International Women's Day 2026: 6 Female Chefs And Entrepreneurs Shaping The Future Of India’s Food Industry

Every industry has its inherited scripts. In hospitality, that script has long been written around hierarchy, endurance and an unspoken assumption about who leads the room and who follows. Yet across India today, a different narrative is steadily unfolding. Women are not simply entering the industry in greater numbers; they are shaping the way it looks, feels and functions.

On International Women's Day, ELLE Gourmet speaks with female chefs, founders and entrepreneurs in the F&B space to reflect on the shifts happening behind the pass, across café counters and inside restaurant offices. These women lead kitchens, build brands, run cafés and shape hospitality groups that influence how cities eat and gather. Their journeys are not defined by a single story of overcoming barriers, but by a more nuanced reality: learning to trust their instincts, claiming space in rooms that once felt closed off, and building teams with values that differ from the rigid leadership styles the industry once celebrated.

Karreena Bulchandani, Founder, Mokai

ELLE Gourmet India: How has being a woman shaped the way you move through your industry?

Karreena Bulchandani (KB): Being a woman in this industry has made me more intuitive about the way I build spaces and communities. Hospitality, for me, is deeply emotional; it’s about noticing the small details, understanding people, and creating environments where guests feel comfortable and seen. At Mokai, that instinct shapes everything from the way we design the café to the way we interact with our guests and build our team. I’ve learned to trust my voice and perspective, and to build something that feels authentic to who I am rather than trying to fit into an existing mould.

ELLE Gourmet India: What does leading a team as a woman in your industry look like for you today?

KB: For me, leadership today is about creating a culture where people feel respected, heard, and encouraged to grow. At Mokai, we try to build a space where creativity and collaboration are valued just as much as discipline and consistency, making sure the team understands the vision while feeling like they are an important part of shaping it. That’s also why our team is very present in Mokai’s Instagram content; the videos often feature the people behind the café. It allows guests to connect with the team and makes the brand feel more personal and real.

ELLE Gourmet India: ⁠If you could change one thing about your industry for women entering today, what would it be?

KB: I would love to see more support systems and mentorship for women entering the hospitality industry. It can still be a demanding and sometimes intimidating environment, and having strong role models and networks makes a huge difference. The more we encourage women to step into leadership and creative roles, the more diverse and interesting the industry will become.

ELLE Gourmet India: What was the most gendered barrier you broke in your professional journey?

KB: One barrier I’ve had to challenge is the idea that leadership in hospitality needs to follow a very traditional, rigid style. For me, building Mokai meant creating something that felt personal and reflective of my own approach to hospitality, more community-driven, creative, and open. It was important for me to show that a café can also be a cultural space, where the team, the guests, and the stories behind the food and coffee all become part of the experience.

Ishaa Jogani Shah, Founder, tóa 66

ELLE Gourmet India: How has being a woman shaped the way you move through your industry?

Ishaa Jogani Shah (IJS):Being a woman in this industry has made me very aware of the importance of holding your ground while still staying true to who you are. Hospitality can still feel like a male-dominated space in many ways, so I’ve learned early on that you have to trust your instincts, speak up when it matters, and not second-guess your voice. At the same time, I think being a woman has also shaped the way I lead with empathy and awareness. Restaurants are high-pressure environments, but I try to approach situations with understanding, communication, and collaboration. That balance between strength and empathy has really defined how I move through this industry.

ELLE Gourmet India: ⁠What does leading a team as a woman in your industry look like for you today?

IJS: For me, leading a team as a woman today is about representation. It shows other women in the industry that they are absolutely capable of leading, building, and growing a team. I’m incredibly proud that we have women both in the front and back of house at TÓA 66. Watching them grow in confidence and skill within our space is something that means a lot to me. Leadership for me isn’t just about running the restaurant — it’s about creating an environment where people feel supported, respected, and motivated to grow alongside us.

ELLE Gourmet India: If you could change one thing about your industry for women entering today, what would it be?

IJS: I would change the perception that women need to be treated delicately. There’s often an assumption that women in this industry need to be handled carefully or that they can’t handle the intensity that hospitality brings. But the reality is that many women in this space have incredibly strong voices, resilience, and leadership capabilities. What most of us really want is to be treated equally, not differently. Women are more than capable of holding their own, making decisions, and leading teams just as strongly as anyone else.

ELLE Gourmet India: What was the most gendered barrier you broke in your professional journey?

IJS: For me, the biggest barrier was stepping into leadership and being confident in owning that space. Early on, it’s easy to feel like you need to prove yourself more or question whether your voice carries the same weight in the room.

Over time, I realised that leadership isn’t about fitting into a mould — it’s about bringing your own perspective to the table and standing firmly behind it. Owning my voice and trusting my decisions has probably been the most important shift in my journey.

Chef Ruby Islam, Head Chef, Manam Chocolate

ELLE Gourmet India: How has being a woman shaped the way you move through your industry?

Ruby Islam (RI): Over the years, I’ve come to realise that I, as a woman, have the ability to bring people together. This is probably attributed to emotional quotient or the agility to treat the different needs of different kinds of people, uniquely. This enables me to clearly define for various individuals what their specific growth needs are in a professional setting and focus on working towards them, and avoid wasting time or energy on what they don’t need. 

ELLE Gourmet India: What does leading a team as a woman in your industry look like for you today?

RI: My first off-the-bat thoughts are, it’s a lot of fun! Although truthfully it’s a challenge that I put forth myself as it involves leading people of various age groups, constantly unlearning and relearning, constantly reshuffling priorities, switching through thought processes for different situations. 

Resilience and the ability to pinpoint the problem at hand, to find solutions, negate distractions aid in driving the organisation forward through critical decisions. I have learnt that innovation is creativity with the ability to execute. With skills that I have honed in order to execute ideas, it is extremely fulfilling. 

ELLE Gourmet India: If you could change one thing about your industry for women entering today, what would it be?

RI: Remove the taboo of a “woman” leading teams. We are leaders. We are not to be treated by our gender but simply our competence, intelligence and the ability to perform. 

ELLE Gourmet India: What was the most gendered barrier you broke in your professional journey?

RI: An equal pay grade. 

Chef Dhriti Mankame, Co-Founder & Culinary Director, Hearth

ELLE Gourmet India: How has being a woman shaped the way you move through your industry?

Dhriti Mankame (DM): I don’t think I ever thought of myself as a woman in the kitchen- just as a chef, like anyone else in this industry. The focus was always on learning, craft and discipline. What has influenced me is the way I lead and build teams. I think women in general are more empathetic, so certain things come naturally to us. My focus is to build a culture where people feel respected and supported. At Hearth, that also translates into genuine hospitality, shared vision and empowerment.

ELLE Gourmet India: What does leading a team as a woman in your industry look like for you today?

DM: For me, leading a team today is less about gender and more about setting the tone in the restaurant. I’ve always approached it simply as a chef (now an entrepreneur) leading a team — with clarity, respect and at the same time having fun. At Hearth, we push our team to contribute every step of the way. Some of our bestselling dishes have come from our team’s R&D. We not only take immense pride in them but also make sure we tell our guests about them. Ultimately, it's about guiding the team with care and love, which then carries through to every dish and every guest experience.

ELLE Gourmet India: If you could change one thing about your industry for women entering today, what would it be?

DM: I think we need to stop glorifying the idea of “women” being in the industry as something unusual. It’s about time we eliminated gender conversation altogether. It should just be a space for individuals who care deeply about their craft and focus on skill and growth.

It's not just about Chefs, look at the exceptional women bartenders we have in India today. I agree to the fact that we, as women, need to put up a stronger fight than men in order to achieve our dreams. But what’s life without challenges!

ELLE Gourmet India: What was the most gendered barrier you broke in your professional journey?

DM: Getting the same opportunities as my “male” peers is still something I’m continually working on. That being said, I remind myself from time to time not to let this bother me. I try to shift my focus onto the larger goal, take a step back and look at myself just as a Chef/entrepreneur and not a “female” Chef/entrepreneur.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some incredible “male” chefs in the industry who have offered immense support and mentorship along the way. So I try not to look at it through the lens of gender too much and put added pressure on myself, and just focus on learning every single day.

Aaliya Ahuja, Founder, Oleander Farms, Saltt Karjat, Common House, Uppu, The Pure Kitchen

ELLE Gourmet India: How has being a woman shaped the way you move through your industry?

Aaliya Ahuja (AA): Being a woman in hospitality has made me far more intuitive about people and spaces. Restaurants are not just about food- they’re about how people feel when they walk in, how teams function behind the scenes, and the energy a place holds.

I think women often bring a strong emotional intelligence into the industry. For me, that has meant focusing deeply on culture - with our team, with our guests, and with the experience we’re building. 

ELLE Gourmet India: What does leading a team as a woman in your industry look like for you today?

AA: For me, leadership today is about balance - being both nurturing and decisive. Hospitality teams are like families, and people perform their best when they feel respected and supported, in my view. 

At the same time, running a restaurant requires clarity, discipline and very high standards. I’ve learned that you don’t have to fit into a stereotypical leadership style to command respect. You can lead with warmth and still be extremely firm about the vision and quality you expect.

ELLE Gourmet India: If you could change one thing about your industry for women entering today, what would it be?

AA: I would change the assumption that women in hospitality belong only in certain roles like front-of-house, marketing, or design. Women are increasingly running kitchens, breweries, restaurants, and entire hospitality groups, but the industry still has traces of those old perceptions. I’d love to see a world where young women entering hospitality feel that every role -from chef to founder to operator is naturally open to them.

ELLE Gourmet India: What was the most gendered barrier you broke in your professional journey?

AA: Very early on, I had to learn to walk into rooms where people assumed I was too young, or that I was just the “owner’s daughter,” rather than someone actively building and running the business.

Breaking that perception was probably the most gendered barrier - proving through consistency, decisions, and results that I wasn’t just present in the space, I was leading in it. Over time, you realise that credibility isn’t claimed once, it’s built daily.

Chef Rachi Gupta, The Bread Bar & The Gelato Bar

ELLE Gourmet India: How has being a woman shaped the way you move through your industry? 

Rachi Gupta (RG): Being a woman in the kitchen has made me more resilient and more intentional about how I show up. The hospitality industry has traditionally been very male-dominated, so early on I realised I had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. But over time, I stopped trying to fit into that mould. Instead, I leaned into my own style of leadership, collaborative, detail-driven, and empathetic. I think being a woman has made me more intuitive with people and more aware that the culture you build in a kitchen matters just as much as the food that comes out of it.

ELLE Gourmet India: What does leading a team as a woman in your industry look like for you today?

RG: For me, leadership isn’t about shouting the loudest in the kitchen; it’s about building a team that feels respected, motivated, and proud of the work they’re doing. I’m firm when I need to be, but I also believe in creating an environment where people can learn, ask questions, and grow. Kitchens can be intense spaces, but they don’t have to be toxic ones. I try to lead with clarity, consistency, and empathy and make sure the team knows we’re all working toward the same goal.

ELLE Gourmet India: If you could change one thing about your industry for women entering today, what would it be?

RG: I’d want women entering the industry to feel like they don’t have to constantly prove that they belong there. Talent, creativity, and work ethic shouldn’t be questioned because of gender. I also think visibility matters; the more women who are seen leading kitchens, running businesses, and shaping the food conversation, the easier it becomes for the next generation to imagine themselves in those roles.

ELLE Gourmet India: What was the most gendered barrier you broke in your professional journey?

RG: One of the biggest barriers was the assumption that a woman in the kitchen would eventually move into a softer role, that is, pastry management, or step away entirely. I chose to build and lead my own food brands instead. Running kitchens, building teams, and scaling businesses as a woman in this space is still not the norm, but I’ve always believed that if you want the industry to change, sometimes you have to become the example of what that change looks like.