Frances Atkins
Born
Frances Venning

Maidstone, Kent
EducationBradford School of Food and Technology
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1976⁠–⁠1984)​
    Bill Atkins
    ​
    (m. 1984)​
    Culinary career
    Cooking styleBritish cuisine
    Rating(s)
    Previous restaurant(s)
      • Yorke Arms
      • Shaw's Restaurant
      • The Old Plow
      • Atkins Restaurant
    Television show(s)

    Frances Atkins is a British chef. When she won a Michelin star at the Yorke Arms in 2003, she was the first female British chef to win a star.

    Career

    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] This was the first time a female British chef had won the accolade.[6] 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]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 Barton, Laura (13 December 2005). "A woman's place". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 "Life of a culinary queen". The Journal. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
    3. 1 2 "Frances Atkins". BBC Two. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "After putting the Yorke Arms up for sale, what Frances Atkins did next". The Yorkshire Post. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
    5. 1 2 Tony Naylor (17 July 2022). "'Retirement? Not for me': meet the top chefs who won't hang up their aprons". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
    6. 1 2 Lutrario, Joe (20 June 2017). "Frances Atkins to embark on "new challenge" after sale of The Yorke Arms". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
    7. ↑ Gamm, Chris (13 July 2020). "Yorke Arms to close restaurant and reopen as 'country house for hire'". The Caterer. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
    8. ↑ Price, Katherine (22 September 2020). "Frances Atkins invested as Royal Academy of Culinary Arts fellow". The Caterer. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
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