NPR

Women In Hospitality Come Together Over Shared Passion For Food Business

Part event-planning company, part online publication, D.C.-based Pineapple Collaborative is expanding to other cities, connecting women who work in the traditionally male-dominated food industry.
Atara Bernstein and Ariel Pasternak founded Pineapple Collaborative to create a space where women in food could share ideas.

In 2015, when Ariel Pasternak joined Chaia, a seasonal, plant-based taco shop opening in Washington, D.C., she and her colleagues encountered challenges familiar to any restaurateurs — developing a marketing strategy, sourcing fresh ingredients, and ensuring bills were paid on time.

What they did not find in the city's budding food scene was a sense of community.

"None of the women I was meeting in the restaurant world knew each other," Pasternak, 27, says. "I wanted to connect these women and have a space to explore ideas about food." She started hosting

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