If you are searching for Kate Austen from the HBO hit series Lost (although we loved it) you are in the wrong place. 

This, dear reader, is a Kate Austen who has carved her name in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens.

This is the Kate Austen who honed her craft in Copenhagen at the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant AOC, where her ambition, skill, and relentless drive saw her become the youngest female head chef of a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the world—an achievement she holds with immense pride.

This is the Kate Austen who took her expertise to Sweden, stepping into the role of Sous Chef at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Frantzén, where she spent years refining her craft in one of the world’s most intense and celebrated kitchens.

This is the Kate Austen who, after the pandemic, transitioned into a role that allowed her to balance creativity with sustainability, taking on the position of Senior Development Chef for Gordon Ramsay.

This is the Kate Austen who continues to push boundaries, the first female to win the Great British Menu main course in 19 years of the show’s history. 

On July 12th, this is the Kate Austen who will take center stage at Nomadic Dinners x Big Green Egg: Queens of the Fire, an extraordinary woodland dining experience, where she will cook alongside four other inspirational female chefs. This one-of-a-kind dining experience celebrates open-fire cooking in a breathtaking natural setting, showcasing the artistry and innovation of women in food.

In advance of her upcoming event, we sat down with Kate to discuss over-fire cooking, aliens, and female empowerment.

Fire is the most ancient method of cooking—our earliest ancestors gathered around it to prepare food. Do you think fire connects us to our past, or have we lost something by modernizing cooking?  

There’s something primal about cooking over an open flame. It’s not just about heat; it’s about the sensory experience: the smell of wood smoke, the way flames dance, and the slight unpredictability of it all. Cooking with fire forces us to be present, to engage with our food in a way that modern appliances often remove.

That said, modernization has given us incredible convenience, precision, and safety. We can cook with sous vide, induction, and convection ovens—methods that our ancestors couldn’t have imagined. But maybe we’ve lost a little of the ritual, the slowness, and the deep connection to food that fire demands.

If every culture has its own comfort food, do you think taste is universal or entirely shaped by experience?Taste is both universal and shaped by experience. On a biological level, we all have receptors for sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, sourness, and umami, which means certain flavours naturally appeal to most people. For example, umami-rich foods like broth, cheese, or slow-cooked meats tend to be comforting across cultures.

However, personal and cultural experiences shape how we perceive and crave flavours. A dish that brings deep nostalgia to one person—like a childhood soup or a family recipe—might be unfamiliar to someone from a different background. Spices, textures, and even the way food is eaten (hands, chopsticks, fork and knife) all influence our perception of what’s comforting and delicious.

If aliens visited Earth and demanded one dish to represent humanity, what would you serve them, and why?

I’d go with a warm, fresh-baked loaf of bread with some really good butter. Bread is one of the oldest, most universal foods we have. Every culture has some version of it: sourdough, naan, baguette, tortillas, injera, pita. Plus, butter –  a little taste of human ingenuity (and indulgence).

If you could invent a sacred ritual around eating, what would it be?

Everyone takes the first bite in absolute silence. No talking, no rushing—just letting the flavors hit, really experiencing the textures, the smells, the warmth (or the chill). It’s a tiny moment of mindfulness before diving into the meal and conversation.

Do we cook to express who we are, or do we discover who we are through cooking?

I think it’s a bit of both. Food can’t always be thoughtful, sometimes it needs to be practical and efficient, especially with our busy lives. But food is also a very unmaterialistic and organic way of connecting people and showing love and affection. Sunday roasts are so nostalgic to many because it reminds us of home, of family, and a time to switch off.

If someone had to describe you only through your cooking, what would they say?

I think they would say emotive, thoughtful, and hopefully delicious!

Is there such a thing as a “perfect dish,” or is the pursuit of it more important than the outcome?

I think there is such a thing as the perfect dish, but it doesn’t include the food alone. It’s also about the setting, the company, the small details and the experience.

If a recipe is passed down for generations, does it belong to the past, or is every cook who makes it reshaping its future?

I think it depends who passed it down. Home cooking is often passed down through generations and through family members, and most people are trying to replicate how good it was by their grandmother, for example. Recipes from chefs are often twisted and changed to modernise and to remain current, and often break boundaries.

Food needs contrast—sweet and sour, crunch and softness—to be truly satisfying? Is the same true of life?

Totally! You can’t have one without the other, it is all part of the balance.

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said, “The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.” Do you agree? 

Yes, because we are much more likely to experience the benefits of a dish than of a star!  

Throughout history, cooking has often been seen as “women’s work” in the home, yet the restaurant industry has been historically male-dominated. How do you see the role of female chefs evolving in the future?  

The role of female chefs is evolving in a way that’s long overdue—toward more visibility, leadership, and recognition. Historically, women have always been the backbone of home cooking, yet professional kitchens were structured in a way that made them unwelcoming (or outright hostile) to women. The long hours, intense environments, and old-school hierarchies often favoured men.

Now, that’s changing. More women are leading restaurants, redefining what a kitchen culture should look like—less toxicity, more collaboration. There’s also a growing push for work-life balance, making the industry more sustainable for everyone, not just women. And let’s not forget the rise of female chefs owning their own businesses, food media influence, and pushing boundaries with unique, personal cooking styles.

The future? I see more female chefs breaking away from traditional expectations, creating their own spaces, and changing the narrative from women in the industry to simply great chefs.