Frances Atkins is a British chef. When she won a Michelin star at the

Yorke Arms The Yorke Arms is a luxury events venue in Ramsgill, Nidderdale, in the Yorkshire Dales in northern England. The building began life as a shooting lodge for the Yorke family. In 1842 it was rebuilt as a small inn, and by 1924 it had acquired ...

in 2003, she was the first female British chef to win a star.

Career

Frances Venning was born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, but grew up in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. Her father had served in the Royal Engineers during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He was involved in the creation of the portable Mulberry harbours used during the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. Frances trained in hotel management at

Bradford College Bradford College is a further and higher education college in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, with approximately 25,000 students. The college offers a range of full and part-time courses from introductory level through to postgraduate l ...

, and went on to work at The Box Tree restaurant in Ilkley. She moved to Scotland to work at

Dalhousie Castle Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Cockpen, Midlothian, Scotland. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg, 8 miles (13 km) south of Edinburgh. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay. H ...

, and then Denmark to work in different kitchens. When she was 23, she met and married her first husband, George Carman QC. For the following 10 years, Frances did not work as her husband felt that women should not. She later called the marriage "a disaster", and after they divorced in 1984, she started to work as a cook in a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and then began a catering company. This proved successful and she opened a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, and met her second husband, Bill Atkins. Together, they closed the cafe and opened Atkins Restaurant. During this period, she would close the restaurant on Sundays and go to visit

Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the '' Good ...

at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, who she later called a "huge mentor". Atkins then left to run the Old Plow in

Speen, Buckinghamshire Speen is a village in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, situated in the civil parish of Lacey Green, in Buckinghamshire, England. The centre of the village (depicted by the village sign) is south-east of Princes Risb ...

, and then opened the Farleyer House in Scotland. It was there that she was awarded a

Bib Gourmand The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

award in the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

. Sir Neil Shaw, the chairman of

Tate & Lyle Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...

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. In 1997, they purchased the

Ramsgill Ramsgill is a small village in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England, about south-east of Lofthouse, located near Gouthwaite Reservoir. It is chiefly known for the Yorke Arms, formerly a Michelin-starred restaurant on the village green whic ...

. 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. This was the first time a female British chef had won the accolade. She appeared on BBC Two television series ''

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, whe ...

'' in 2014, where her dishes paid tribute to her father. While Atkins worked as

head chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive 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. Yorke Arms lost its Michelin star in October 2019 but then earned its third rosette from

AA plc AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. Th ...

in February 2020. Yorke Arms has been closed as a restaurant since July 2020 amid

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and planned to be reopened as a private country house for hire. Atkins launched a catering project Paradise Food with her two former Yorke Arms colleagues of over 20 years, chef Roger Olive and manager John Tullett.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Frances Living people People from Maidstone Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants British chefs Women chefs Year of birth missing (living people)