Today, those who come to work for me do so because they respect me. However, a woman exercising authority is still a sensitive issue. Prejudice does exist. I overcame it with time, through my achievements and by working on myself. I accept criticism when it is constructive, but I have learned not to blame myself. Sometimes a mistake will simply teach you a lesson.
Chiara Pavan
With a sweet smile and unwavering determination, her work and vision have earned her both a Michelin Star for culinary excellence and a Michelin Green Star for her commitment to sustainability. Today she is one of the most well-known and recognisable figures in contemporary catering.
A philosopher by training, and a chef by vocation, Chiara Pavan discovered cooking during her university studies in Pisa. After a professional course, she embarked on a journey full of experiences that brought her in 2017 to the helm of the Venissa restaurant, on the island of Mazzorbo (Venice). Together with her team, which she herself describes as invaluable, she has transformed this venture into a benchmark of haute cuisine, grounded in the pursuit of sustainability, respect for the local territory, and the fight against waste. Thanks to her ethical vision and leadership skills, Chiara has won international awards in Italy and abroad. Today, her authoritative point of view also resonates outside the kitchen, in social campaigns, publications and TV.
Chiara Pavan for Yalea Eyewear
With this campaign, Yalea celebrates feminine empowerment in the professional world—a clear vision where form and substance coexist, inspiring fresh perspectives. A collection that invites you to break barriers and see beyond.
Hi Chiara, today you are a leading name in the world of gastronomy, a public figure with significant visibility: your voice carries authority, your opinion matters… but then, does this glass ceiling really exist? Before you were able to break it, did you ever have any doubts or fears? Have you ever had to handle unpleasant situations? How do you react? What do we say to the new generations?
“This one question covers a whole world, though the topic itself is wide-ranging and complex. I’ll start from the end, with a message that is directed at the new generations, but should resonate with everyone: you have to be convinced, passionate, completely dedicated. I don’t want to sugarcoat reality: getting to the top is hard work, you have to want it with your whole self.
This is the line we set off from and to get to the top, sacrifices are the order of the day, as are doubts, fears, insecurities: when I was put in charge of Venissa I had never been head chef before and I was petrified. But my desire to succeed outweighed those feelings and that was the moment when I learned that to tackle fear we must welcome it, study it and turn it into a gentle force.
Today I can say to myself “Chiara, the worst thing that can happen to you is that you make a mistake. And that case, all you have to do is start over again”. Adopting this attitude has taught me to be patient with myself. I have learned to let go of perfectionism for its own sake and embrace the process as part of growth. Every insecurity holds the seed of potential. Like when I was faced with prejudice: especially at the beginning of my ascent, there were times when it was blatantly obvious that some of the staff were annoyed at having to follow the directives of a woman – and a young one at that.
That was another complex issue that I found hard to swallow but I worked on myself, I learned to stop feeling guilty because I was exercising the authority of my role. Because this is what we do: when we are victims of prejudice, very often we also blame ourselves on top of that.
The problem is not that we are not good. The problem is that we feel guilty for being so.
Today, I no longer apologise for being decisive, I don’t ever feel guilty about what I do: if I do something great, I do it the best way I can. If I receive criticism, I take it on board, when it is constructive.
Sometimes a mistake simply teaches you a lesson, there’s no need to keep punishing yourself or dwell on it. You have to move forward and never give up.
You must be very patient and kind to yourself. Especially if you want to go far.”
Female leadership: a word that sounds better in the plural
In Chiara Pavan’s vision, success is a collective structure, built on complementary roles and shared responsibilities. Leadership is not about dominating, but including. And empowerment is not solitary self-affirmation, but the ability to build spaces and conditions where every talent can express themselves. “You don’t get to the top and stay there alone, especially in a job like mine — she tells us — success always depends on teamwork. My journey to the top is undoubtedly the result of my total dedication, tenacity and commitment, but I could not have done anything if, when the time was right, I hadn’t had someone who believed in me and an extraordinary team that helped me shape my visions.”
Success as an opportunity to give space to one’s own identity: chatting with you behind the scenes, this really interesting vision emerged. What is success for you today? How has this vision changed over time?
“For me, today, being successful has two essential sides: on one hand the solidity and recognisability of the company I have built with dedication and on the other, but equally fundamental, the pleasure of cultivating cultural, communicative and personal aspects.
At the beginning of my journey, I saw success above all as ambition, the desire to assert myself. Today it is management. It’s understanding where I want to go, staying at the top without losing myself.
Without a doubt, my concept of success, and the needs that I attach to it, have changed over time: the pleasure of public recognition is now inextricably linked to the possibility of being able to choose, to find a balance between what is expected of me and what I want to do for myself.
Success is having the opportunity to give space to the most authentic parts of me, including those not necessarily closely related to cooking.
Now more than ever, I am aware of how fragile success is — it must be nurtured every day. For this reason, I believe it is increasingly essential that it be closely tied to how I express my identity. It is the opportunity to be a chef, but also a communicator, a writer and a public figure, all at once, without having to choose. It is no longer a destination, it is a map, which I want to use to do more and more of the things that make me feel good about myself and to give a voice to those messages that I consider important.
Initially, the goal was more about affirming myself personally. Today, being recognised as a public figure is just the starting point for striving to improve the world around me.
There is a need to create new paradigms, and for someone to use their voice to make that happen. For me today, success is above all about maintaining a position that allows me to do exactly that.”
You touched on a very important point of this new campaign: the need to consolidate fairer practices for everyone. Your stories are here to inspire: what does it take to give women better access to the career ladder?
“You know, in my answer I speak mainly with the world of catering in mind, but I believe that, with some adjustment, there are valid considerations across the board.
Women are often expected to assume a set of overlapping roles. Until we challenge and reshape this mindset, leadership positions will remain largely out of reach for women.
A cultural shift, together with stronger employment policies, is needed to allow women to balance a successful career with a full life. It is no longer just a historical problem: on paper today women have the right of access to any position but in practice, the problem persists. I want to take for granted the concept that it is not a matter of talent: it is a lack of possibility to sustain real life.
The issue is not whether women are capable, it is the unsustainability of the process, especially for those who want to combine their career with a life outside work. For the majority of women, the ‘career or family’ dilemma still persists.
In my industry, although successful female chefs are increasingly recognised, lingering biases persist, and women still hold very few leadership roles. We must keep addressing cultural attitudes to dismantle the social expectations that have, for centuries, fallen exclusively on women.
Above all, what’s needed is a wider perspective and institutional acknowledgment of the full complexity of women’s work. Because equality is not just a matter of numbers or accessibility written on paper, equality is made of small concrete bricks that respond to the needs of everyday life.”
