‘A la recherche des Femmes Chefs’ (The Goddesses of Food), the film

Partly filmed in the former Le Cordon Bleu Paris school premises, this documentary includes interviews with three Le Cordon Bleu alumnae of different nationalities:

• Patricia Martins, Angolan-Portuguese, who became Chef Owner of Welwitsch restaurant in Paris after graduating with her Grand Diplôme,
• Yuhnwi Lim, a Korean student who also graduated with a Grand Diplôme, in 2015, and got a job at 'La Dame de Pic' restaurant with Anne-Sophie Pic,
• and entrepreneur Umehani Rangwala, a student who came all the way from India to train in the art of French pastry.

In this moving and topical documentary, Vérane Frédiani examines the role of women in the Chef profession in France and around the world through the experiences of leading Chefs and their backgrounds and also via interviews with gastronomic experts and journalists.

Le Cordon Bleu was founded in Paris in 1895, thanks to the initiative of a young journalist, Marthe Distel, who created the first weekly culinary publication of that era, entitled La Cuisinière Le Cordon Bleu. Marthe Distel quickly came up with the bright idea of inviting the 20 000 subscribers to take part in cuisine lessons with Chefs at Le Cordon Bleu Paris school and the first lesson took place on 15 October 1895. The magazine reflected the great French cuisine of that period but also openness to world cuisines, as it was already published in several languages.

Today, Le Cordon Bleu Paris institute’s team of Chef Instructors trains and supports students, approximately 65% of which are women and represent more than 100 nationalities. These women’s sole aim is to learn the Culinary Arts and to assimilate the necessary expertise to enter the gastronomy field and showcase the culinary heritage of their homelands.

The film will be released in France on Wednesday July 5, 2017.

Watch the film trailer for ‘A la recherche des Femmes Chefs’ (The Goddesses of Food):

Find out our article about successful women alumni from 1895 to today in the world of gastronomy.