International Women’s Day - Food, Drink & Hospitality part one…

The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is #Breakthebias, which seeks to eradicate the gender bias, stereotyping and discrimination to promote women’s equality. This annual event celebrates women, their great achievements and how they influence the world around them, as well as raising awareness about issues and challenges we still face today. 

Here we meet some of the women breaking the bias in the male-dominated food, drink and hospitality scene here in Scotland.

Lynsey Harley, Modern Standard

 Lynsey Harley is one of the leading women in the UK coffee industry and founded Modern Standard in 2015 with a vision to make great coffee accessible to everyone. Sourcing her coffee beans directly and ethically from producers in Africa, Central and South America, each year Lynsey visits the producers ensuring a close bond with growers. When ready, the beans are then transported to her hometown of Glenrothes in Fife to be roasted, packed, and delivered.

Lynsey opened her first café in Edinburgh in December 2020, she also offers a subscription service and one-off bespoke coffee purchases for nationwide delivery.

In 2021 Lynsey was voted onto the Coffee Roasters Guild which is within the Speciality Coffee Association. The Association fosters global coffee communities to support activities to make coffee a more sustainable, equitable, and thriving activity for the whole value chain.

Jade Johnston, director of operations for Aizle Restaurants Ltd

Working together with chef owner, Stuart Ralston, 28-year-old Jade runs Edinburgh’s Aizle and Noto restaurants. Previous to this, Jade was GM of Aizle and was promoted when Noto opened in August 2019 due to her hard work and commitment. With 10 years of hospitality experience under her belt in Aberdeen, Melbourne and at the award-winning Bon Vivant in Edinburgh, Jade ensures that the front-of-house teams provide a smooth service, and these successful restaurants obtain excellent results.

In 2018 Jade, together with Stuart, hit the headlines as they implemented a four-day working week for staff, boosting staff morale and retention rates. Jade acted as spokesperson, discussing the decision on the BBC and ITV News.  Not only does Jade ensure a quality experience front of house but her passion for creating something different and exciting for customers led to innovative projects including ageing of butter, creating homemade tonic from tree bark and lemongrass alongside fermenting their own kombucha, a big hit with the diners.

Great British Menu chef, Stuart has said: ‘I genuinely believe the restaurants would not be as successful as they are if it wasn’t for her’.

Sarah Heward, Real Food Café

Sarah Heward is founder and co-owner of The Real Food Café in Tyndrum. In 2005 Sarah gave up her job as managing director of wine merchants, Corney & Barrow in the City of London and quit the rat-race to pursue her dream of opening her own business. Taking up residency in rural Scotland, Sarah opened The Real Food Café transforming a derelict Little Chef into an award-winning roadside diner. Famous for its fish and chips and home baking, the cafe is open seven days a week, 361 days per year and serves over 200,000 people from all corners of the globe and has succeeded a turnover of £1.5million.

Sarah is very engaged and passionate about working towards the Scotland 2030 tourism vision. With an increase in staycations causing increased traffic in the area last summer, she created The Tyndrum Infrastructure Group. The group aims to secure funding for a Changing Places toilet, carpark, public toilets, and baby changing facilities, more bins, tourist information boards and rural housing. This will, in turn, better meet the needs of the community and the increasing number of visitors to and through the town. In 2021, Sarah accepted the role of Regional Tourism Ambassador for Stirling.

Lorna McNee, head chef at Cail Bruich

Lorna McNee is head chef at Cail Bruich in Glasgow and Scotland’s only female Michelin starred chef.

Lorna started her career as protégé to the late two-Michelin starred chef, Andrew Fairlie’s at his eponymous restaurant at Gleneagles, working her way from apprentice to senior sous. She took up her first head chef role at Glasgow’s Cail Bruich in 2019. In just two years, she won a Michelin star to add to her already decorated career. From winning Scottish Chef of the Year (2017), BBC’s Great British Menu (2019), and being crowned the show’s ‘Champion of Champions’ Lorna has never been afraid to take on a challenge and explore an innovative yet elegant style of cooking. 

In 2021 Lorna was also named one of Observer Food Monthly's "Stars of the future", one of the 100 most influential women in hospitality by Code Hospitality, was shortlisted for a GQ Food and Drink Award and Square Meal’s Female Chef of The Year. She was also recognised by internationally renowned industry awards La Liste under the ‘new talents of the year’ category. Lorna is the only British chef to be given this accolade and features alongside some of the UK’s leading restaurant names including L’Enclume and Core, who were included in La Liste’s Top 1000 restaurants in the world. 

Matilda Tsappis, Killiecrankie House

Matilda Tsappis is a sommelier and co-owner of the brand-new Killiecrankie House, a fine dining restaurant and rooms predicted to become one of Scotland’s top fine dining restaurants. Matilda and her husband Tom previously ran the Elias supper club in London before renovating and re-opening Killiecrankie House in the autumn of 2021.

Whilst working in advertising, a trip through the wine regions of France inspired her to begin studying for her WSET qualifications.

Matilda’s drinks list has been designed to perfectly complement the experimental fusion cooking with a diverse food pairing menu including beer, wine, sake, and cocktails, as well as an interesting non-alcoholic pairing of juices, teas, and infusions. Matilda’s approach is to offer a combination of ‘classics’ vs ‘off the beaten track’, including wines from her family vineyard; Treaty Port in China; a beer made in collaboration with local brewery, Wasted Degrees; soft drinks from Bad Gal Boocha and Rapscallion plus tea and coffee from The Rare Tea Company and Glen Lyon Roastery in Aberfeldy.