International Women’s Day.

A day to celebrate the achievements of women.
So why am I celebrating this lady.
Someone who has influenced my cooking since the 1970/80s.

Ann Long was one of the few lady Master Chefs of Great Britain.
Infact I think there were only 3, but not sure.
This is long before the likes of the TV Master Chef and Great British Menu, etc. etc.
The only time that Ann was on television was when Keith Floyd visited her restaurant for his series Floyd on Fish back in the mid 1980s.

Our favourite restaurant of all time was The Count House at Bottalack, St Just , Cornwall.
Ann did the cooking and Ian her husband was front of house. They ran it between them except for a ‘ washeruper’ .
I still delight in making some of her recipes today. They bring back many happy memories.
She was a real pioneer in the catering industry.

I have been reading an article in the Master Chefs Institute magazine, dated 1984.
“ Statistics prove that the sexes are reasonably evenly distributed throughout the world. Some people claim that in many of the so-called civilised countries women may even outnumber men.
Why is it then that the majority of chefs who are acclaimed as culinary artists and masters of their profession are invariably male?”

Things don’t seem to have changed a great deal.
So a big cheer for all women chefs, and cooks today!