Amber Doig was born and raised in Otautahi, Aotearoa with Iwi connections to Waikato/Tainui and Ngati Whatua O Orakei. Moving from Christchurch to Sydney when she was 17 to pursue her dream of becoming a Chef, she embarked on an apprenticeship and made her bones working across a couple of cafes and restaurants in the Inner West. She gained further experience at Intercontinental Hotel, at their restaurant Mint Bar and Dining, under then Chef De Cuisine, James Viles. Doig was then mentored as Sous Chef by her long-time collaborator, Vanessa Martin, who opened the Chef’s Hatted Il Piave Restaurant in Rozelle at the astonishingly young age of 24.
In 2015 Amber decided to follow her “Make it there can make it anywhere” dream of living and working in New York City, and, was lucky enough to do so while learning some fundamentals of Mexican cuisine. She reached out to the Empellón Restaurant Group, to gain experience under modernist pastry prodigy turned dark Lord of Tacos, Alex Stupak. She worked across his various restaurants and projects, meeting and working with an array of talented chefs, learning invaluable skills and lessons, a humbling and life changing experience. On return to Sydney Amber quickly joined Applejack Hospitality and became Head Chef at The Butler, bringing all of her experiences together along with her deep love and connection to Aotearoa and its world class ingredients, using all of these influences in Butler’s menu direction, serving up her own brand of unique, Mexican influenced fare in Potts Point.