role that little by little is fading among the new generations, it was surprising that so far this century the most prestigious restaurants insistently projected (with their own names) male chefs and businessmen. Erasing those limits, gastrodone will give an account next Tuesday of the gradual professional conquest of kitchens, rooms, food production or entrepreneurship by talented and versatile womenwith the testimony -kitchen knife or product in hand- of 20 of them.
The event celebrates its second edition in the Old Estrella Damm Factory, although the first had the limitation of the virtual format a year ago. Now, it will be possible to follow in situ (with invitation), in ‘streaming‘ live (Gastroevents online) or later on Youtube, with an expanded show beyond the chefs, which ranges from the trenches of the first-line suppliers to the processors and producers.
will be a tasty journey and with as much background in the stoves as in the reflections. Led by the gastronomic journalist Carme Gasull and the communicator and promoter of Repicat Events (organization), Lluís Bofill. For the arena there will be preparations, tricks, demonstrations and talks about the product and about the female role in the universe of restaurants and food, at a time when proximity and sustainability have become key in large cities such as Barcelona.
Recipes and confessions
But the fragrant setting will not only be a break from 8M to learn and lick your lips. Also to listen to experiences. like the chef’s Charlotte Claver (La Gormanda), who will prepare some peas with cream of crab, galley and Jerusalem artichokes, while recalling his evolution in the kitchen, after two decades in the profession and five in his business. “Of course things have changed, at first I even had to show that I could have the strength of a man to handle big pots. Some were surprised to see you work.”
Fortunately, she assumes, “now the role of women in gastronomy has gone normalizing“. It has not been easy to reconcile personal and work life -a real challenge in the hospitality industry in general-, internalizing in their daughters the idea that “the fun day was Monday”. husband and partner, Ignasi, have taken the step of closing on Sunday and “improving a lot” that essential family life. Its product cuisine, close, “with care” and seasonal, has also allowed it to approach the female universe of the sector. “We understand each other very well,” she says, alluding to the growing providers and producers.
One of those who will be micro in hand on Tuesday will be Leidy Johana Aya Vega, administrator of Mariscos Cormar, as an aquaculturist and producer of oysters from Deltebre, among others. Or the oil producer Cande Andreu, who is also secretary of the Regulatory Council of the PDO Oli Terra Alta, as women with gastropower, beyond the public platform of restaurants. The sommelier Meritxell Falgueras (Celler de Gelida) will pair the dishes that parade on stage with beers, starting with Ada Parellada at 9:30 a.m. and continuing until almost 4:00 p.m.
But in that professional vindication, voices like that of Fine Navarro, room manager at Gaig and Petit Comité in Barcelona. “The figure in the restoration has always been the cook, but we have assumed this in the dining room,” she tells this newspaper. In her case, along with her husband, chef Carles Gaig, she has 25 years of experience leading service and administration. A role as much in need of technique as of “psychology” where she believes that the woman has a lot to say. “I love the client, knowing what he needs, making things easy for him and making him feel as if he were a house guest”, he points out. For her, reconciling was not an effort, but who naturally designed schedules and habits tailored to his family: “We have always had dinner at seven in the evening and to be able to be at home” To the point that his daughter crews the Singapore Gaig, and now he only hurts how “mistreated the hospitality industry has been” in Catalonia during the health crisis.
Solidarity and integration
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From that pandemic, however, Patty Torres has drawn a lot of energy. The businesswoman 21 years ago dared to create the successful Torres & Hellman catering company, which emerged as “the only business linked to the hotel industry”, in which she had been forged, and “which did not require a large investment” and allowed her the necessary conciliation in her situation as a separated mother with three children. But she needed to take a social step, which emerged during the covid crisis. Amount Cooking for a Mission to distribute -thanks to donations- a lot of food among foundations and vulnerable people, with up to 1,500 menus per week.
The new adventure, which he will narrate in Gastrodona, raises the solidarity bar and will be called She Bistro, together with Berta Argenté. “I had a dream of a soup kitchen, but well decorated and for people who, even though they have a roof over their heads, hardly have anything else, who may not have access to vegetable proteins.” In the new restaurant -in the process of being financed- they will not only hire women who have been victims of domestic violence, but to vulnerable groups (by 70%, compared to the rest of the professional team). They will also have as guests people in need of “food and warmth”, previously selected by entities (families, couples, retirees…), so that they can eat for free for a few months without going through the checkout, he stresses.