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“James created the MAPP Impact campaign to increase the ranks of women in leadership positions in the field. (Fair warning, MAPP stands for a mouthful: Mentorships and Apprenticeships, Affordable and Accessible Child Care, Paid Family Leave Advocacy, and Power to Live Your Truth and Give Back.) She’s also hosting screenings and panel discussions around the country where women in the industry can apply for mentorships with their culinary “sheroes”—and receive funding for childcare and travel expenses so they can attend the training sessions.”
"It’s easier to become a CEO than a head chef” Joanna James quotes Bloomberg news at the beginning of her documentary. She illustrates the statement by interviewing some of the women who made it in the culinary world — Dominique Crenn, Lidia Bastianich, April Bloomfield, and South Boston’s Barbara Lynch. But she focuses on the career of her mother, Valerie James, who, despite the responsibilities of single motherhood, the setback of a costly divorce and industry sexism, succeeded in establishing the popular Val’s restaurant in Holden.
“I saw that what is preventing more women into getting into leadership across all industries are really the same issues: lack of media coverage, lack of access to capital, lack of access to affordable accessible childcare… We need to transform this out of touch work culture.” - Joanna James, Director and Producer
“the documentary was at once intimate and universal: the story of women beating incredible odds in one of the most male-dominated industries of the past century.” What is more she concludes that “this film made it clear that the time for women chefs is now.”
“For someone who was so good at what she was doing, to also have to face constant barriers and stress just seemed unfair,” James recalls. “It was like she was always being pushed against the wall, as opposed to having any support system around her.”
In the male-dominated restaurant world, women have been forced into a culinary battle for recognition and respect. Now, some of the world’s most renowned female chefs show us how they’re defying the odds.
Put More Women in Charge of Restaurants
Filmmaker Joanna James finds that restaurants run by women are better work environments for everyone. But why aren't more women getting a chance to lead?
A restaurant culture is shaped from the top down, and is a direct reflection on who is running the show. Considering there are so few women running kitchens and owning restaurants—as a matter of fact only 6 percent—the bigger question should be how do we get more women into leadership positions to be the ones influencing this much-needed change.
Joanna James began to make the film as a tribute to her own mom, who raised her as a single mother and is the executive chef and owner of Val’s in Holden, Massachusetts. But as she began to research her mother’s past and learned of her struggles to become the leader of her own restaurant, she learned that while more than 51 percent of culinary school graduates are female, professionally only 19 percent are head chefs and fewer than 7 percent are both head chefs and restaurant owners.
Less than 7 percent of restaurants in the United States are led by female chefs. This statistic from a 2014 Bloomberg study came as a huge surprise to Joanna James, a journalist-turned-filmmaker who is also the daughter of a female restaurateur. When she decided to make her first documentary feature film about her mother's journey as a chef, restaurant owner and single mother, she had no idea that her mother's struggles to establish herself in the restaurant industry were commonplace among women.
The rise of the hashtagged #MeToo movement in 2017 inspired James to go back into production and rework the film to consider the broader cultural implications and structural barriers faced by all women in the restaurant business. The resulting movie, A Fine Line, tells their story. We spoke with Joanna to learn more about how the filmmaker drew inspiration from her mother, Val, and explored the hurdles women chefs and restaurateurs face when building a restaurant business.
Screening event of A Fine Line Movie in Washington, D.C.
A Fine Line, which highlights the struggle of women finding success in the restaurant business. Chef, author and television personality Cat Cora is in the film, and Cora came to the screening in Grapevine to participate in a question-and-answer session with the film’s director, Joanna James, along with several other prominent Dallas-area female chefs.
A Fine Line, a documentary that “explores why less than 7 percent of head chefs and restaurant owners are women,” screens on Thursday, March 21 at the National Hellenic Museum at 333 S. Halsted Street. The screening includes a Q&A with Carrie Nahabedian and the filmmaker Joanna James, hors d’oeuvres and wine from Karen and Gina Stefani, and a post screening panel with “leading Chicago chefs, restaurateurs, winemakers and activists.”
“Over half the graduates of culinary schools are women, yet less than 7 percent of women own restaurant businesses in this country.”
James uses as the film’s narrative thread the story of her mother, a single parent and intrepid restaurateur in Central Massachusetts who fought hard to achieve her success. Woven throughout, prominent chefs including Lidia Bastianich, Dominique Crenn, Cat Cora, Barbara Lynch, and April Bloomfield share their perspectives and experiences.
In our sixth podcast episode, host Elizabeth Weiler, talks with Joanna James, filmmaker of the acclaimed PBS documentary, A Fine Line. In honor of International Women’s Day during Women’s History Month, they discuss the empowerment and resilience of the remarkable women featured in her film, the systemic challenges many female cooks face and must overcome in commercial kitchens, and the significant roles female restauranteurs and chefs have in the recovery of the food and hospitality industry from this global pandemic.
Joanna James is the director and producer of A Fine Line, a documentary empowering women to become leaders in and out of the kitchen. As a result of years of research and her experience making this film, she has gone on to develop the MAPP Impact Campaign to increase women in leadership
On the day her movie A Fine Line: A Woman’s Place Is In the Kitchen debuts in New York City, filmmaker Joanna James discusses her documentary’s exploration of the struggles and triumphs of women chefs and restauranteurs, and the story of her mother Val’s life in the industry. The movie intercuts Val James’ story with interviews with top women chefs including Dominique Crenn, Barbara Lynch, and Mashama Bailey.
On today's episode of All in the Industry®, Shari Bayer's guest is Joanna James, Founder & CEO of MAPP (Mentorship, Advocacy, Pandemic relief, and the Power of women), a non-profit supporting women-led food organizations, empowering women to lead through mentorship and advocacy, which is having its first MAPP Restaurant Reset conference in South Florida from April 24-26. Joanna is also a first-time Film Director of A Fine Line – Vanity Fair’s Best Documentary – focusing on a woman’s place in the kitchen, and a Producer and Writer. Today's show also features Shari's PR tip to never stop fighting for equality; Speed Round; Industry News Discussion; and Solo Dining experience at the newly reopened, iconic Spanish restaurant, El Quijote, in the Hotel Chelsea, NYC.
Creating a roadMAPP to Advance: The Power of Mentorship & Advocacy (SHFM Podcast). Special guest Joanna James, Filmmaker, CEO and Founder of Zoel Productions and MAPP 501C3, joins our host Michael Moore. Joanna shares her drive for storytelling from a young age, through her multi-award-winning filmmaking career to the launch of MAPP. MAPP helps women advance in their careers through 1-on-1 mentorship, advocacy for gender and racial equities and policies that support working families, sponsoring pandemic relief grants, and creating opportunities for representation where women and people of color are sorely missed. She provides a glimpse into MAPP, their impact and expansion for the future. This podcast is sponsored by SHFM’s annual diamond, platinum and gold sponsors.
Joanna James of AMZ Productions: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
"Working with Show and Tell Film gave me the confidence to know a good deal from a bad one, and that type of mentorship and sharing of industry knowledge is key for people to thrive in their careers."