Sally Abe turns up to her OFM photoshoot on a motorbike, straight from an "insanely busy" lunch service on the hottest day of the year, but even under a layer of sweat and kitchen grime, she still seems fresh. She works on sauce at Notting Hill's two-Michelin-starred restaurant the Ledbury. Speak to any experienced chef and they'll tell you that sauce is the gnarliest, dirtiest, most punishing station in the kitchen.
"The Ledbury is one of the toughest kitchens in London," says Clare Smyth, who's known Sally since 2007, when, after leaving college, she worked at the Savoy, then at Claridges. She is also married to one of Smyth's sous chefs. "Sally's definitely under my wing," says Smyth. "I identify with her in lots of ways – her no-nonsense approach to cooking and her desire to progress as far as possible. What she's doing now is very unglamorous but she's strong, sensible and mature."
Abe, who is from Mansfield and moved to London to be where "the exciting things in food were happening", seems to take working somewhere as esteemed as the Ledbury in her stride.
"Brett [Graham, head chef] has incredibly high standards, but I love that. I love having to work hard to maintain consistency, and it demands so much concentration."
The only obstacle Abe has faced in the kitchen is her height. "I'm 5ft 6in, and sometimes can't reach the high shelves – it means I have to ask one of the blokes to get things for me, and that's annoying." You get the impression she gives as good as she gets in a male-dominated kitchen. "Oh yeah, you have to. Although there are a couple of girls at the Ledbury, and the men tend to be more civilised with us around."
Smyth, who currently has 15 men in her own three Michelin-starred kitchen, agrees. "Having women around breaks up the testosterone. It pains me to say it but there aren't enough females in the industry and I truly don't know what the answer is. Some drop out when it starts to get really tough, but then so do the boys. Still, it's fair to say that not many girls make it all the way."
