Julia Burns-Cowie, 28, runs the kitchen at cafe Braw Tea, and does all she can to create a supportive environment after her own experience with “nasty, bossy chefs”.
Julia trained as an artist before realising this wasn’t for her.
A return to education, learning the ropes in cooking in college, helped Julia discover what she loved to do.
Now, that is working at Broughty Ferry social enterprise cafe Braw Tea.
“It’s hard work,” admits Julia.
“But it has let me combine the two things that I’ve always really valued in my life: good food and connecting with people.
“They’re the pillars of my existence to be honest.
“And I think they exist hand in hand with one another.
“Food is such a great way to bring people together and build communities, and that’s exactly what we are trying to do with the cafe.”
Learning how not to run a kitchen from ‘nasty, bossy chefs’
While Julia was studying, she worked in a kitchen. Though she learned a lot, this wasn’t the most pleasant experience thanks to some unkind chefs.
“I was bottom of the pecking order,” says Julia.
“So I was used to being bossed around.
“I worked for nasty, bossy chefs, and that informed how I wanted to run my own kitchen.
“I didn’t want to be anything like that.”
“It was quite a traditional, slightly older, male-dominated field,” adds Julia.
“So I feel like you’re not taken quite as seriously as a young woman coming into the kitchen.
“You’re not trusted as much as your male counterparts are to do a good job.
“Kitchens can be quite a shouty environment anyway because they’re so high pressure, but it can be especially like that when you’re the only woman in there.
“It could be really stressful.”
‘Nurturing, loving space’ in Braw Tea cafe
When she came across the job at Braw Tea, however, Julia knew it was perfect for her.
“I knew it was going to be all women, and supposed to be this nurturing, lovely space, I was like: ‘Yes, this is where I want to be.'”
Now, she strives to ensure that the environment for volunteers is supportive.
“The volunteers that we’ve got come to us for all different reasons: confidence building, making friends, learning new skills,” she explains.
“We have a couple who I know are quite interested in food and drink careers now, and I hope that their experience with us in the cafe gives them more confidence to go into kitchens.
“Knowing what it can be like to work in a nice place so if they end up in a kitchen and they’re the only woman in there, and it feels horrible, then that’s not how it will always be.”
Julia’s steps to make Braw Tea’s kitchen a rage-free zone
Julia takes steps to make sure the volunteers at Braw Tea cafe feel welcome and heard.
“It comes down to having bottomless patience,” she explains.
“No matter how much stress you feel, you’ve got to always be calm.
“You’ve got to have time for everybody, and I do genuinely have time for every single person that walks into that kitchen.”
Though she is quite young to have stepped into the role as chef, and to be teaching other women, Julia knows it is the right fit.
“It felt pretty natural, actually, going straight from college and into this teaching role,” says the Braw Tea chef.
“It felt like a natural progression for me, because that was part of my learning when I was getting trained.
“It’s all about learning something new and trying to impart that knowledge onto other people.”
Conversation