Frances Bissell

I recently caught up with Frances Bissell who you probably remember as The Times Cook, at The Sloane Club, which has been given a wonderfully stylish makeover by David Linley. Frances is the club’s food and beverage consultant working on menus that showcase the best of seasonal British produce, allied with Connaught trained chef Mark Johnson.

The first woman chef to be elected to the Academy of Culinary Arts, Frances has been guest chef in some of the world’s leading hotels, restaurants and embassies across the world. She worked with British Airways on the introduction of authentic Afternoon Tea to their First Class service; was instrumental in the development of a range of traditional British dishes for Marks and Spencer; worked with top people’s caterer, Mustard Catering on menu development; and after consulting for Gozo, Ta’ Frenc in Malta last year, they won the award for best restaurant in the Maltese islands....

And the best bit is that Frances is available for private consultation on all your culinary and entertaining requirements, from a simple dinner party to a charity Afternoon Tea. She is happy to talk to small groups about all aspects of ‘the table’... shopping, cooking, planning menus, and recipe development, which she considers one of her specialities.

You can contact Frances on +44 (0)207 435 3536, or e-mail fmbissell@hotmail.com.

PS... watch out for her new book 'The Scented Kitchen', due out this summer.