Girls on Fire
Hulu’s “The Bear” shows us just how powerful a fine-dining kitchen could be if we push race and gender aside. Also: 5 top events to add to your calendar.
It’s fascinating that the two main female characters in Carmy’s chaotic kitchen on Hulu’s “The Bear” are women of color.
Ayo Edebiri, who portrays Black female chef de cuisine Sydney Adamu, and Liza Colón-Zayas, the Latina line cook-turned sous chef Tina Marrero, butt heads on numerous occasions during the hit series’ first season. By the time the second season rolls around, they’ve developed a mutual respect for each other and pretty much work together in harmony. Also important to note, it was a quiet, yet emotional moment when Sydney told Tina that they were sending her to culinary school to sharpen her cooking skills. For the first time in that kitchen, Tina felt seen.
Their ascension at The Bear—the fictitious, upscale Chicago restaurant meticulously engineered by chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White)—is mostly due to the fact that Carmy encourages their creative energy. As someone who used his extraordinary culinary talents to escape a dysfunctional family (Did you watch the “Fishes” episode yet?! OMG.), he appears to be eager to use his resources and expertise to make his staff the best they can be. They may all be rough around the edges, but their determination and dedication to making The Bear a reality is what puts them all on an even playing field.
Carmy doesn’t appear to care that he’s putting the fate of this restaurant in the hands of two women of color. What he cares about is that they want success as much as he does, and that’s enough for him. What a breath of fresh air.
Honestly, I was acutely aware that what’s not addressed in these first 18 episodes of “The Bear” are the unique experiences these two women of color would have had in a real fine-dining atmosphere. Chat with Black women and Latinas in the industry, and many will tell you that it is not easy for them in this extreme world.
“I think the hardest moment of my career was when I had already been at this restaurant for three years, and I had never gotten promoted,” Natalia “Boa” Rosario writes in a candid essay about her restaurant experiences on The Awakening. “I saw everybody else getting promoted except me. I was speaking with a former co-worker and told him that I didn't understand. I worked very hard and knew my talent. His answer, and to this day I have never forgotten: ‘You have to work harder to get promoted because you are a woman, and the worst part is that you are a minority.’”
Rosario, who won Food Network’s “Ciao House” in June (I wrote about her experiences on the show here), was the only Latina chef competing on the show. That pushed her even harder, she told anchor Sylvia Perez on FOX-32 Chicago’s “Good Day Chicago” during a recent segment. Also, it’s not unusual for Rosario to find herself as the only Latina in the kitchen because for a year and a half she was the only female chef working for The Alinea Group, the award-winning company from chef Grant Achatz.
That’s why she completely related to Tina’s character in “The Bear.”
“I see a lot of myself in her, and I feel confident to say that many Latina women would agree,” Rosario continues in the essay. “Once you have secured your voice, your place in a kitchen, and respect from your other co-workers, you are very protective of that space.”
Dominique Leach expresses similar sentiments. The owner/chef of Lexington Betty Smokehouse, who started her career as a fine-dining chef, believes she has much in common with Chef Sydney, one of the key characters in “The Bear.”
“When I think back on my career and the trajectory of it, there’s a lot of pain,” says Leach, who in June served as a resident chef for Platform, the James Beard Foundation’s state-of-the-art show kitchen and educational space. “A lot of times it didn’t feel like there was a welcoming mat at the kitchen for a young Black girl, or Black people at all.
“I would people watch and realize that I wasn’t the only one feeling or going through the things I was going through. Ultimately, I found strength in homing my experience and everything I was absorbing as a cook to become a chef. … I felt like nobody expected anything out of me, and so I found comfort in proving people wrong.”
Part of proving naysayers wrong was Leach’s memorable 2021 appearance on Food Network’s “Chopped,” where she didn’t win, yet had the judges shook because she was such a strong competitor. I wrote my observations of the episode two years ago about how Black female chefs like Leach were dispelling myths about their storylines on TV food competitions. When given an equal opportunity, they show up and show out.
“I move at the pace that I do because I just want to be an example to other Black females … particularly that through hard work and consistency you can really create your own lane and be what it is you want to be in this food industry,” she says. “I work so hard because there haven’t been a lot of examples of what it looks like to be Black and great and have a fine-dining background.”
Though Leach hasn’t had time to tune in to “The Bear” yet, she wants to watch it so that she can see the comparisons to Sydney for herself.
“[My wife Tanisha and I] cannot wait to watch it because we want to see what it looks like,” she says. “I just haven’t had the opportunity to give [the show] the attention or support it deserves. I know there are other trailblazers out there just like me who are trying to be a voice for Black women in culinary.”
5 great events this week and beyond
What: Sazon Latin Food Festival. Here’s a Latin-American focused festival with a deejay, cuisines from across the diaspora and more.
Where: Faction Brewing, 2501 Monarch Street, Alameda, California
When: 11am-6pm Sunday, July 9
Admission: Free. Get more info here.
What: Chicago Craft Beer Festival. Local craft brews from the Windy City get the spotlight in 10th annual event.
Where: Jonquil Park, 1001 W. Wrightwood Ave., Chicago
When: July 14-16 (5-10pm Friday; 11am-10pm Saturday; 11am-7pm Sunday)
Admission: Tickets start at $35. Get them here.
What: Paisley Park Tours. Prince fans should spring for the Ultimate Experience for a three-hour, immersive guided tour of Paisley Park. It ends with light snacks and drinks in the cafe—which used to be The Purple One’s favorite intimate lounge for live music. You’ll listen to classic and never-released Prince music during your time there.
Where: Paisley Park, 7801 Audubon Road, Chanhassen, Minnesota
When: Daily tours
Admission: $65-$189. Get tickets here.
What: Tales of the Cocktail. The world’s leading cocktail conference occurs in the heart of the French Quarter. The event attracts craft professionals as well as cocktail enthusiasts.
Where: New Orleans
When: July 23-28
Admission: Prices vary. See it all right here.
What: The Silver Room Sound System Block Party. It’s the end of an era for the little dance music lovers’ event that started on a Wicker Park block more than 20 years ago. It’s a full-blown festival now—and it’s the final bow—so get ready to party for hours.
Where: Oakwood Beach, 4100 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
When: July 29-30
Admission: Prices vary. Buy tickets here.
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Great article! Very inspiring!