Top 5 Women In The Culinary World You Should Know

Food is the world’s most powerful love language, and women are the finest keepers of that language.

Women are reshaping and redefining what cooking looks like through innovative concepts, while challenging the traditional norms.

Female chefs continue to change what being in the kitchen looks like. They are reclaiming their space and making moves in the culinary world, whether introducing new fine dining restaurants or using platforms such as TikTok or YouTube to share their unique recipes for aspiring chefs.

In a male-dominated industry, women are carving out their lanes. There are amazing chefs such as Rasheeda Purdie, also known as Ramen by Ra, who owns the first Black and female-owned ramen shop in America, and Anne-Sophie Pic, the most decorated female chef, who has received 10 Michelin stars.

Read below for five women in the culinary world who are changing the game.

Rasheeda Purdie has been turning heads with her inventive ramen concept Ramen by Ra, which she launched in partnership with Ada Supper Club during the pandemic.

Since then, she has been named “One of the Black Chefs You Should Know” by Ebony Magazine, and she has also made her debut on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay

Purdie’s journey into the culinary world came after a major career shift according to the Ramen by Ra website. First pursuing a career in fashion, the entrepreneur got her start styling high-profile artists from Beyonce to Michelle Obama. She left fashion to attend the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, later refining her cooking skills through working under notable chefs such as Melba Wilson and JJ Johnson. It wasn’t till 2020 that Purdie announced the opening of her first ramen shop at the Bowery Market in Noho.

This made her the first Black and female owner of a ramen shop , according to the Village Sun. The intimate five-seat counter invites customers to enjoy Purdie’s innovative breakfast-brunch ramen, which places a traditional twist on a classic Japanese dish. Since its inception, Ramen by Ra has become a viral hit, even causing the chef to leave her countertop in search of a bigger location. No word on where her new store will be located, but her customers are waiting.

A trailblazer and pioneer, Adejoké Bakare hails from Nigeria hails as a self-taught chef specializing in West African cuisine. In 2024, she made history as the first Black woman in the United Kingdom to be awarded a Michelin star. She is also the second woman in the world to receive the prestigious honor, right behind France’s Georgiana Viou.

Bakare is the head chef of Chishuru, a modern West African restaurant in London that’s praised for its bold and vibrant flavors. Her restaurant has been on Londoners’ lips for years, becoming a culinary landmark in London. It is safe to say Chishuru should be at the top of your list when visiting the UK.

Dominique Crenn is an icon in the culinary industry. A French chef, Crenn moved to the United States in the 1980s, settling in San Francisco. Throughout her years as a successful chef, Crenn became the only female chef in the United States to receive three Michelin stars for her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.

Since then, she has gone on to appear in several Food Network and television shows. She is appreciated for her cuisine, which Katie McLaughlin from the Wall Street Journal described as “so visually, texturally, and conceptually inventive it has both delighted and baffled critics and drawn international attention.”

Internationally renowned Mexican Chef Karime López is a chef who knows no borders, and her cooking has no boundaries.

Initially moving to Paris at 18 to study art, her focus shifted from art to culinary arts. She later moved to Spain to train as a chef, eventually making her way to Italy, where she became the head chef of Gucci Osteria in Florence.

López is the first Mexican woman to receive a Michelin star. In 2019, she was named Italy’s Female Chef of the Year. López is a chef who respects cultures and pushes the boundaries while remaining authentic to their roots, according to Four Magazine.

A culinary heavyweight, Anne-Sophie Pic holds the record for Michelin stars with 10 under her belt so far. Pic has five restaurants and is considered to be one of the most influential figures in modern French cuisine, according to BBC.

She is a master of doing the unexpected when it comes to her dishes, throwing in flavors and techniques that are usually unheard of, according to The Best Chef Awards. Initially, she planned to pursue a business career, but returned to her family’s restaurant where she began studying under her father during her culinary training. After her father’s death, she took over as the head of the restaurant. Since then, Pic has taken over the world, expanding her empire with restaurants in Paris, London, Singapore, Lausanne, and more.