At Saloniki Greek, we have one of the most inspirational female chefs in the city of Boston, Chef Jody Adams. We are thrilled to have her creative input and the mastermind behind the dishes we serve here at Saloniki Greek in addition to Trade and Porto.
In the Greater Boston area, there are plenty of influential female chefs who are an inspiration to other women in the culinary world. We spoke with both Jody Adams, James Beard Award Chef of Trade, Porto, and Saloniki Greek, and Chef Amarilys Colón of Porto. Both participated in the Women’s History Month event supporting The Women’s Lunch Place!
Keep reading below to learn more about the women chefs who inspire Chef Adams and Chef Amarilys in honor of International Women’s Month!
Chef Amarilys Female Chef Inspiration
Vicki Lee Boyajian: Chef Boyajian is a proponent of leading by example. Both as a business owner and as a Pastry Chef, she has always built practical systems to allow her products to be re-produced reliably by staff. She is a methodical teacher that has a strong record of inspiring and maintaining staff loyalty. Boyajian produces elegant simplicity and insists that her work should be interpreted as a teachable craft.
Jody Adams: Chef Jody Adams, as we all know, is one of Boston’s brightest culinary lights, with a national reputation for her acclaimed restaurants Rialto and Trade. In the 20 years since she opened Rialto, there is hardly an award that she hasn’t won, including the James Beard Award, Food & Wine’s New Chef award, a AAA Four Diamond rating for Rialto, best restaurant designations from gourmet and Esquire magazines, and many more. Taken with Greek cuisine since her first trip to the country as a young cook, at Saloniki, Trade, and Porto she creates menus that express the bold, simple flavors of Greece with fresh New England ingredients.
Anne-Sophie Pic: Chef Anne-Sophie Pic is passionate and determined. Her journey as a chef exemplifies her strength as a self-taught woman, and her perseverance to establish herself in a firmly male-dominated industry. She allowed her palate and sense of smell to guide her journey into culinary arts. When she enters the kitchen, she relies on her emotions and intuitions to create each dish. She creates a space for immense freedom to create her own style and to seek precision in all things.
Chef Jody Adams Female Chef Inspiration
“I didn’t start out working to end hunger. I just wanted to be the best cook I could be, hoping to attract people into my restaurants. As I became successful, I noticed that a fair number of my guests were doing work that I admired, like fighting malnutrition or providing medical care for people who had none. My guests described experiences with people who would never appear in my dining room, and I found myself drawn into that effort. I helped raise money and I traveled to Haiti and Rwanda to personally meet the people my guests were serving and work in kitchens there. I learned that food and health insecurity exist close to home—in my community, in the same cities as my restaurants. How could I not have seen this? Today I lend my support to advocates for those who often don’t have enough of anything, let alone voices speaking for them. Everybody has a right to be well-fed, to have a secure roof over their head, and to receive quality medical care. A chef can lend her voice. People listen to you when you put something delicious in front of them” – Chef Jody Adams
Julia Child: Chef Julia Child was Jody Adams’s first mentor in the culinary world. Chef Child revolutionized American cuisine through her French cooking school, her award-winning cookbooks, and renowned television programs. Together, Child has forever changed how we cook today. She studied in France in the ’50s with Chef Simone Beck, where she learned how to present food in a sophisticated yet approachable fashion. Chef Child was known for creating accessible recipes that anyone can try!
Melissa Kelly: Melissa Kelly is the Executive Chef and proprietor of Primo in mid-coast Maine. She is a 2013 James Beard Foundation Award winner of the American Express Best Chef: Northeast Award. She also received this same award back in 1999, making her the first chef to win the same award twice. Chef Kelly grew up on Long Island, and her earliest memories of cooking were in her Italian grandmother’s kitchen. At Primo, they have 4.5 acres of farm making about 80% of the ingredients fresh farm to table. Melissa takes pride in showing young cooks where food comes from and the value of a true farm-to-table experience. The farm at Primo not only provides fresh ingredients but allows kitchen waste to be composted.
Nancy Silverton: Nancy Silverton is an American chef, baker, and author. She has also been a winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef Award in 2014. Chef Silverton is most commonly recognized for popularizing the infamous sourdough and artisan bread in the United States. A California local, Silverton returned to Los Angeles in 1982 where she was hired by Wolfgang Puck as the opening pastry chef for Spago. In 1986, she wrote her first cookbook called Desserts. Since then, she has opened numerous restaurants across California.
Support Female Chefs in Boston, MA This Month!
March is International Women’s Month, so consider prioritizing support female-owned and ran restaurants in Boston, MA, and beyond this month. Are you unsure of where to find these restaurants? Well, for starters you can visit Porto, Trade, Saloniki Greek, or any of the restaurants above. If those aren’t located near you or you’d like to find more, there are plenty of online resources and databases!