Women Belong in the Kitchen: Chef Kat Petonito & Pastry Chef Rochelle Cooper Talk Harassment, Burnout & Building a Better Restaurant Industr

Two chefs on what this business cost them, and the one they built instead. Women belong in the kitchen. Also the front of the house, the wine list, and the ownership papers. That is where this one starts, on the water in Southwest DC, and about twenty minutes in it stops being a feel-good conversation and turns into an honest one. If you have ever worked a line, run one, or wondered why so many good women leave this business right around the time they have kids, stay with this one. Kat and Rochelle talk about the kitchens they came up in, including the moment Rochelle was told that if she could not work with the man harassing her, she would be the one moved. Then they walk through what they run now. No touching policy. No drinking on the clock. Good insurance, paid time off, mental health days, almost no turnover in six years. This is the DC food podcast episode about the business case, not the feeling. Kat Petonito is executive chef across The Duck and The Peach, La Collina, and The Wells for Eastern Point Collective, a CIA grad, a two time RAMMY nominee, and executive sous at St. Anselm before this. Rochelle Cooper is executive pastry chef across all three, Johnson and Wales trained, with years at Range, at Minibar, and in R and D for Jose Andres, and she is the 2024 RAMMY Pastry Chef of the Year. They are longtime colleagues, best friends, and both mothers of young kids. Key TakeawaysKat and Rochelle built their culture on two rules, no touching and no drinking on the clock, because the second is what makes the first hold. Rochelle was told that if she could not work with the chef harassing her, she would be the one moved locations, leaving her to choose a step back or a step out. Kat treats sustainability as a people question first, so primal cuts sit alongside mental health days nobody has to argue for. Seven babies have arrived among the staff since opening and most of the team has stayed close to six years, which is how the benefits pay for themselves. Rochelle turned leftover menu ingredients into Lucky Plum Ice Cream, and Kat renders the restaurant’s waste duck fat into bar soap for guests and staff. Katarina Petonito said, “At Eastern Point, our sustainability starts with our culture.” Rochelle Cooper said, “I’ve never had a boss chase me out the door and tell me I’m working too much ever.” Timestamps 00:00 Live from The Point in Southwest DC 01:00 A third of the chefs, six percent of the top kitchens 02:28 Meet Kat Petonito and Rochelle Cooper 02:57 Where did your hunger start 03:32 Rochelle wanted to be a doctor 06:38 Kat was born into the industry 11:14 Range, Chris Ford, and Mercado Little Spain 15:27 Mentors, and the ones who taught you what not to do 21:00 How Kat and Rochelle came together 21:49 A hard look back at an era in DC kitchens 24:02 How bad was it for you 27:25 Having to be one of the boys 28:43 Step back or step out 29:59 Kat shuts it down 33:09 The no touching and no drinking policies 34:04 Inside The Duck and The Peach, La Collina, and The Wells 35:16 Goat butter, cow dairy, and the pastry program 40:28 Sustainability starts with your people 44:31 Primal cuts, duck fat, and the soap project 46:21 Lucky Plum Ice Cream 49:55 What travels in a to-go box and what does not 51:38 Mothers in kitchens, seven babies in six years 55:17 Health insurance, PTO, and why retention pays 59:12 Hospitality is taking care of people 01:00:11 Rapid fire 01:03:17 Where to find them More from Industry Night, the DC food podcast and DC dining guide, at thelistareyouonit.com. Connect with Kat Petonito and Rochelle Cooper Kat Petonito on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chef_meoww/ Rochelle Cooper on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shakinbaker219/ The Duck and The Peach: https://www.instagram.com/duckandpeach_dc/ La Collina: https://www.instagram.com/lacollina_dc/ The Wells: https://www.instagram.com/thewells_dc/