Why this Australian restaurant won a Michelin star
by Jill Dupleix · Australian Financial ReviewJill DupleixFood writer
Oct 15, 2026 – 1.30pm
Do women cook differently to men? Only 30 per cent of chefs across the country are female, according to an ABS-sourced report by Jobs and Skills Australia. No longer sidelined in the pastry section or forced to work in the locker-room machismo of male-dominated kitchens, many now choose to run a different sort of restaurant.
Cue Alanna Sapwell-Stone and Esmay, tucked into the heritage-listed 1883 Hackney Hotel in Adelaide operated by hospitality group Blanco Horner. Named for the chef’s own 1972 Volkswagen Squareback, Esmay is purring straight down its own highway. “I don’t want to go as hard as I can and burn out in two years,” she says. “If you put the right things in place from the start, you can give it your time and energy for 10 years.”
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Jill DupleixFood writerJill Dupleix is AFR Magazine's culinary editor.
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