Just think of my cooking classes as a day out with friends, cooking, eating and chatting together.  Lets face it, isn’t it more fun to learn that way?  

 

Cooking shouldn’t be taken too seriously, good quality ingredients and some basic knowledge and you are on your way to discover the world of cooking in your own time.  

 

I will also encourage and empower you with wonderful skills to use throughout your culinary life. I am looking forward to teaching and sharing good times with you!

 

My Background

 

I have been interested in good food and cookery since I was a child.  My father is from Corfu, Greece and my mother is Welsh, (my hometown is Cardiff) so I am lucky to have the knowledge of both great British and Mediterranean food and cooking, which reflects in my cooking classes.

 

My mum can turn her hand to both British fare and Mediterranean cuisine alike, and as a child we spent summers in Corfu, where I’d help my aunties pick aubergines, peppers and Lemons. I cherished those summers remembering the way we spent hours slicing tomatoes and laying them out in the sun to dry, and turning the celebratory Lamb on the spit.

 

Music was my first love, I wrote music fanzines during business-college and after meeting a like-minded friend through my fanzine we made a plan to be in a band together and eventually moved to London in the mid 90’s.  Our band went on to have a top 10 hit and signed to EMI.  Since then I went on to produce numerous music projects, have co-run successful clubs all over London, was a photographer and even sang backing vocals for Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music).

 

My change of career was actually a natural move, I got a little tired of the music industry, I was inspired one day going to the famous Borough market – I put an add on Gumtree to work on someone’s food stall, which lead me to assisting in amazing London Cookery schools, I went to culinary school in the evenings, became a chef for a year, then quit and decided to start my own unpretentious Home cookery classes including Greek, Mediterranean, Baking and Pie making classes in November of 2009. 

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After running a successful food and drink market for seven wonderful years, I took a brief hiatus from my cherished cookery school. Now, fueled by a newfound passion for pies, I'm thrilled to announce the launch of a local Pie delivery service. This venture is a heartfelt tribute to my late mum, Maureen Bates (Gauci), whose legendary pies inspired this delicious journey. Join me in celebrating her culinary legacy!