Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode will give you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on iTunes, and stay tuned.
This week, we’re rebroadcasting and expanding upon one of our favorite Second Life episodes from the archives with Ellen Bennett.
If you work in the restaurant industry or are committed to looking stylish while you cook at home, you’ve probably heard of Hedley & Bennett, the company dedicated to providing a serious upgrade to restaurant uniforms and home chefs’ wardrobes. In fact, the company is now responsible for the uniforms in 6000 restaurants and coffee shops around the country, and the woman behind it all is founder and culinary curator Ellen Bennett.
Bennett got her start in the culinary world by walking into the back door of local restaurants in Mexico City when she was 18 and asking the cooks to teach her while at the same time attending school for restaurant management. She later moved to L.A. where she worked as a line cook for acclaimed restaurants for years, and that’s where she saw the need for more elevated kitchen wear. It was then that she had the idea for Hedley & Bennett, which started as a few aprons and has grown to become the go-to source for chic aprons and chef’s gear. Once you hear Bennett’s incredibly inspiring story, you’ll see why Second Life received an overwhelming amount of feedback on her episode.
Head to iTunes to subscribe to Second Life and listen to this episode to hear how Bennett created Hedley & Bennett from the ground up. And below, shop some of the brand’s chic aprons for yourself.
Next, find out how Aurora James founded the fashion industry’s coolest sustainable accessories brand.
Source: Who What Wear – Allyson Payer