Frances Atkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frances Venning |
| Education | Bradford School of Food and Technology |
| Spouses | |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | British cuisine |
Rating(s) | |
Previous restaurant(s)
| |
Television show(s)
| |
Frances Atkins is a British chef. She won a Michelin star at the Yorke Arms in 2003.
Frances Venning was born in Maidstone, Kent, but grew up in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. [1] [2] Her father had served in the Royal Engineers during the Second World War. He was involved in the creation of the portable Mulberry harbours used during the D-Day landings. [3] Frances trained in hotel management at Bradford College, and went on to work at The Box Tree restaurant in Ilkley. [4] She moved to Scotland to work at Dalhousie Castle, [1] and then Denmark to work in different kitchens. When she was 23, she met and married her first husband, George Carman QC. [4]
For the following 10 years, Frances did not work as her husband felt that women should not. She later called the marriage "a disaster", [4] and after they divorced in 1984, [1] she started to work as a cook in a pub and then began a catering company. [2] This proved successful and she opened a cafe, and met her second husband, Bill Atkins. Together, they closed the cafe and opened Atkins Restaurant. [4] During this period, she would close the restaurant on Sundays and go to visit Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, who she later called a "huge mentor". [1]
Atkins then left to run the Old Plow in Speen, Buckinghamshire, and then opened the Farleyer House in Scotland. It was there that she was awarded a Bib Gourmand award in the Michelin Guide. Sir Neil Shaw, the chairman of Tate & Lyle then asked her to open a restaurant with his backing. Shaw's Restaurant opened under Atkins in 1993, but after three years she wanted to move back to Yorkshire. [2] In 1997, they purchased the Yorke Arms in Ramsgill. [5] The pub was already known for good food, and Atkins initially wanted to keep the menu simple. However, she worked on the menu and was awarded a Michelin star in 2003. [4]
She appeared on BBC Two television series Great British Menu in 2014, where her dishes paid tribute to her father. [3] While Atkins worked as head chef, her husband ran the business side of the restaurant. The couple decided to put the restaurant up for sale in 2017 for £1.75 million, as Bill was looking to retire. [4] [6]
Yorke Arms lost its Michelin star in October 2019 but then earned its third rosette from AA plc in February 2020. Yorke Arms has been closed as a restaurant since July 2020 amid COVID-19 pandemic and planned to be reopened as a private country house for hire. [7] Atkins launched a catering project Paradise Food with her two former Yorke Arms colleagues [8] of over 20 years, chef Roger Olive and manager John Tullett. [5]
As with any large town or city, food and drink has played an important role in the commerce and culture of Birmingham, England.
Marcus Wareing is an English celebrity chef who was Chef-Owner of the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Marcus until its permanent closure in December 2023. Since 2014, Wareing has been a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals.
The Box Tree is a restaurant located in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. Owned by Adam Frontal, Yorkshire businessman, who is operating the restaurant with an emphasis of remaining very current within the fine dining offering and experience. Current Executive Chef, Brayden Davies, has been leading the kitchen since the beginning of 2023, having worked at multiple Michelin star restaurants, growing its ever strong reputation and now currently offers a new tasting menu on a monthly basis. The Box Tree was previously operated by chef Simon Gueller and his wife, Rena, from 2005 to late 2022. Under their management the restaurant has been redecorated, although elements from the original owners of the restaurant remain. Reception by food critics has improved over the years; the restaurant held a single Michelin star until 2019 and three AA rosettes. A sister company is also run by the chef, called Box Tree Events.
Clare Smyth is a Northern Irish chef. She is the Chef Patron of three Michelin starred Core by Clare Smyth which opened in 2017. Previously she was Chef Patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay from 2012 to 2016, won the Chef of the Year award in 2013, and achieved a perfect score in the 2015 edition of the Good Food Guide. Smyth has also appeared on television shows such as Masterchef and Saturday Kitchen. Smyth also notably catered at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding.
Pétrus is a restaurant in London, which serves modern French cuisine. It is located in Kinnerton Street, Belgravia and is part of Gordon Ramsay restaurants owned by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's Gordon Ramsay Restaurants Ltd. It has held one Michelin star since 2011, and 3 AA Rosettes.
Skye Gyngell is an Australian chef who is best known for her work as food editor for Vogue, and for winning a Michelin star at the Petersham Nurseries Cafe. She first trained as a chef in France, and afterwards moved to Britain.
Melissa Perello is an American chef, she is best known for holding a Michelin star at her restaurant Frances in San Francisco. She had previously won a star at restaurant Fifth Floor, and has won awards from both Chronicles and Food & Wine magazines.
Lisa Goodwin-Allen is a British chef best known for being executive chef of the Michelin-starred Northcote restaurant. She was also one of four winning chefs on season five of the BBC cooking show Great British Menu.
Steve Drake is a British chef who has held a Michelin star at three restaurants, including his current establishment, Sorrel. He has previously worked under a number of chefs, including Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White.
The Whitebrook, formerly known as The Crown at Whitebrook, is a restaurant with rooms in Whitebrook, 6 miles (9.7 km) south-south-east of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, near the River Wye and the border with England. The building is thought to date from the 17th century and by the 19th century it was used as a roadside inn. Its restaurant was run by Chef Patron James Sommerin until 2013; it gained a Michelin star in 2007. It contains eight double rooms and a 2-acre (0.81 ha) garden. On 7 March 2013, it closed because of financial difficulties; at the time it had the longest held Michelin star in Wales. Critics praised the food under Sommerin, but have criticised the difficulty in finding the restaurant. It re-opened in October 2013 under new chef and owner Chris Harrod, and regained the Michelin star in 2014. Harrod serves a menu using locally produced meat and vegetables along with foraged ingredients such as charlock, hedge bedstraw and pennywort.
Angela Hartnett at The Connaught, also known as MENU, was a restaurant owned by Gordon Ramsay Holdings and run by chef Angela Hartnett. It was located within The Connaught in Mayfair, London. The restaurant was opened following Ramsay's successful opening of Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, within the Claridge's hotel, which is owned by the same equity group. Ramsay had originally been asked to move Restaurant Gordon Ramsay into the space, but suggested that Hartnett should run a new operation there instead. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in the 2004 guide and held it until it closed in 2007.
Tommy Banks is a British Michelin Star head chef. He owns Michelin-starred The Black Swan at Oldstead, Roots in York, The Abbey Inn at Byland and the premium food box business Made In Oldstead.
The Black Swan is a restaurant with rooms at Oldstead, in North Yorkshire, England which provides food, drink and accommodation. Its restaurant, run by chef Tommy Banks, has been awarded a Michelin Star and Four AA Rosettes. It was rated the best restaurant in the world in 2017 by TripAdvisor.
Duangporn "Bo" Songvisava is a Thai chef and restaurateur. She and her husband, chef Dylan Jones, own and operated Bo.lan, a restaurant in Bangkok's Thong Lo neighborhood. In 2018 Songvisava was profiled on the fifth season of the documentary series Chef's Table.
Philip Howard is a South African-British chef, chef patron, and restaurateur. He gained cooking skills while working under Marco Pierre White at Harveys and Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum. Howard and White's then-business partner Nigel Platts-Martin opened London restaurant The Square in December 1991, despite both of their inexperience in operating a restaurant at the time.
The Square was a London fine dining restaurant, opened on 13 December 1991 in St James's. Since its opening, it had been co-owned by chef Phil Howard and wine expert Nigel Platts-Martin. It also earned its first Michelin star in 1994 and retained it from then on. After relocating to Mayfair in February 1997, The Square won a second Michelin star in 1998, which it retained until 2016, the same year when Howard and Platts-Martin sold the restaurant to a company held by Marlon Abela. It regained its first Michelin star in 2017. It closed on 31 January 2020, causing the restaurant to lose its star the following year.
Tom Aikens, also named Tom Aitkens, is an English Michelin-starred chef. Aikens briefly worked for chefs in London and Paris restaurants. Under his tenure from 1996 to 1999 as head chef and then chef patron, Pied à Terre earned its two Michelin stars in January 1997.
Sara Aqel is a Jordanian chef. She is best known and highly regarded for her work in leading an entirely female-led team at award-winning Italian restaurant Fi'lia in Dubai.
