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A chef from Tallaght is breaking barriers in London\u2019s food scene with an Irish-inspired menu and a female-dominated kitchen.<\/p>\nA chef from Tallaght is breaking barriers in London\u2019s food scene with an Irish-inspired menu and a female-dominated kitchen.<\/p>\n
Anna Haugh, 38, recently opened Myrtle in London\u2019s Chelsea borough, her first restaurant as an owner, and said training in Irish kitchens prepped her for the tough, male-dominated culinary scene in the English capital, including working as a head chef for Gordon Ramsay, and as a judge on Hell\u2019s Kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do feel that people are more open to female chefs than they used to be in London, but Dublin has always been far better in terms of welcoming female chefs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When I got to London I was almost always the only girl in the kitchen – in kitchens with around 15 chefs<\/p>\n
\u201cI still do have moments when I go to an event and people assume I\u2019m the PR girl or with somebody, or ask for my husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in Dublin, I was working in (Michelin-starred) L\u2019Ecrivain, that was almost 50\/50 gender split, with lots of women in senior positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got to London I was almost always the only girl in the kitchen \u2013 in kitchens with around 15 chefs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used to say, \u2018Women can\u2019t cook like men\u2019, there was a huge cultural difference with Dublin and London in that sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cLondon might be forward-thinking with certain aspects of the industry, but they\u2019re a patriarchal society, Dublin is more matriarchal, it\u2019s just different.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I worked in L\u2019Ecrivain, I interviewed for a job and didn\u2019t get it, when I met the head chef a few months later and asked for feedback, he said, \u2018Listen, I had a kitchen full of lads and we didn\u2019t need a pretty little girl running round disrupting it\u2019, I remember feeling so irrelevant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure that still happens, you don\u2019t get rid of that mindset easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re miles away from any type of equality of hiring, opportunities or wages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember anyone ever asking me when I was going to be head chef, or when I was going to open my own restaurant, they just weren\u2019t questions women were being asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the minute in Myrtle, we outnumber the men, three women and one man, which was accidental but it works.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was interviewing the second hire via email and didn\u2019t recognize her name, and was shocked when she arrived and she was a girl, so I didn\u2019t do it intentionally, but it works for us, and the guy loves being the only man now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irish produce is a key component to Myrtle, as well as the Irish-inspired menu, which was 10 years in the making, and Ms Haugh\u2019s passion for Irish fare is evident throughout.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeventy per cent of my meat comes from Ireland, all my smoked fish, all the cheese, although I still use some produce from Britain as well, I try my best to use Irish as much as I can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of produce that chefs in London buy that comes from France, but I was seeing in Ireland that we had ingredients that could compete with the French, but people don\u2019t automatically think of it, they don\u2019t know about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather be buying Irish than French if the standard is good, why not?\u201d<\/p>\n
Returning to her native Dublin this weekend for Meatopia, at Guinness\u2019s Open Gate Brewery, Ms Haugh said the draw of cooking for Irish people with the best of Irish produce is an offer she could not resist.<\/p>\n
The third annual Guinness X Meatopia food festival, held this weekend until late on Sunday night, is dedicated to beer, food, fire and experimentation, where selected chefs and brewers challenge each other to create unique brews and dishes to pair using the best ingredients Ireland has to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I come home to Dublin, it\u2019s just magical, there\u2019s not another city I want to be in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard so much about Meatopia here in London too and never been able to go, I\u2019m beside myself with delight to be doing it now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to bring my A-game, it\u2019s hundreds of people every day, it\u2019s like no other food festival, it\u2019s so varied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m prepped to work from 9am till 10 at night, I\u2019m so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets for Meatopia are available at: https:\/\/www.guinnessopengate.com\/events<\/a><\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>