Celebrating Women Top Chefs

New Zealander Anna Hansen, 42, chef-owner of the highly lauded Clerkenwell restaurant The Modern Pantry, is a participant in next month’s inaugural Girls’ Night Out — three evenings in London designed to celebrate those rare women at the very top of the industry. Hansen, who grew up in Auckland, began her career unexpectedly in her early 20s, when she came to the UK and took up a dishwasher position at The French House Dining Room in Soho. It was a tiny kitchen, and she was soon promoted to trainee, working with the two chefs, married couple Margot and Fergus Henderson. They were friendly, encouraging, and she loved it. Hansen has only ever worked in one fairly macho kitchen “and I’ve never hated going to work so much in my life”, she says. Had she started out there, she adds, she doesn’t think she would have become a chef. In 2010, Hansen was awarded UK New Zealander of the year. Girls’ Night Out is on 11, 12 and 13 March.


Tags: Anna Hansen  Fine-Dining  Guardian (The)  New Zealander of the Year  The Modern Pantry  United Kingdom  

Designers to Watch from New Zealand Fashion Week

Designers to Watch from New Zealand Fashion Week

“In 2023, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, New Zealand Fashion Week has returned to Auckland with a fresh batch of veteran and up-and-coming designers who are set to…