Megha Kohli

Executive Chef, Mademoiselle Goa

● Commercial Kitchens are still mail dominant, how does your workplace embrace equality ?
> Have an open channel of communication with your women staff so that they feel free to come and talk to me about any issues they are facing
> Make it clear to staff both men and women that there will be no gender discrimination at work and both men and women will be treated equally
> Provide a drop for women to go home at late hours
> Zero tolerance for sexual harassment at work .

Being a part of Mademoiselle, which has a team of women who proudly lead it, makes me proud to be a part of this brand. At Mademoiselle, we collaborate every day to foster a culture of growth that aspiring talents can emulate.

As a female chef, do you have any challenges and what are your biggest strengths?
The challenges are changing peoples perception about women chefs , and how women chefs don’t cook and are just a face for the restaurants . Apart from that it was a challenge initially in my career to get a male dominated kitchen to take orders from me and to report to me .
My biggest strength is multi tasking , and making sure everyone in my team feels like they are a part of a family , and making sure everyone feels heard . I also have a team that has a huge majority of women chefs , and I feel that’s because I am the head chef , and they feel safe and well taken care off because a woman is heading their kitchen. I also take a lot of effort to mentor young chefs , and I keep giving them opportunities to grow