The cumulative impact of successive lockdowns cannot be understated.
Since the start of the pandemic, Melburnians have spent 160 days confined to home quarters.
The women who saved Melbourne restaurants during their toughest year
Dani Valent
Photo: Eddie Jim
Any Melbourne restaurant that made it through three lockdowns is underpinned by creativity, energy and resolve. Often it s a man credited with keeping his business afloat. So where are the women? To mark International Women s Day on March 8, we spoke to five unheralded women who kept Melbourne dining alive through an especially challenging year.
The Entree Pinays is a collective of Filipino Australian women co-founded by
Fides Santos-Arguelles and
Grace Guinto to support and promote Filipino cuisine.
Among the pair s many pandemic projects was a concerted effort to assist Chibog, a Filipino restaurant in West Footscray that launched in February last year. It s been closed much longer than it s been open, says Guinto.