Sodexo At Saint Peter's University Dining Honors Female Chefs, Kitchen Support Staff

In honor of Women's History Month, the Sodexo dining team at Saint Peter's University established "The Women In Our Kitchen" series.

During the month of March, female chefs are showcased, each creating a signature menu for students and dining guests on their designated day.

In addition, every woman on the kitchen support staff was presented with a rose of appreciation.

"It was a perfect way to celebrate and showcase our talented female culinarians and kitchen support staff, everyone really enjoyed seeing them serving and talking about their dishes and why they are special to them," said Jeffrey Weissinger, Sodexo general manager at Saint Peter's University. "The happiness on their faces made it all worth it."

The women were interviewed and featured on what inspires them and what they love about working at Saint Peter's University.

Dee Smith-Womack has been with Saint Peter's Dining Services for over ten years. Her favorite part about the job is seeing smiles when people try her food. Smith-Womack started cooking professionally eleven years ago, but always had a love of food from a young age. She was inspired to cook by her mom, who was in the kitchen every Sunday preparing a feast for the whole family. Smith-Womack's dream is to one day open a rib shack.

Joy Talley joined the Saint Peter's Dining Team this past September. Her culinary journey began as a little girl baking with her father. They would taste different dishes and try to figure out what spices and ingredients were in each. She attended the French Culinary Institute and obtained her Grand Diploma in Culinary Arts. Talley believes cooking is an art form which fosters creativity, experimentation and self-expression. Talley would love to own a food truck or restaurant one day.

Lila Soloman "Queen of the Salad Bar" has been with Sodexo Dining Services for over thirty years. Soloman is a team player who loves what she does and meeting people from all walks of life at Saint Peter's University. She chose this field because she loves different cuisines, being creative with food, and how food is presented. Her inspiration comes from a variety of sources from her mom to different chefs in the Sodexo community and watching cooking shows on TV. Lila would love to host President Obama and the First Lady at her dinner table.

Sara Coleman has been with the Saint Peter's Dining Team for the past five years. She started as a line cook and is now the only female sous chef on the team. Coleman started cooking as soon as she was able to reach the stove. As a child, she would always be in the kitchen watching whoever was cooking, especially her mom and grandpa. Her love of cooking is even stronger now and she is passionate about learning everything she can. Coleman hopes to own a catering business in the future, but, until then she can be found in the kitchen making her favorite dish... anything with pasta.

Sodexo, dining services partner at Saint Peter's University, has long placed gender balance at the heart of its strategy and performance. The cornerstone of Sodexo's gender strategy is the Sodexo Women's International Forum for talent, SWIFt, an advisory board dedicated to promoting women's advancement and is primarily focused on women in operational roles, positions in which women are traditionally underrepresented.

Sodexo is ranked #1 or #2 on DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity for five years.