Jessica Mansfield, chef manager at Merritt 7, in Norwalk, Conn., teamed with five other chefs from around Compass Group to form the Blue team at this year’s 2026 Compass Women in Culinary Showcase, which took place March 9–12 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Though she had not met her chef teammates before, “everyone felt connected once we met,” Mansfield says. “This experience was life-changing. Being surrounded by great women who share the same work ethic, passion, and drive was incredibly powerful.
The WIC Showcase featured educational discussions, vendor presentations, and culinary training sessions and demonstrations. For the culinary demo, Mansfield’s Blue team was tasked with creating a menu, featuring chicken as the protein, that was inspired by South American cuisine.
For Mansfield, this was a no-brainer—as it says in her bio in the Showcase Booklet (click here, flip to page 18), she frequently traveled to El Salvador to visit family and learn about food, culture, and tradition while growing up. As her contribution to the menu (listed at right), Mansfield prepared the dough for the handcrafted arepas on which Peruvian Chicken Anticucho rested.
In addition to connections with chefs from around Compass, Mansfield brought home some important lessons from Charlotte. “This experience reminded me how important it is to confidently promote the value I bring,” she explains, “because no one will know your strengths unless you share them. It also pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and say ‘yes’ to new opportunities—the worst you can hear is ‘no,’ but the best is discovering your own potential.”
“Being surrounded by great women who share the same work ethic, passion, and drive was incredibly powerful.”
“I was also reminded that failure is part of growth,” she continues. “Every challenge is a chance to try again with a new perspective. And connecting with so many like‑minded chefs showed me the power of surrounding yourself with people who uplift, support, and inspire you!”