Putting Women on the Map: Dame Sally Abé Champions Female-Owned Hospitality

We’re always proud to celebrate London Dames using their influence to create opportunities for other women – and Dame Sally Abé is quite literally putting women on the map.

Sally has joined forces with TOPJAW producer Kayla Lawrie to launch an interactive map showcasing restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés and bakeries across the UK that are owned or co-owned by women.

Launching with more than 350 businesses, the map stretches across the country, from Belfast and Aberdeen to St Ives, giving diners a practical way to discover and support women-led hospitality businesses. Each listing identifies the woman behind the business and links to its social channels, while owners and the public are encouraged to submit further additions.

For Sally, an award-winning chef, restaurateur and longstanding advocate for women in hospitality, the project reflects a principle that has shaped much of her work: visibility matters.

The map is designed not only to help diners choose where to spend their money, but to make the scale and diversity of female entrepreneurship within hospitality more visible. Sally and Kayla also hope it will encourage connections between women across the industry – creating opportunities to collaborate, share knowledge and support one another.

It’s a mission Sally has championed throughout her career, from speaking out about inequality and kitchen culture to creating a different model within her own restaurant, Teal by Sally Abé in Hackney.

At Les Dames d’Escoffier London, this is exactly the kind of leadership we love to celebrate: women elevating women, building connections and turning advocacy into action.

Congratulations Sally and Kayla – we can’t wait to see the map grow.