Let’s Hear It for the Girls

FAB Returns to Charleston this June

For generations, women carried the torch of Southern food—they were the ones tending pots in the kitchen and shucking beans on the porch, passing down recipes and traditions. And it was women who published the classic Southern cookbooks of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that preserved those regional recipes and traditions in type. But today, it’s men who dominate the culinary landscape.

This June, FAB, a conference for women in the hospitality industry, will return to Charleston, South Carolina, with the intention of addressing that inequality. Now in its second year, the two-day event (June 10-12) is structured around educational seminars and social hours, which give way to networking opportunities and skill-sharing among attendees.

“Considering there are, and have been, fewer women working side by side in the industry, women have long lacked proper resources and mentorship needed to thrive,” says founder Randi Weinstein. “The goal of FAB is to educate, inspire, and activate women, empowering them to seek out those resources and find answers to all their questions regarding the actual business of the hospitality industry.”

This year’s participants include the household names of Boston restaurateur Barbara Lynch and Dana Cowin (formerly of Food & Wine), along with several Southern faces readers are sure to recognize from the pages of the Local Palate (among them Asha Gomez, Kelly Fields, Katie Button, Nina Compton, Cheryl Day, and Trudi Wagener).

Hope Troup, FAB’s communication lead, says the conference aims to play a part in leveling the playing field for women in professional kitchens. “Why do we still need specifications like Best Female Chef?” she asks. “It’s like being a woman in the business is still categorized as an exception.”

To learn more about the conference, including this year’s lineup and pricing details, visit thisisfab.com.