The term ‘seasonal British’ is so commonplace these days, you could argue it’s almost lost some of its meaning. Yet while the term may get thrown around a little too freely by some chefs, there will always be others who truly take seasonality to heart, allowing it to dictate their menus entirely. This is undeniably the case for Amber Francis, who has made it her mission to cook as seasonally as possible, ever since she staged at the legendary French Laundry. 

Somewhat a protégée of Robin Gill, having spent some time in the majority of his kitchens, Amber shot up the ranks relatively early in her career, and recently became head chef at Gill’s Zebra Riding Club – a hidden-away restaurant at Hertfordshire hotel-cum-retreat Birch. This has given the twenty-six-year-old chef the chance to put her own stamp on the menu, serving refined dishes that take inspiration from what’s growing around her, while also working closely with local and onsite producers to ensure she’s serving the best produce around whilst it’s at its peak.

‘When Robin got in touch with me to discuss this opportunity, it just made total sense,’ says Amber, who previously worked at Gill’s former restaurant The Dairy for three years, before joining the team at The Bermondsey Larder, ‘it just ticked a lot of boxes for me, with the close connection to growers and the focus on seasonality. I literally get a text every Tuesday telling me what’s come up in the garden and then I decide what I want to cook with it. Then when the guests arrive, I can tell them that the carrots they are eating came out the ground only five hours ago – it’s amazing.’

The grounds at Birch don’t just play host to vegetable patches though, there are chickens on site for eggs, and even an on-site forager, who seeks out all the hidden gems growing wild in the hotel gardens. ‘Things like my relationship with our in-house forager George are what make this job really special,’ Amber explains, ‘he’ll do tours for the guests and afterwards he’ll come to me and point out what he’s found, and then we’ll work out how I can use it.’ Amber’s enthusiasm for the style of cookery she now champions is infectious, but behind that passion is also a huge amount of drive – something that’s been there right the way through her career.

Growing up in the countryside around Bristol, Amber’s interest in cookery was first piqued when she started doing cake decorating classes aged fourteen. By the age of sixteen she was already doing stages at the likes of The Hand and Flowers and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in her half terms. Throughout this time however, Amber was also excelling academically and was still considering university until she was offered a place on the Royal Academy of Arts Scholarship programme in Bournemouth.

‘From a pretty young age, I was always pretty driven,’ smiles Amber, ‘if someone didn’t think I was able to do something I’d want to prove them wrong. You meet these old, wizened chefs who would try and deter you from the industry, so I thought, ‘well I’m going to do it then, and I’ll do it really well’. Even now, as a young female head chef, I feel that I’ve got more to prove; you always get reminded that it’s unusual or different but that just makes me want to push even harder and do even better.’