Who: Florence Knight, 26 Lives: Soho
What she does: As head chef at Polpetto restaurant, Knight writes the daily changing menus (about eight small plates, five big plates and five desserts), cooks, writes prep lists, coordinates food deliveries and heads up her small team of runners and chefs. “I’ve worked in kitchens the majority of my life and I’ve always been either the only girl or one other girl. I look quite young… but it’s never really been a problem. I think it’s really important to lead by example,” she advises.
Signature creation: Baccalà Mantecato - like salted cod. “Russell Norman – the owner – said I wouldn’t be able to create it in the Venetian way after we tried it together in Venice. But I did it. It’s very time consuming, though – a complete nightmare. There is so much room for error.”
Why she does it: “Cooking for me is like a great sense of achievement every day. Recently I plated everything and I was proud of it and you have days like that. Everything just looks beautiful and it’s right. When people are happy and they’ve got a full belly, it makes you happy.”
How she did it: Studied at London College of Fashion for a year then went to study at Leith’s food and wine for a year working for free in restaurants throughout. “I did the OXO Tower and Ottolenghi and that was the point that I realised I wanted to work in restaurants. When you’re the person in the corner peeling potatoes you get to see amazing things and there’s all that buzz. Russell and I have very strong ideas about food – he’s a wonderful boss. At the beginning he was nervous but now he lets me do my thing. As long as you’re determined and care a lot and are passionate, you can go far reasonably quickly.”
Where you can find her: Polpetto, 49 Dean Street, W1D polpetto.co.uk
