Women in the F&B industry deserve prestige

We have been hearing some conservative people say that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. This statement was more common before the 21st century. In my opinion it is always true in a positive sense, because without a woman we won’t get good homemade food to eat. Women are the backbone of a home. Today there are some well-educated people who feel that a woman working in her own kitchen is fine but cooking for others to earn a living is below dignity. Although women have excelled in all the fields, but some women are still judged for doing what they love.

Being an introvert girl till high school, I could never be sure of what I wanted to do in life. But when my dad opened a restaurant, I started assisting him in the new venture. It was an exciting experience and working in the restaurant opened a new world of possibilities for me. I enjoyed working. I learnt so much and gained many new skills. All our patrons appreciated our work and our restaurant was listed under the Women’s Special Category by Zomato. My self-esteem was touching new skies and I could feel the birth of an Entrepreneur in myself.

We were doing well, and during the same time some of our friends and relatives came over to the restaurant for visits. Some of them appreciated our work and quality of services, but I was shocked to later learn that some of them told my parents that they had taken a wrong decision by involving me in the restaurant business. According to them, since I had completed Engineering, I was supposed to be doing a lucrative job. Although these people were successful in em-poisoning my parents, but I wasn’t affected by any negative remarks. For me any kind of work performed with hard work and dignity deserves respect.

Although we have sold the restaurant now due to some other reasons, but I always think that ‘Can a woman not work in a restaurant?’. If a woman runs a boutique - she is a fashion designer, if she runs a school – she is an educator, if she works in a salon – she is a makeup artist, if she performs in theatre – she is an artist, if she works at home – she is a great homemaker, etc. But if a woman cooks and sells the same food, she comes under the lens. People start judging her. Is working in a restaurant considered a disreputable job? There are so many men and women in the world who are renowned chefs, then why do we make it such a big deal if an educated girl or a woman chooses the same profession.

If a woman prepares innovative delicacies for her family and friends, everybody appreciates and applauds her efforts, but if the same woman chooses to turn her cooking skills and passion into a commercial activity, she is dissuaded by the society. I remember an incident when we had the restaurant, we got an inquiry from one of our friend’s contact, but she never confirmed the order. When we later followed up on the inquiry, we found out that somebody had doubted her ability of preparing those same dishes by herself and discouraged her to order the food from us.

Sometimes our own community, family and friends are the reason behind our failure. When a woman shares her recipes free of charge with others, people call her helpful, but when a woman starts offering cooked meals at a price she is called by all sorts of names.

Some women genuinely love cooking and cooking good food is a work of art. I therefore feel that it is totally normal if a woman chooses to turn her passion towards cooking into a career. In India, today also if anybody chooses to be a chef people say “Isko toh BAWARCHI hi banna tha” – implying “He/She couldn’t become anyone other than a Chef”.

I am not at all good in cooking, and my job responsibilities in our restaurant were restricted to managing and supervising other tasks. Running and managing a restaurant is not easy; it requires lot of hard work, time, knowledge and skills. It is a full-time job, and I feel it is nothing to be ashamed of doing. Even then I was told by numerous people (who by the way called themselves my well-wishers) that I was wasting my time, education and ruining my career. Today when the restaurant has been sold, I feel that running the restaurant was the best thing in my life. It was my baby – I started it, worked tirelessly day and night for its success, but at the end I had to give up on it because we didn’t receive any encouragement from anybody. The biggest problem with our heart is that when we are continuously discouraged from doing something, we lose all the interest and hope in working towards achieving it.

Lastly, I would like to share that my mom is a terrific cook and I always encourage her to pursue her passion, even if it means overlooking some dissuading comments from the people around us. Women are not just meant to be stuck in their own kitchens and hide their talent from the world. When a woman cooks, not even the best chefs in the world can compete with her. The only obstacle preventing women’s success in the F&B industry is the fewer number of opportunities. And it’s a tough mindset to change.

Thanks for reading!