Marie Curry - Bordeaux
The chefs the industry forgot
In 75% of French households, women are the ones who cook. Yet 9 out of 10 professional chefs are men. For Marie Curry, a Bordeaux-based association supported by Stop Hunger, this is not a talent gap — it's a systemic one.Since 2023, Marie Curry has run a free 539-hour professional training programme for refugee and immigrant women seeking employment in the food sector. The programme is built around a simple but powerful idea: these women already know how to cook. What they lack is not skill — it's a recognised qualification and a system designed to see them.
In 2025–2026, 25 women from more than 15 countries completed the programme. All were registered jobseekers when they started. Six months later, 75% had already found a positive professional pathway — launching a food truck, starting a catering business, or entering salaried employment. For earlier cohorts, that figure reaches 95% at one year.
Key impact figures 2025-2026
But perhaps the most significant result is one that cannot be graded. At the start of the programme, fewer than two thirds of participants said they felt confident about achieving their professional goals. By the end, every single one did.
In their own words
When I was little, I didn't go to school. I learned to read and write as an adult and I never stopped moving forward. This training opens doors for those who have nothing. Before Marie Curry, I had one wing. Now I have two to fly.
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