Women always cook in the kitchen, but to think a woman could be a chef was like, “No, there is no way. It’s too long. It’s too hard.”

You have to really look at yourself and say, “You know what? I’m going to do it on my own, and I’m not going to let anyone tell me yes or no.”

I NEVER DOUBTED MYSELF when I opened my first restaurant.

You’ve got to give 100% of yourself until you know you’ve done it.

But it was still a struggle.

I opened Atelier Crenn in 2011, coming out of a time of crisis. Nobody wanted to invest—and people told me they didn’t trust that as a woman I could carry it off. But I had a vision and I had to try, and I made it my mission to stay positive.

Seven years later, I’m still here—and I’m expanding. I don’t know why it took them so long to give a female chef two Michelin stars in the U.S., but awards are just awards, and it’s what you do with that recognition that defines who you are.

Every day you’ve got to go back to work and make sure the restaurant is busy. Being the first just makes you realize they have a long way to go.

There are many amazing chefs in this country who are women, and I don’t know why they’re not getting recognized.

The industry needs to change.

A critic was once quoted saying that I’m successful because I’m attractive and charismatic and cook like a man, whatever that means.

I was shocked by the words and shocked that they were published.

The culture is toxic.

We have to work very hard to undo the things we’ve done so badly.

I look at children as the light at the end of the tunnel. We have a responsibility to carve the way for them to live in a better world.

My daughters love to cook, but more than that, I hope I provide them an example of how to be a badass—and how to be kind, to be respectful, to ask questions and be curious, to understand that there are others in this world, to be a good listener and to be a good leader.