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'A chef is a chef, there is no female word for it'

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‘A chef is a chef, there is no female word for it’

Pastry Chef at Marque (Surry Hills, NSW, Australia) by Mark Best, Lauren Eldridge won the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year for 2015. Considered to be one of the most prestigious award in the culinary world, it was given to a pastry chef for the first time. Eldridge, 25, has worked for Best for the past three years, and has been part of summits organized to celebrate some of the best female chefs in the industry. Achieving so much at such a young age, we spoke to her about her inspiration, being a lady chef in a male-dominated kitchen and the divide between the pastry and the savoury.

What has fueled your creativity?

I have been cooking professionally for about five years. After school, one often thinks that you need to go to a University and get a degree. I decided to be a chef – and the best one that I can be. So once I made my mind, everything just fell into place. Cooking comes to me naturally. My food is inspired from the produce that I see around me. I don’t like to work with too many ingredients but I try my best to come up with techniques that make it better. You don’t have to be extravagant to make something amazing. If we take the example of a stone fruit, it would be just as beautiful to taste as it is naturally, so that’s sort of where it starts. I take a lot of inspiration from my boss, Mark Best. He has mentored me for the last three years which has not only been amazing but influential as well.

Did you ever think it was risky honing your skills to be pâtissière in such a massive industry? Or was there a fall back option?

When I first started, I had a plan B but I never intended to take it. I am passionate about pastry and desserts and that’s what I love, so I don’t feel obliged to do more, to not beat up. There is no plan B. This is it. If I do this, I have to work hard and do it well. I could have decided to do anything, this is what I have picked and I am going to make it work.

Being a such a young chef in the kitchen, how do you make your stand in an otherwise dominating male and skillful set-up?

Being a young female has its set-backs. Women are a minority in the kitchen. People don’t take me seriously often. But they learn to not underestimate me. My boss is very respectful and I am the head chef. Kitchens work in a hierarchy. If they don’t listen, then they don’t stay. It is very much about respect as well. I think you have to be very head strong. And you have to believe in what you are doing and in yourself. Kitchens work in a hierarchy. If they don’t listen, then they don’t stay.

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This is a very male dominated field. It is a very intense environment with long hours. I think people believe that if you have family, you can’t do it. Women are considered to be very emotional. You can’t be overly emotional in a kitchen when you have to get your job done. So we get stereotyped. A chef is a chef, there is no female word for it. If you do your job well then it doesn’t matter. When you work hard in the kitchen, it is not about being one of the boys. I just have to be myself and they need to learn to respect that.

In the kitchen, is there a divide between the savoury and the pastry?

In restaurants, there is often a divide between the pastry and savoury. Personally, I feel that the gap is closing. When you look at patisserie around the world, there are some chefs that are given the highest accolades. Another thing is that most people fear pastry and think that this is really difficult. Programs like MasterChef helps in getting some respect for pastry chefs. I often get this: “Oh you are not a real chef”. I say no no, I am a chef. It is how you handle it. The fact that I was awarded shows that the gap is closing.

Given that you have achieved success at a such a young age, are you encouraging younger talent to do the same?

If people ask, I am happy to assist and help them. The most important thing for young chefs (so strange to call them that, since I myself am young) is that you need to be really enthusiastic, you really need to put your foot down in the kitchen. People will help you, they will train you, that’s the nature of being in hospitality. For Chefs, that’s our nature, we want to help people. We want to teach them. Chef Lauren Eldridge was in New Delhi as a part of the Creative Services Support Group (CSSG) initiative.

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