Amber Francis, AYALA Squaremeal Female Chef Series 2025

Amber Francis

Amber Francis has worked at some of the most prestigious kitchens in the UK: The Ritz, The Hand and Flowers, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. A dream career path, some would say. And yet, in 2023, she made a surprising move—leaving the fine dining world to become head chef and culinary teacher at Christ’s College, a secondary school in Finchley, North London.

Why trade soufflés and tasting menus for school lunch trays? For Amber, it’s not a step back—it’s a shift in purpose. She now feeds over a thousand students every day, with the same rigour, creativity, and high standards she once applied to luxury menus. But above all, she’s on a mission: to transform the way young people eat and think about food.

Amber’s passion for food didn’t come from a traditional culinary upbringing. Her father cooked once a year, her mother wasn’t interested in cooking. But a cupcake workshop led by a former Michelin pastry chef sparked her curiosity. She then began sending out dozens of emails to renowned kitchens, tracking responses on spreadsheets. Her determination paid off: she landed internships at The Hand and Flowers and Le Manoir, before being selected for the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ apprenticeship at The Ritz, under John Williams MBE.

Quickly rising through the ranks, Amber trained in leading kitchens and became head chef at Maene, a modern restaurant in Shoreditch. But despite this success, she felt disconnected from what truly mattered to her: community and education.

“In fine dining, we often try to bring the community into the restaurant. I decided to do the opposite—bring the restaurant into the community,” she explains.

At Christ’s College, she’s changing the rules of school dining. Her menus mix familiar comfort foods with seasonal, often surprising, ingredients: roasted beetroot next to chicken nuggets, or a salad bar with fennel and herbed potatoes. The goal isn’t to force children to eat vegetables—it’s to give them choices and encourage curiosity.

She recalls how switching from plated salads to a self-serve salad bar changed everything. “Same ingredients—but letting them choose made all the difference,” she says. “When they serve themselves, they take ownership. That’s where food education starts.”

This sense of empowerment is central to Amber’s approach. For her, cooking for students isn’t about prestige or perfection—it’s about giving them confidence, nourishing both body and mind.

But she also challenges the norms of the restaurant world. She’s vocal about the lack of flexibility for parents—especially mothers—in professional kitchens. When she competed in Great British Menu, she was pregnant, battling morning sickness throughout the shoot. And yet, she went on to win Champion of Champions—a first for a school chef, and possibly for a pregnant chef on the show.

“We pride ourselves on being a flexible industry—split shifts, long hours, working weekends. So why don’t we apply that same flexibility to parenting?” she asks. “The silence around motherhood can feel like rejection.”

Amber argues that being a parent can actually make you a better chef: “You’re more patient, more organised, more adaptable.”

Beyond her daily work at school, she’s now a respected advocate for food education and access. Her voice contributed to the UK government’s decision to extend free school meals to children on Universal Credit. It may seem like a small victory—but for her, it’s one that counts.

Amber hasn’t stepped away from the culinary world—she’s redefining it. One lunch tray at a time.