Who runs the kitchen ?
Female chefs are still under-represented and under-appreciated in the restaurant world. Be Cheffe is committed to putting the spotlight on them by organizing a competition open to women chefs in Belgium, at all levels and from all walks of life. On your stoves, get set... cook!
how it works
I
The Be Cheffe team selects 5 candidates per category (female chefs who own businesses or are partners, employees in an establishment and students or apprentices) on the basis of motivation.
II
The 15 contestants compete in a one-day competition on Monday November 13, 2023 at the Gare Maritime Food Market. They prepare two set dishes, which are evaluated by a jury of 10 experts, led by Manon Schenck (La Table de Manon*) serving as the competition's honorary chairperson.
III
One chef in each category will be awarded a special prize at the competition's closing evening, on Monday November 20, 2023 at Bozar. The event will be attended by Prime Minister
Alexander de Croo.
"At the Fédération Horeca Bruxelles, our dream is for female chefs to feel valued in their work and their successes, for schools to fill up with female learners, and for financial bodies to no longer differentiate between a male or female entrepreneurial dossier. Today, our role is to make the sector more inclusive and to reassure those who put their dreams on hold. So that a little girl, her eyes glazed over as she watches a cooking competition, can say 'I can do that too'."
Ludivine de Magnanville
(president of Fédération Horeca Bruxelles)
"Gare Maritime Food Market is more than flattered to support this ambitious and necessary project that is "Be Cheffe".
Offering 10 Street Food Concepts with a top Bar experience, and being a hub for F&B events, Gare Maritime Food Market is proud to host the first edition of this gastronomic competition promoting Belgian female chefs.
Long live Belgium and may the best win."
Lionel Majorovic
(General Manager of Gare Maritime Food Market)
« "I started cooking when I was 15 and I was the only woman among 25 men. That had a big impact. I think you need to be willing to stand up for yourself and show that you're capable. Initiatives like Be Cheffe are important because they encourage women to prove that they are just as capable in this field. I'm delighted to be the competition's mentor" »
Manon Schenck,
La Table de Manon*
( jury president)
our partners
about us
An initiative of the Fédération Horeca Bruxelles (spokesperson for the Brussels hospitality industry), the Be Cheffe cooking competition is a response to the lack of representation and visibility of women in the Belgian catering sector. Open to all women working in the kitchen, in an establishment or in training, the competition has a number of objectives: to promote active women in what is known as a man's world, to encourage them to get involved in the Horeca sector, to highlight the sector's open-mindedness, and to create a Belgian event of female excellence acclaimed by its peers. The aim of Be Cheffe is not so much to define who is the best chef of the year, but to encourage three distinct profiles to flourish in their passion.