"When I first came into the kitchen there was a huge gender imbalance, I used to be the only woman in the kitchen.But now I see more women coming into the kitchen and I want to encourage more women."
Nokx Majozi
Bakers and pie lovers will appreciate the amazing Private Dining Room of The Pie Room at Holborn Dining Room at the 5 Star Rosewood London Hotel. Women in the Food Industry co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, interviewed their Sous Chef, Nokx Majozi to discover her inspirations, how she feels professional kitchens are changing for the better and what it's like working with Executive Chef Calum Franklin.
Originally from Durban, South Africa Nokx Majozi moved to the US. After a three year apprenticeship working for Disney and The Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, she moved to London on a 3 year VISA but worked her way up the ranks to become Sous Chef at the esteemed Holborn Dining Room.
She began working for the restaurant in Holborn's stunning Rosewood London Hotel in 2014 and said: "The team and atmosphere in the kitchen here is wonderful. It's the most friendly kitchen I have ever worked in and I love the togetherness of the team. I can really balance my life as a wife and a mother working here".
Nokx was at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards where the restaurant reached the top 100 for the second year in a row. She commented on her experience that night
"To have such calibre of chefs in one room was also amazing. I was overjoyed to see Clare Smyth win Chef of the Year and also to see Sally Abé as the Chef to Watch was really empowering. Sally's a great person." She also met another of her favourite chefs at the awards: "I admire Asma Khan and see her as a role model for women. When I first went into her kitchen and saw her brigade of female chefs at Darjeeling Express it was amazing. She's training them. She's developing them and it was the first time I had ever been in a kitchen which was all women".
Nokx was also full of admiration for Executive Chef Calum Franklin: "It is great having a mentor who really wants you to achieve and wants you to progress. It inspires me to become a role model for my daughter, I want to be someone she can always look up to."
When asked if she had a favourite dish at Holborn Dining Room she did not hesitate with her answer: "It was love at first sight when I saw this dish. I first made it 3 three years ago and I still love making it now. We call it the Potato, Comte and caramelised onion pie. It's a really therapeutic dish to make, as the detailed work in the pastry is very satisfying. It has Dauphinoise potatoes, with caramelised onions and aged Comte cheese. It's like a very modernised cheese and potato pie and the flavours in it are just fantastic".
Nokx is keen to encourage more women to move into professional kitchens. She said: "When I first came into the kitchen there was a huge imbalance, I used to be the only woman in the kitchen. But now I see more women coming into the kitchen and I want to encourage more women. Now in Holborn Dining Room we have a 50: 50 split of women and men in the kitchen. It's a really well balanced kitchen".
Visit Women in the Food Industry's website for the full interview with Nokx Majozi
