Last Friday we celebrated International Women’s Day. To mark the occasion the Mattel company decided to pay tribute to Hélène Darroze, the French Michelin-starred chef by releasing a new Barbie in her likeness.

Barbie decided to mark the occasion of International Women’s Day this year. The goal? To show that a successful career is possible for women. For France, internationally renowned for its gastronomy, Hélène Darroze was chosen. She is one of the 17 female role models represented by the brand as part of its “Shero” programme (mix of “she” and “hero”), specially launched for the occasion.

eater.com

Hélène Darroze is an internationally renowned chef, but she is also one of the few women to have been awarded a Michelin star. She has several restaurants in France and abroad, like in London for example. She tells us on Instagram how proud and honoured she is to be represented by the brand:

Je n’avais jamais imaginé avoir un jour une poupée Barbie à mon effigie… je suis aujourd’hui très fière et très honorée de faire partie du programme Sheros et mes petites filles le sont encore plus que moi, elles qui jouent avec leur poupée Barbie tous les jours… à travers cette poupée, en tant que chef cuisinier et en tant que maman, je souhaite encourager toutes les petites filles à croire en leurs rêves et à repousser les limites en ayant confiance en soi et en respectant ce que l’on est… #barbie #morerolemodels www.barbie.com/fr-fr/role-models ? : @monaawadphotographeparis

A post shared by Helene Darroze (@helenedarroze) on Mar 6, 2018 at 7:58am PST

The second French woman to be represented by the brand, after Laure Manaudou in 2010. This initiative shows that the world of gastronomy is not just for men, that women can have a career in it and be very successful.

Barbie thought up this initiative after a survey of 8000 women carried out by Mattel, in which 80% claimed that they are concerned about the female role models held up to their daughters. According to the brand, they wanted to pay tribute to “women who broke boundaries in their field and who are a source of inspiration for future generations of girls.”