The Female Chefs Redefining British Fine Dining

If you ask six chefs what makes a great dish, you’d expect six different answers. But for the women on this list, it always comes back to the same thing: the ingredients. How they use those ingredients, however, couldn’t be more different. One cooks over open flames in the Irish wilderness, another brings the flavours of Freetown to Kent. Different cultures, different techniques, but each of them knows that great cooking starts long before anything hits the pan. These are six female chefs we’re expecting great thingsfrom.  

MARIA BRADFORD 

For Maria Bradford, it all started in the heart and soul of her family home – her kitchen in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It’s here that her mother and grandmother taught her that eachdish and ingredient deserves love and attention. Her route to the culinary world took a small detour through finance (we're grateful catering won her over in the end) and now the award-winning chef and author is the creative force behind Shwen Shwen, her debut restaurant in Sevenoaks, Kent. The name means ‘fancy’ in Krio, but for Maria it's a celebration of her homeland's heritage, reimagined with a contemporary twist. Earthy, vibrant plates are built through traditional Sierra Leonian flavours – tamarind, sesame, mango, chilli and hibiscus. “Though my restaurant is in Sevenoaks, every dish is a love letter to my homeland,” she says, and that love doesn’t stop at the plate. You’ll find it in the hand-painted fabrics, the West African textile-inspired wallpaper and the terracotta and aubergine interiors. It’s a home away from home, and one you won't want to leave in a hurry. 

Find out for yourself via shwenshwen.com 

ELEANOR HENSON 

When chef Skye Gyngell, founder of Spring, passed away last November, she left behind a legacy built on one simple belief: that good food begins with the land. Few understand that better than Eleanor Henson. After nearly nine years at Spring, rising to Head Chef in 2022, Eleanor now oversees the kitchens at both Spring and Heckfield Place as Culinary Director, carrying Skye’s philosophy into every dish. At the heart of it all is the farm. Working closely with Heckfield Home Farm and long-standing growers Fern Verrow, Eleanor lets the land take charge, building dishes and flavours around what's growing here and now. “This role really reflects everything I believe in as a chef – the deep connection between land and plate, the importance of sustainable practices and supporting the next generation in the industry,” she says. With a Rising Star nomination from the National Restaurant Awards already to her name, Eleanor is helping Skye’s ethos grow, one season at a time.  

Visit springrestaurant.co.uk and heckfieldplace.com  

DARCIE MAHER

Darcie Maher has spent nearly half her life in professional kitchens. Starting out at just 15, it wasn’t until six years later that she traded the savoury for the sweet. After honing her pastry craft in restaurants and bakeries across the UK, she set up her own consultancy, teaching the trade to bakers and pastry chefs across Europe. In 2023, the Scottish Borders-raised baker opened Lannan in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge. Her menu changes regularly, pairing traditional technique with local, seasonal produce. Think delicate croissants and fragrant cardamom buns alongside nostalgic Scottish bakery classics like custard slices, iced buns and pineapple tarts. And it's not just her pastries that come beautifully decorated. Lannan was crowned Pastry Opening of the Year 2024 by La Liste, while Darcie herself was named in CODE Hospitality’s ‘30 under 30’ in 2022, before landing on both its Women of the Year list and the Sunday Times 2025 Young Power List. It seems last year kept her busy: she expanded next door with Lannan Pantry, a treasure trove of French-inspired artisanal goods. From fresh pasta to saucisson and Savoyard pottery, it stocks everything you’d need for a dinner party, minus the guests. 

Find out more at lannanbakery.com  

ABBIE HENDREN 

Earlier this year, Abbie Hendren cooked her way onto our screens with Great British Menu, representing London and the South East with a menu inspired by classic British films. While she didn’t make it to the banquet, she did win over veteran judge Sally Abé, who then brought her on as Head Chef for the opening of Teal, Sally’s first solo restaurant in Hackney. Now, Abbie is taking on her biggest challenge yet: building a kitchen from scratch as the first-ever Head Chef of Trindle Stores, a much-loved village shop in Kew, which launches its full restaurant this October.  

“I really want to bring some of the countryside to London,” says Abbie, and her menus do just that. They’re led by the seasons and shaped by the produce from Chiswick House Kitchen Garden, just ten minutes down the road. Inspired by Skye Gyngell and Alice Waters, her cooking is all about letting the best ingredients take centre stage without overcomplicating them. But Trindle Stores is about more than what’s on the plate. “We want this to be more than another restaurant vying for your pounds – we want it to be a place for the community to gather,” she says, with masterclasses, supplier-led supper clubs and Christmas parties already in the works. For Abbie, it’s a homecoming and it’sonly just getting started. 

Visit trindlestores.com 

KRISTIN REAGON  

Tucked away on a woodland peninsula on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Lasair is the all-female restaurant at luxury resort Finn Lough. The name means ‘flame’ in Irish, and Head Chef Kristin Reagon takes it literally. Having grown up in South Africa, where a school cooking competition won her a full scholarship to Cape Town’s Sense of Taste Chef School, she leads with open-fire and braai techniques. Her menus balance refinement with instinct, with vegetarian and vegan plates offered throughout. It’s a style that lends itself to her innate curiosity and love for the land: when an ingredient’s season comes to a close, rather than replacing it, she turns to fermentation to stretch it further. “I’m inspired to think outside the box and to constantly keep learning,” she says. “I can’t understand some chefs who can’t seem to broaden their minds and keep learning more.” Clearly, Kristin isn’t one of them, and we’re excited to see what she learns next.

Find out more about Lasair at finnlough.com

ELLY WENTWORTH

At Fowlescombe, the journey from field to plate is not measured in miles, but in footsteps. On this 450-acre regenerative farm in Devon, the menu is at the behest of the land, built on whatever’s ripe in the gardens that day and rare-breed meats raised on the property. Having refined her produce-led approach in some of the UK’s most acclaimed kitchens, including Simon Hulstone’s The Elephant, Elly works hand in hand with the growers to create a true farm-to-fork experience. “I’m inspired by the environment I work in every day,” she says. “My menus evolve with and are guided by what our fields and gardens are offering up at this very moment.” Right now, that means autumn: hearty squash and earthy root vegetables, slow cooked braises and orchard apples baked into something homely. In a world of fast food and even faster living, Elly’s cooking is a reminder to slow down, appreciate the finer detailsand enjoy the luxury of having nowhere to be but by the fire.  

See fowlescombe.com for more information.