Groundstone Café head chef Orange's Danielle Romeo shines at FOOD Week

Fast-forward to HSC exams at Orange High School, a 2008 TAFE graduation and then a one-year stint in London, the 32-year-old has been Groundstone Cafe's head chef for the past five years.

While it's been a challenge at times to work in a male-dominated industry, Ms Romeo's message to her female peers is simple - stick to your guns.

"Being a woman in this industry does come with a lot of pressure and it can be tough, sometimes it feels like you're being forgotten in a big pile of other chefs," she said.

"But don't let other peoples' opinions or their journeys hold you back or take away from what you're doing, even when it might feel like you aren't seen."

Born and raised in Orange, Ms Romeo's apprenticeship gave her a taste of different culinary settings, dipping her toes in restaurant, pub and café scenes.

She said a lot of her time involved working under "dominant" head chefs who were male.

In the firing line of hostile outbursts under stress in the kitchen weren't unfamiliar experiences for Ms Romeo.

But it was also these moments that "shaped and formed" her; becoming key to how she'd run her own team in the future.

"Having females in amongst the kitchen there was always a 'boys club' element there and being criticised and condemned for your mistakes, that was definitely the reality," she said.

"Everyone makes mistakes and there's no need for yelling, so I knew that harsh way of handling things and pulling people apart wasn't a healthy learning environment or something I wanted to do if I was in that same leadership role.

"I've got a more sensitive nature and I've found that that's the way I am with my staff; when I give respect, I get that respect back."

Ms Romeo said Groundstone's female-lead kitchen has a "nice and diverse aspect" to it.

By keeping the floor open for "simple conversations" or to talk about what someone's feeling, she's created an atmosphere of safety that she's proud of.

Though the kitchen boss said she's relieved to see these fresh changes also forging through in Orange's culinary scene.

New chefs emerging, females (slowly) becoming more interested in the field and a younger generation with more awareness, all make up those parts.

"I think people are finding that aggression isn't necessarily the way to go about running things, there's this new mindset where people are more curious, patient and willing to learn," Ms Romeo said.

"There's definitely change happening in Orange's food scene and there's some incredible chefs here from all walks of life, so that culture is positively progressing and growing.

"It's been amazing to see our hospitality community adapting and expanding in all different ways; it's very encouraging to see."

Heading up Sampson Street Long Lunch's dessert course on March 25, Ms Romeo felt surrounded by like-minded industry peers at this year's FOOD Week event.

On maternity leave now, the leading chef conquered the weekend gig at 37-weeks pregnant - nearing full-term as a soon-to-be mum for the first time.

"I'm a super resilient person anyway where it's always been 'head down, bum up', so I've worked full-time up until now and haven't taken a break," she said.

"It was daunting coming up to this period but I was very organised and planned ahead just in case I didn't make it, but I'm really happy I did.

Creating a Middle-Eastern-inspired dish, she doled out a "baclava vibes" dessert with kataifi pastry, local honey, mascarpone from Mudgee and syrup-poached cherries.

Feeling "spoilt for choice" with top shelf seasonal produce available, Ms Romeo gave a nod to the region's finest.

"Our locally-grown produce and our wineries, our producers are just unreal and it's crazy how blessed we are here," she said.

"There's so much that goes on behind the scenes for FOOD Week and working together to pull it off, and we all smashed it out."

Considering herself lucky after several years of cooking, Ms Romeo said she's grateful to have a "amazing" team at Groundstone.

"I've taken so much from every single place and person that I've come across in my career and I've never taken any of it for granted," she said.

"I've also put in that hard work and now, I've got an amazing crew behind me."

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