MEG shows up in Madrid to value female talent

It started in October 2018 with a meal of friends in Monastrell (Alicante), the restaurant with Michelin Star of Maria José San Román. Relevant women of the sector, such as Carme Ruscalleda, did not miss an appointment where a movement for visibility, equity, the fair recognition of women in a sector managed mainly by men was created. A second meeting in Valencia

A second meeting in Valencia, on November 12, with more than 200 participants and successive meetings in Barcelona and Girona confirmed that there was a desire to change, organize and start working. In January 2019, after selfless work by professionals in gastronomy, law, communication and human resources, the need has become an organized project in the form of an association.

With Mª José San Román (Monastrell, Alicante) as acting president (the extraordinary general meeting to be held in March will democratically decide the basis of the association), the directive is made up of gastronomy professionals from all over the country such as Maria Solivellas (Ca Na Toneta, Mallorca), Mari Carmen Vélez (La Sirena, Petrer), Iolanda Bustos (La Calèndula, Regencós), Celia Jiménez Caballero (Celia Jiménez Restaurant, Córdoba), Silvia García Guijarro (Sumiller Mugaritz, Errenteria), Begoña Rodrigo (La Salita, Valencia); Lucia Freitas (A tofona, Santiago de Compostela), Aizpea Ohiander (Xarma, San Sebastián), Annette Abstoss (Abstoss World Gastronomy), Mª José Martínez (Lienzo, Valencia) or Rosa Tovar (Cook and author of publications, Madrid), among others

In the words of MªJosé San Román, “MEG was born to value female talent and our work, to be able to reach the positions we deserve and create successful models in which the following generations are reflected.”

It is intended to provoke interest in the media to have a quota of visibility equal to that of men and to make women’s daily life important. It is not intended to copy models, but to work with new ideas, with the feminine virtues and always with equality in gastronomy, seeking complicity and support from the men of the sector, who already show their interest and involvement in the project.

The elimination of gender barriers is another of the missions of this movement as well as the prevention of situations that favor the area of ​​equality. Family reconciliation, equal competences and the assessment of talent in equal parts are motivations of MEG, which already has the support of complicit brands that come together to achieve their objectives, incorporating the MEG philosophy into their corporate social responsibility.

A long way to go but a step initiated for a movement with international projection and great institutional support. MEG are Women cooking a change.