The Graduate: Sophie Archer

Head chef, business owner and podcaster.

Sophie Archer is quite a woman. After years of unsuccessfully trying to have children, she decided to reset and ‘take a break to do something very positive and joyful by studying on the Diploma at Leiths.’

But then Sophie was diagnosed with blood cancer.

‘I describe it as “the gift that you would never want to give someone”.

‘I had chemo during Covid and so that was quite intense. But it really did change how I felt about life. I was alive and had my health. It made me just think “right, I’ve got to follow my dreams, now is the time” and so after that I pursued a career in food.

‘The IVF struggle and the cancer – things that felt very crushing at the time – turned into positives because I was like I’ve had this chance, let’s start again.’

Despite these challenges, Sophie now runs a cafe with her business partner, hosts her podcast ‘How to Cook a Gremlin’, cooks in private households and is head chef at The Brown Dog pub in Barnes. The phrase ‘strong woman’ has never felt quite so fitting.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, sitting opposite me in Leiths’ library, Sophie reflects on her experience as a female chef in response to swirling headlines about toxic male behaviour in the industry.

‘I love men, men are great, I will preface it with that.’

‘I would say I definitely have noticed that some men find it challenging to take direction from a woman and a lot of women quite understandably think “how the hell would I work in a commercial kitchen when I won’t be able to get home to see my kids or have any type of work life balance?”

‘So yes, there are challenges. There’s the sexism challenge that potentially all industries face and there’s the economic challenge. But it is all possible. There are lots of very cool women out there who are inspiring leaders.’

The pub has hosted a series of female chefs’ pop-up events leading up to International Women’s Day. The line-up features two Leiths stalwarts, Ursula Ferrigno and our much-beloved Leiths teacher Jane Montgomery; both of whom have also been guests on Sophie’s podcast.

‘The podcast combines everything we’ve just chatted about. I talk to people who’ve taken unconventional paths and we discuss dishes that have shaped their life. To me, cooking your gremlin is like facing a challenge and I’ve done that a lot through food.’