Meet the Women Redefining the Food Industry
All around the country, restaurateurs, influencers, and cookbook authors are steering contemporary culinary culture through deep-rooted family recipes, innovative kitchen models, exciting brand partnerships, and more. Just look at Molly Baz, who is single-handedly redefining what it means to be a mother who cooks. Or the way Maty’s owner Valerie Chang pays homage to her Chinese-Peruvian heritage with mouth-watering cebiche. And, in the small Texas town of Lexington, there is an 89-year-old BBQ legend named Tootsie Tomanetz inspiring a whole generation of great new female pitmasters.
Hats off to these women, whose commitment to fostering community and conversation through food is extraordinary and, well, truly worthy of a chef’s kiss. Below, read about the eight disruptors, storytellers, and icons daring to dream big and cook outside the box.
Sophia Roe
Over the last several years, Sophia Roe has won a James Beard Award, received two Emmy nominations, and garnered millions of likes across Instagram and TikTok for her gorgeous food videos. Now, the beloved content creator says she is “so fucking ready” for what her next era will bring.
Mariya Moore-Russell
In 2019, Mariya Moore-Russell became the first Black woman to command a Michelin-starred kitchen—but behind the scenes, she was contending with an industry that has historically undervalued people of color. Ten months after receiving her coveted star, Moore-Russell left the restaurant business, and started a pop-up supper club called “Connie’s Underground,” which focuses on community and sustainable cooking.
Molly Baz
Earlier this year, Molly Baz’s Times Square billboard showing off her pregnant belly was “flagged for review” and removed after just three days. “I have come up against a lot of opinions, pushback, and censorship around the choices I have made about my body and my child,” she reflects now. “And it shouldn’t be that way.”
Samin Nosrat
Samin Nosrat spent her whole life struggling to find a place to fit in. That all changed when she started going to regular Monday night dinner parties. Through shared meals with friends, Nosrat has come to learn that, as much as she loves cooking a delicious meal, the company around the table is what matters most.
Missy Robbins
Cheffing is an art form, but if you’ve seen The Bear, then you know it’s also a very demanding sport. After undergoing back surgery this summer, chef Missy Robbins, a.k.a. New York’s “Pasta Queen,” is spending less time in the kitchen and putting more energy into running her new Brooklyn shop Misipasta, which offers an array of Italian specialities, from her favorite olive oils to hard-to-come-by Calabrian chilis.
Tootsie Tomanetz
At an age when most people have long since retired, 89-year-old Tootsie Tomatez is at the top of her game. The world-famous Texas BBQ pitmaster still wakes up at 6 A.M. every Saturday and drives to Snow’s, where she has been expertly manning the pits for more than two decades. ELLE spent the day with Tootsie to watch her do what she does best: work barbecue magic.
Allison Roman
Throughout her career, Alison Roman has minced many things—but words have never been one of them. “I want to be iconic,” she says. Goal achieved: After rebounding from a slew of controversies back in 2020 (which Roman says helped her develop “resilience by messing up a lot and realizing that you’re still alive afterwards”), the culinary icon has been busy writing new recipes and expanding her already massive reach to TV.
Valerie Chang
Valerie Chang feels “super thankful, grateful, and blessed” to be helming an award-winning Peruvian restaurant in Miami. Named after her grandmother and inspired by the dishes she ate growing up, Maty’s is all about sentimentality—and incorporating flavors served with a strong narrative.
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