NPR

Women Chefs Still Walk 'A Fine Line' In The Kitchen

While there have been big changes in the restaurant business in the last few decades, a new documentary on female chefs and work-life balance explores how little it has changed for women.
Chef Val James inspired her daughter to create a documentary about the challenges female chefs face, including access to capital, sexual harassment, and family time off.

Less than 7 percent of restaurants in the United States are led by female chefs.

This statistic from a 2014 Bloomberg study came as a huge surprise to Joanna James, a journalist-turned-filmmaker who is also the daughter of a female restaurateur. When she decided to make her first documentary feature film about her mother's journey as a chef, restaurant owner and single mother, she had no idea that her mother's struggles to establish herself in the restaurant industry were commonplace among women.

That film, began as a love letter to her mom, chronicling the difficulties Val James overcame — from finding bank loans to babysitters — as she established her own restaurant in the early

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR5 min readCrime & Violence
Migrant Crime Is Politically Charged, But The Reality Is More Complicated
Republicans have raised the alarm about a migrant crime wave. Nationally, crime is down even as immigration has surged, but the concerns are real in some neighborhoods.
NPR2 min read
Tiny Desk Contest Fan Favorite: nobigdyl.
Last week, we asked fans what their favorite entry from this year's Tiny Desk Contest was — and 10,000 of you voted. We're excited to share that the winner of our Fan Favorite vote is "Go With The Ghost" by nobigdyl.! The band, which is based in Murf
NPR3 min read
Tornadoes Tear Through The Southeastern U.S. As Storms Leave 3 Dead
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could march through parts of the South early Thursday, after deadly storms a day earlier spawned damaging tornadoes and massive hail.

Related Books & Audiobooks