saying she didn't like that."
"I would like to think that when the girls do leave my kitchen, they are empowered, they have the balls to speak up for themselves."
The chef said that having three brothers meant that she "was used to battling out with the guys."
"I guess that's why I settled into kitchens quite well."
Being tough doesn't work if you don't explain why
Ultimately, the chef said, if she deals with conflict in the way that she does, it is because "it's about getting the job done as a team. I want my people to be happy. If there are any issues, I force them to have it out there and the day after, it's forgotten."
"If I have a go at them because of service, I explain at the end of service, this is why it's happened and now it's over and tomorrow, it doesn't happen again."
The chef, who will be leading mentoring sessions and workshops as a founding member of The Cobra Collective, whose aim is to support the restaurant industry by providing internal training to professionals, said that while her management style can be firm at times, she makes sure it is in accordance with the situation, and that her team understand why.
"It's really important that it's not a kitchen where you shout and shout and you forget what you were shouting about. There has to be a reason. And if you do not explain to your chefs what that reason was, they will never learn."
"It's something I love doing. Teaching in the kitchen is something that we love to do and you look at them six, seven months down the line and how well they're doing and that makes it worth it."
