The Working Wardrobe: Florence Knight

Much like her food, chef Florence Knight exudes warmth and refinement with a subtle humor that’s found in the details. “I’m from a big family – the fourth of five children – and our kitchen was very busy; everyone would be hustling and bustling to the table,” she says. “We have really nice memories of that time, sitting down as a family, and that has shaped much of my positive relationship with food.” Prior to pursuing hospitality, Knight studied textile design at the London College of Fashion but, during the first year, realized her preference for cooking.

“The transition into food was natural. I am very conscious of food and the way that a dish looks and feels. I constantly talk to the chefs about how the food drapes like fabric. The lovage pasta, for example, needs to be draped a certain way,” says Knight, drawing parallels with her style. “I like cleanness, even with food, and I don’t like things to feel overly accessorized. I adore quality clothes and, much like with food, I love good ingredients and nice cuts. My fashion work became very textural by the end of that final year, and because I enjoyed the hours and the buzz of working in restaurants, I didn’t look back.”

Working her way up from the age of 19, Knight made her mark as head chef at Soho’s Polpetto, aged just 23, then published her first book One: A Cook and Her Cupboard, at 26. “I squeezed a lot in,” she jokes. After taking time away from the kitchen to focus on her family, Knight returned in 2021 with one of London’s most sought-after spots: Sessions Arts Club. “Having a hiatus, you get that fear of, ‘What are people going to think when I come back?’ But I grew up in that time and my food feels much more established,” she says. “I feel more confident since having children. I think if you can do that, then you can kind of do anything.”

Knight also acknowledges that her career can become all-consuming. “I’m never satisfied, and I give a lot to my work, which can be very difficult for my loved ones, but I think I’m lucky because I genuinely love my job. I love the people I work with, and I love the food,” she says. “It’s probably selfish of me in the moment, but when that dish is in front of me, I don’t have to think about anything else other than making that one thing perfect, and that is my own kind of therapy. I’m super-present, there’s no mobile phone – it’s freeing.”

Read on to discover more about Florence Knight’s tips for great style and her beauty must-haves…

“I’m all about quality. The Row captures that with beautiful, simple cuts that are so elegantly done, and it’s all in the tiniest details of the fabric. Sometimes, people can’t see the subtleties, but my eyes are always tuned in, and I notice straight away. This is a clean, versatile look you could wear to a gallery opening with flats, or I’d wear it to come into the restaurant to do paperwork, paired with higher heels. It’s a super-easy daytime look that would easily transition to the evening as well.”

“This knitted top has a high V neckline and the fabric is so unusual – almost like the opalescent inside of an oyster, which really elevates it. Everybody at Sessions Arts Club knows I wear a lot of white wide-leg jeans; a pointed-toe pump really pulls the look together.”

“I have sensitive skin, and, with the heat of the kitchen, I get redness on my cheeks, so I use Augustinus Bader’s The Ultimate Soothing Cream. I also love Sisley’s Triple-Oil Balm Make-up Remover and Cleanser, which is great. For makeup, I use Westman Atelier. It doesn’t feel like you’re wearing too much makeup, and it gives you a little bit of a glow. I like the brand’s contouring stick, and its foundation is amazing.”