Our Story

It Started in a Cramped Kitchen

Back in 2012, we were just two chefs with more enthusiasm than business sense. The original "school" was Eleanor's kitchen—barely enough counter space for three people, let alone a proper workshop. But something clicked during those early sessions that we've never forgotten.

Students weren't just learning recipes. They were discovering parts of themselves. The nervous accountant who'd never cooked for anyone suddenly plating food for six friends. The retired teacher who found a new passion at 67. The young professional who stopped ordering takeaway every night and started calling her mother for family recipes.

Those transformations drove everything that came next. We scraped together savings, found a proper space in Kensington, and built the teaching kitchen we'd always imagined. Somewhere along the way, we stopped being two chefs and became a team of six, each bringing unique expertise but sharing that original belief: cooking education should empower, not intimidate.

The People Behind the Aprons

Our instructors come from varied backgrounds—Michelin kitchens, family trattorias, pastry shops, food science labs. What unites them is an unusual gift: they can explain complex techniques in ways that actually make sense. No condescension, no assumptions about what you should already know.

Eleanor Whitmore, Co-Founder

Trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Eleanor spent eight years in French kitchens before returning to the UK to focus on education. She leads our pastry and baking curriculum, bringing a scientist's precision to the art of bread and pastry. Students describe her teaching style as "finally making sense of things I'd been getting wrong for years."

Marcus Chen, Co-Founder

Marcus's path took him through kitchens in Singapore, San Francisco, and London, where he developed a deep appreciation for how different cultures approach the same ingredients. He specialises in technique-focused workshops and Asian cuisines, and has an uncanny ability to diagnose exactly where students struggle.

Sofia Reyes, Lead Instructor

Born in Valencia, Sofia grew up cooking alongside her grandmother before formal training in Barcelona. Her Mediterranean workshops are perennial favourites, partly for her recipes but mostly for the stories and traditions she weaves into every session. She believes food without cultural context is just fuel.

Thomas Brennan, Private Chef Coordinator

With fifteen years of private chef experience for families across Europe, Thomas understands that cooking in someone's home is fundamentally different from restaurant work. He coordinates our private chef services and trains our team in the unique demands of domestic kitchen excellence.