chefs

Nikhil Mahale

Simon Maynard

Sameer Taneja

YBFs nominee Mark joined the Carousel team with a smile on his face in 2017 following a successful stint at Bethnal Green’s Typing Room. Prior to that Mark had been right hand man to James Knappett at two-Michelin Star Kitchen Table, where he’d moved after rising through the ranks at The Dorchester. So far, so awesome… Born and raised in the West Country, Mark is a vocal champion of local, seasonal and sustainable produce, partnering with Food Chain’s #feastfairly campaign to breathe new life into products and ingredients that are typically classified as ‘waste’. Mark is a passionate believer that these unloved ingredients often have more flavour and can be as tender and “soigné” as their more fashionable equivalents when placed in the right hands. Expect a sustainable approach, married with razor sharp technique and that all-important desire to put a smile on his diners’ faces,

Claire Allen is a multi-talented food entertainer, entrepreneur, and online content curator from South Africa who has combined a successful career in marketing with a sincere and insatiable love of food, a passion which was really ignited after she competed in MasterChef South Africa in 2014. The opportunity paved the way for Claire to become a sought-after celebrity chef on the local foodie scene. After the show finished, she combined her love for food and entertainment, launching her blog Food Is Love and a career as a food entertainer, taking to the stage both locally and abroad. This included headlining at The Good Food & Wine Show (SA's largest culinary event), and a stint as a weekly celebrity chef contributor to South Africa's popular daily entertainment programme - the Expresso breakfast show on SABC 3.

Farmer Angus is one of two grass fed, pasture-reared beef producers in the Western Cape. His onsite butchery is, however, the only one processing the beef that is produced on his farm. Spencer and Wilkus, two Farmer Angus' Butcherers, take us through the complicated process of breaking down meat.

Ricardo was a head chef in Italy for 22 years and owned 3 restaurants in the Vicenza area before moving to the bright lights, big city of London, where he worked as a head chef for 3 years. Now, apart from being chef at London’s renowned pizza restaurant, Yard Sale Pizza, he runs his own pizza school and consultancy business.

After growing up on an inspiringly beautiful farm in Southwest Arizona, Jessica moved to New York City to work as a nanny. Because of her passion for cooking, she soon found that she was hired to teach other nannies how to prepare delicious and healthy dishes for the children of New York City. Jessica then decided to follow her passion for cooking, beginning formal studies at the acclaimed Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School. After interning at the Four Seasons, Manhattan, she went on to study at the DCT Culinary Academy in Switzerland where she became the First American Female to win the prestigious Gold Medal in KochKunst at the ZAGG. Jessica has also worked in London at the Ritz but currently lives in Chicago, where she has been working as a private chef for Chicago families, producing a “recipe” and educational series that aims to further culinary excellence.

Duncan Baker has been a Butcher for the best part of 33 years. A part owner of butchers Parson's Nose, Duncan has experience on experience. He often jokes about being a meat surgeons, but on a serious note, learning how to break down and prepare whole carcasses requires a lot of skill and knowledge- thankfully, Duncan has plenty!

Marcus is passionate about all things outdoor cooking: BBQ, wood fired, campfire cooking and smoking. He is the best-selling author of Food & Fire and founder of UK BBQ mag, and his YouTube channel CountryWoodSmoke. He teaches people to cook exciting food outdoors at BBQ demos and runs a UK BBQ School at his home in Devon, UK. His aim is to help people pack as much flavour into their food as possible, with simple and sometimes theatrical techniques. He looks for inspiration in flavours from all around the globe and finds the best ways to cook them with live fire and smoke.

Simon Braz was born in the UK to Portuguese parents. His love of cooking came from his grandmother and would go back “home” every year. After finishing college, he worked in many restaurants and found himself in Dorset on the Jurassic coast. Simon would take holidays from work to work in Michelin star restaurants such as The Hand and Flowers in Marlow and Gidleigh Park in Devon. After a few traveling trips to Asia, Simon wants to show you the Japanese cuisine that he has come to love.

Daniel spent 12 years working his way up the chef’s ladder in various kitchens around Surrey – from local cafes and independent pubs to fine dining restaurants – as well as embracing hobbies like growing his own vegetables and putting himself through the rigours of BBC’s Masterchef. He then decided it was time to get out of the kitchen and into event catering, private dining and supper clubs. Where possible, Britten uses only the finest artisans and local produce in his kitchen.

Look no further. Celia Brooks founded the original London food tour company “Gastrotours” in 2002. Celia founded and still runs the original tasting tour at the world famous Borough Market, based on years of experience and a deep passion for food and cooking. Celia’s experience extends from her professional inception as chef for film director Stanley Kubrick, through a career in writing 9 internationally published cookbooks, TV presenting, food consultancy and teaching. Celia’s most recent book was published by Murdoch Books in 2018, entitled “SuperVeg: The Joy & Power of the 25 Healthiest Vegetables on the Planet”.

Former executive chef of ‘Duck & Waffle’ and critically acclaimed ‘Loyal Tavern’, Tom Cenci has earned a place as one of London's most prominent chefs. Having worked alongside some of the most celebrated and most respected chefs in the industry, Tom pushes culinary boundaries with his eclectic and exciting menus, a reflection of his passion for his craft driven by his pure love of food and his affection for the collaborative nature of the kitchen.

Italian Dimo Cerrone was born near Naples, and has a typical Italian love for food. After working at Jamie Oliver's Cooking School, Dimo since become Head Chef at Urban Pantry. In his free time, he enjoys playing frisbee, travelling and tasting Alice's latest baking project!

Learn to make the best of Malaysian cuisine with chef and entrepreneur William Chew.

Andrew Clarke is an award-winning chef with over 23 years of professional experience in the industry. Andrew is passionate about advocating for mental health in the hospitality industry, having personally suffered and recovered from mental health issues. He is a co-founder of Pilot Light, an organisation that aims to address mental health issues in the industry through raising awareness and prevention. Andrew still cooks for various events and also plays music in the metal band, Kundalar Giant.

Chef Edward Clegg has been a culinary professional for 25 years working with some of the world's top chefs in the UK and South Africa. Being an advocate of innovation and technology in the culinary industry Edward has specialized in molecular gastronomy, fine dining and he is also actively involved in the avant-garde food movement.

Since its opening day The Pot Luck has filled 2 sitting’s each night throughout high and low season, running to capacity of one hundred and twenty guests. It has been dubbed the coolest place to be in Cape Town and its success is based on innovative cuisine, served in a relaxed yet edgy environment in a part of Cape Town that has never attracted an evening dining crowd.

The Shortmarket Club, co-owned and run by chef and manager wonderduo, Wesley Randles and Simon Widdison in partnership with Luke and Sandalene Dale-Roberts. As the third establishment to join the Luke Dale-Roberts portfolio, The Shortmarket Club has been a welcome addition to Cape Town’s dining scene from the moment it opened in June 2016.

A dynamic London-based journalist specialising in travel, food and lifestyle who has picked up years of experiencing working in China, Dubai and the UK writing and editing for publications such as ShortList, Grazia, N by Norwegian and the i paper as well as Gulf News in the UAE and The China Daily in Shanghai. Judy has interviewed chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Francis Mallmann and Jason Atherton and reviewed everything from street food in Istanbul, brunches n Dubai and Michelin starred restaurants in London. She also does stand-up comedy.

Chef Ryan Cole is a quick minded natural talent and one of the best technical chefs he has ever worked with, says Luke Dale Roberts- which is high praise indeed from the British-born Master Chef. Chef Ryan has taken the reigns at Salsify at the Roundhouse and is enjoying creating a unique dining experience to tempt and delight.

Renato Correia and Helene Vaerlien started their coffee company with the solid determination to bring a high quality, varied taste experience to the Cape Town coffee scene. Having been inspired by Nordic principles of roasting, they set about sourcing and creating relationships with farmers. Sustainable and ethical, businesses like Espresso Lab are the future of the coffee industry.

Originally from Abruzzo, a small region of Italy that is rich in culinary tradition, Danilo has been the Head Chef of the Italian Embassy in London since 2012. Before arriving at the Embassy, Danilo trained at Michelin-star level both in Italy, at restaurant San Domenico in Imola and Perbellini near Verona, then in London with three Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. More recently, Danilo took part in MasterChef: The Professionals, fighting his way to the top and ranking as one of the finalists, and appeared on BBC1’s live cooking show Saturday Kitchen. After publishing his first cookbook called '4 Grosvenor Square, The menu of the Italian Embassy in London' Danilo has returned to his roots and is on a mission to share with the British public as many simple & traditional Italian recipes, made with wholesome ingredients, as he can!

Stefano Cuomo is the 6th generation to lead the Macknade family business. Having grown up on the farm in Kent that Macknade is situated on, Stefano is part of the community the business serves and works with. Taking a community approach, Stefano is consistently working towards creating more sustainable and ethical processes in the retail business. Macknade currently has two sites, one in Faversham and the other in Ashford.

British-born Luke trained in Switzerland and England before heading to Asia for a five year stint, launching several restaurants in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines. “My time in Europe taught me to cook; my time in Asia broadened my horizons”, says Luke. Since moving to Cape Town in 2006, Luke has consistently proven his world-class standing with a string of awards and accolades. The Test Kitchen, The Pot Luck Club and The Shortmarket Club are just some of the restaurants in his celebrated portfolio.

Simon Davies has been a television presenter for over 30 years. He has presented BAFTA winning kid's series for the BBC, presented for SKY and hosted live Shopping Channel TV as well as award-winning factual programmes. In 2014, after decades of experience, he began running a TV Presenter Training Course and has hosted Corporate Training Events for top UK Companies including Barclays, Rothschilds, BAE Systems and Guinness World Records.

From the very start, Chef Jack Deane's career as a professional chef has centred around, very simply; teaching cookery skills. With a focus on demonstrating simplicity, removing enigma, and encouraging confidence - Chef Jack has worked in schools, cookery schools, and run public and private events & workshops. His passion is to bring the most exciting ideas from around the world to every home kitchen - by proving their accessibility, and inspiring anyone, in any kitchen, to give it a go.

Etana's interest in butchery first started while working in restaurants and seeing a whole beef rib broken down into boneless Ribeyes. On a whim she decided to make a career change and pursue butchery without ever cutting a piece of meat. Etana got her start in the Meat Department of a large grocery store. After a year and a half, she decided to move across the ocean to further her training, cutting alongside some talented London butchers and learning the craft of whole carcass butchery.

Chef Toya Erving is a Swedish Chef, living in Stockholm (in Prince Carl-Phillip and Princess Sofia's ex home!) She was trained at Leith's School of Food and Wine and formally trained at Cordon Bleu in London. She worked at Rick Stein's The Seafood Restaurant and popular gastropub Hops and Glory. She loves seafood- which you'll be able to tell after her series!

Butcher Farrell made the change from a nascent career in audio engineering to the world of meat, whilst living in Shanghai and it was here where the term 'nose to tail' really embedded into his ethos. Since then he moved to Hong Kong to manage a bespoke shop selling the best meat from around the world, whilst acquitting a love and dedication to the art of dry aging meat. During his time away, he learnt every scrap of knowledge he was shown from chefs and butchers from all over the world, learning the ‘secreto’ cuts and the best ways to cook them. Now back in the UK, Butcher Farrell manages The Home Farm Shop, up in North West England. Ever on a quest for knowledge, he now attends Manchester Metropolitan University, studying for a Masters in Food Science and Innovation. With his Masters and butchery knowledge combined, he plans to share and develop a broader understanding of food and food choices, “it’s not about giving up meat to save the planet, It’s about eating the right kind of meat and knowing how to use it all”.

From a casual food blogger to a professional food photographer, Koray started documenting his dining experiences on social media and in a short space of time, found himself turning his passion into a career.

Italian film-maker Federico Fellini famously said that “Life is a combination of magic and pasta” and this sums up Isabella’s attitude towards food perfectly! Eating for pleasure, never calorie-counting and enjoying life to the full.

Born into a Punjabi family and originally from Madhya Pradesh, India, Rohit cut his culinary teeth working for the prestigious Oberoi and Taj hotel groups. Michelin-starred Rohit Ghai (@chefrohitghai) is one of the culinary world’s most in-demand chefs after a hugely successful decade on the London restaurant scene. He achieved the quickest ever award of a Michelin star at Jamavar, Mayfair after only 10 months and now he has entered an exciting new era in his career, with his first solo venture, Kutir. Chef Ghai’s precise and innovative cooking techniques and dishes have won him praise from celebrities, dignitaries and some of the nation’s most discerning food critics.

Mat Gothard has been a full time butcher for around 12 years and has his own butchers shop, Bates Butchers, in a small market town in the Midlands called Atherstone. Last year Mat’s shop picked up Best Butchers Shop for the Midlands & East of England. Butcher Mat got in to butchery at a very early age when he used to help his dad with pot washing in his butchers shop. He then gradually started to learn the basics of the ‘butchers knot’ and linking sausages! He knew from an early age that butchery was the career he wanted. Being a young butcher in what is still seen as an ‘old mans game’ he loves creating new products and playing around with different cuts, whilst still holding tradition close.

Sarah’s enduring passion is to help you to feel better through food. She runs a successful private consulting practice in London, helping people with chronic disease to minimise symptoms and optimise their health outcomes on a one-to-one basis through diet and lifestyle changes. She looks at the person rather than the condition, so she can get to the root cause of what is driving your symptoms. Her ambition is for Nutritional Therapy and Functional Medicine to be accessible to people that need it at all levels of society.

A passionate restaurateur, Sam Harrison has been involved in restaurants and hotels since the age of 16. His career has taken him all over the world, from Australia to Canada, before bringing him back to London to open his own first businesses - Sam’s Brasserie in Chiswick and Harrison’s in Balham. Prior to this, Sam was General Manager for Rick Stein’s operations in Padstow, Cornwall, and also spent two years working in Sydney. Returning to the UK, Sam achieved financial backing from Rick Stein and restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas to open Sam’s Brasserie in 2005, and then Harrison’s in 2007. Sam’s singular, owner-driven ethos of charming and professional customer service, together with his front-of-house experience and desire to serve high-quality food, proved to be a winning formula at both venues. In the summer of 2015, after a decade of hugely successful trading, Sam sold both of his restaurants to The Hawksmoor Group. Over the subsequent couple of years, Sam honed his hospitality experience to provide consultancy, coaching and training within the industry. In November 2019, Sam launched Sam’s Riverside, a contemporary European brasserie and bar with Harvey Trollope as Head Chef. Near Hammersmith Bridge and facing the Thames, the restaurant is adjacent to the Riverside Studios, which has undergone a total transformation.

Born in Mthatha South Africa, and raised in Cape Town, Chef Ash Heeger was inspired by the world at large, Chef Ash Heeger is on a culinary mission that just keeps getting better, bigger and more exciting. In 2016, she started her own ASH Restaurant in 2016 and 'Riverine Rabbit' with sister Mandy van Der Berg in 2018, which focuses on the sustainable use of our natural recourses.

Chris Hill is a self-trained chef who grew up in Atlanta, went to the University of Alabama and pursued a career in consulting before moving to Virginia to follow his passion - food. He opened his first restaurant at the age of 28 where he grew into the role of executive chef of 3 Way Cafe, a gourmet sandwich bistro in downtown Norfolk. After a half decade, he sold his share in the business to pursue other ventures within the culinary world that include TV, speaking and consulting.

Tony is one of the worlds leading communication specialist working closely with some of the best known TV Chefs and live demonstrators. Over the past 2 decades in the media, he has been training chefs and corporations all around the world on how to engage an audience as well as directing and producing food TV shows for multiple global media platforms.

Developing a strong affinity towards cooking at a very young age made Vrushali do her Bachelors’ in Hotel Management from IHM Goa, in order to pursue her passion to have a career in the world of culinary. Her dedication and commitment to excel have made her a name in the Culinary Fraternity in the UAE.

Ry Jessup, originally from New Zealand, is a former Caravan chef and founder of Homeslice Pizza in London. He has since left the group and now works as a freelance chef and restaurant consultant.

David Jones is a chef and co-founder of Manna From Devon Cooking School and Bed and Breakfast, located in South Devon. David and his wife, Holly, founded the school and B&B in 2005 and have been teaching cooking skills to people since. Since 2008 their focus has been on teaching people to cook on fire, particularly using wood-fired ovens. David is committed to discovering new recipes and helping people learn new skills and make the most of their wood-fired ovens, and together with Holly they continue to provide a fantastic cooking experience through their courses at Manna From Devon.

Lily Jones is the founder of London based bakery, Lily Vanilli. She is known for her pioneering cake designs, quality baking and market leading innovation. She is also the author of three best selling recipe books, including Sweet Tooth and A Zombie at my Cupcake and #Bake for Syria. Lily also consults for brands both overseas and in the UK and is founder of the industry leading YBF Awards, which is now in it’s 8th year. Some of her clients include, Uniqlo, Diesel, DAZED, and Alexander McQueen.

Family Chef Andrea Justova has worked for years as a private, personal Chef. Whilst working as an au-pair for a family where she was looking after two children, she began studying at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in London, where she qualified as a Natural Chef. The course focused on using natural and fresh ingredients to create therapeutic menus for different health conditions and to support general well being.

Din Jusufi joined the Farzi Café as Beverage Manager in October 2018. He kick-started his career back in 2003 as Bar Back at the award-winning Bank Restaurant and Zander Bar, one of the busiest restaurants in the City of London. During his time at Bank, he acquired his craft and developed his particular love for cocktails and the art of mixology. By the time he left Bank in 2008, Din had worked his way up to Bar Manager and had garnered a wealth of skills and experience that has sent him off on his journey of success. Din then went on to manage and consult at an extremely impressive list of institutions. These include the acclaimed Barbacoa, Helix Bar, The Fish Plac, Sushi Samba, The Marylebone Hotel, and more impressive London names. Din has also won a number of competitions including, ‘Company’s Bartender of the Year’ in 2005, 2006 and 2007. While being with Farzi, he hopes to achieve as equal, if not greater success at running the bars, by bringing his passion and expertise to the company.

Haya Kalifeh is Co-Founder and Executive Chef at Butter Believe It bakery. Having always been passionate about baking, Haya honed her skills by training at Le Cordon Bleu in London. She used her talents to initially open Butter Believe it from Amman, Jordan before moving her venture to London. Butter Believe It specialises in indulgent, hard to resist desserts that also provide an eye catching centre piece to a celebration table.

Yasemen Kaner-White is a luxury travel and food journalist, broadcaster and lemon-lover. Having worked in media throughout her career, including working as a TV and radio broadcaster in Cyprus, she is also the author of ‘Lemon Compendium’, a book based entirely on all things lemony and delicious lemon recipes, and is currently editor of lifestyle and polo magazine ‘Fifth Chukker’. Her English-Cypriot heritage has inspired her love for travel, culture and cuisines of the world.

A third generation Kenyan-Indian, Chef Anita Kerai arrived in the UK at the young age of 21. After a successful career as an accountant, in 2017, she decided to follow her heart and dedicate her time to food. Anita's foremost passions are cooking, food and presenting culinary magic on TV. She has also published a book, 'Flavours of Kenya', where she shares a variety of different delicious vegan and vegetarian dishes, which all take inspiration from Kenya.

Karunesh Khanna

As Steenberg Executive Chef, Kerry Kilpin is at the helm of the two restaurants on this landmark Constantia wine farm, appealing to all tastes from refined contemporary dining at Tryn to bistro-style fare and tapas at the popular Bistro Sixteen82. She describes her food as “contemporary classics with a twist” bursting with fresh seasonal flavours.

Miles Kirby is the Chef Director and Co-Founder of Caravan restaurants and coffee roasters. Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, Miles has been in London since 2001. It was in 2012 that Miles opened the first Caravan in King’s Cross. Since then the restaurant has grown to a group of 6 locations, and a roastery.

Kate is a Sony European Imaging Ambassador and specialises in photography and videography of food and the people behind it. Alongside running Food byLumiere (www.foodbylumiere.co.uk) and KHS Photography (www.katehs.com) she educates and mentors fellow photographers through Training byLumiere (www.trainingbylumiere.co.uk).

Chef Aman Lakhiani, born in Jakarta, Indonesia to an Indian family, has loved food and cooking since he was a young boy. With a family that always had a passion for food, he travelled the world and fell in love with Japanese cuisine when he got the chance to travel there. Spending time in Tokyo at the Tsukiji Sushi Academy as well as Dos Palillos, seeing Japanese cuisine through the eyes of Albert Raurich, former head chef of El Bulli, in Barcelona. All his experiences has accumulated to the opening of Junsei Yakitori and Bar, a culmination of Chef Aman Lakhiani’s love for cooking over charcoal and Japanese cuisine.

Agent, Louise Leftwich, joined the Deborah McKenna Limited in 2012. Louise started out in Theatre, working in both casting and actor agenting before finding her calling at DML. Louise has a keen interest in nurturing fresh talent, she is particularly passionate about finding talent through YouTube and Social Media platforms who have the potential to grow their careers across the wider media world. Louise has a degree in Performing Arts where she specialised in Directing, her background in the arts and casting has given her a keen eye for spotting talent across both presenting and writing. Louise has also developed her skills and knowledge in the publishing sector throughout her time at DML and is highly driven to help those who dream of being an author to realise their potential and get their first book published.

Hailing from the rugged Canadian island of Newfoundland, Chef Erin is a Native American of the Mi’kmaq Qalipu Tribe. Her quest to understand international cuisine took her to the island of Taiwan and then to Dubai, where she was formally trained in classic French culinary techniques. She currently lives in Abu Dhabi, where she has worked for the Canadian hotelier, Fairmont, and at the British culinary superstar Chef Marco Pierre White’s restaurant.

Chef Sandra Makary studied Pharmacy and then Nutrition, but found the most happiness and passion in the kitchen. Using her medical background along with the cooking techniques she studied at different culinary schools around the world (mainly le Cordon Blue and Monappetit Academy in Egypt) she began to develop healthy recipes, which one can happily enjoy without gaining the extra pounds.

Chef Susie Mandleberg, originally from Staffodshire and now based in London, has been working at St Clements Café in Parsons Green for some time. She specializing in putting together simple, rustic food with bold flavours and posts all her creations on Instagram. Having gained a wide following she continues to create new, seasonal recipes and share these with her followers.

Chef Francesco is from Sardinia, a beautiful island in the South of Italy. He has a background in cooking, having spent 7 years as a Chef in Italy, Australia and London. He is now a Senior Teaching Chef for some of the top cookery schools in London. For Chef Francesco, being Italian, Italian cuisine is his passion. He has a developed, rustic Italian cooking style based on memories from his childhood – cooking with his Nonna, working on the farm and fishing with his Granddad.

Kerri is a cook from the West of Ireland- making her Irish to the core! She grew up on a farm, and married a Devon lad, before moving to London in 2010. Her brother-in-law Matt has a few hens in the West Country, and she uses the eggs as much as possible because they are the most gorgeous! Kerri launched Very Kerri in 2013, and its focus is on feeding followers inspiration for dining out in London and entertaining at home, through interactive food maps, honest restaurant reviews and insightful blog posts.

Laura, AKA Geordie Scran, is a North-East based Instagram food influencer. After starting her Instagram page around 2 years ago, she now reviews restaurants, products and experiences, creating exciting and engaging content to showcase the booming North-East food scene. Laura's page has now been recognised by global brands who she works with on a regular basis.

Yui comes from a strong Thai/Chinese family, where cooking and eating have always been a focal point of family life. Her parents had always cooked traditional Thai and Chinese dishes throughout her childhood; her early childhood memory being woken up at 4 am to prepare food to feed the monks at the local temple after morning prayers. Yui’s aunt was also very influential in teaching her to cook. She worked as a chef in the Thai Royal kitchen so knew how to cook excellent dishes and present them well. More recently, Yui has followed her heart and passion for authentic Asian cuisine, showcasing dishes on BBC’s MasterChef UK (2019 Quarter Finalist) and appearing on Channel 4’s Beat the Chef in the Summer of 2019 (beating the chef and winning the money!) She was also the winner at the ICG Keen Home Cooks in 2020.

Rachel Muse isn't just an ordinary Chef- she's a Performance Chef. With over 20 years experience of cooking for UHNW and HNW clients in their own homes, and qualifications as a Chef & Pastry Chef, she has an enviable CV. She is the founder of Talk Eat Laugh, a luxury catering company that includes a successful Pop Up Restaurant. For Chef Rachel, luxury isn't things, its experiences, and Talk Eat Laugh has been providing memorable luxury events and wowing clients with fabulous food since the '90's. Her sister company, Discreet & Delicious, provides ultra discreet, private chefs for individuals who chose to have the very best fresh, healthy, food served to them in their own homes, and as a result Chef Rachel has considerable experience cooking for elite athletes, and works hand in hand with a nutritionist to make sure nutritious food is also delicious.

Chef Zola Nene's culinary career spans over 10 years, and started during her 2 year study gap in the UK. She started out as a hot section chef, then as a head pastry chef in Cheshire during her stint, before returning home to South Africa, where she immediately enrolled at the Institution of Culinary Arts. She has worked as a catering manager, and as a Food stylist on Expresso morning Show, and has also worked as the resident Chef both on and off air until December 2017. In 2019, Chef Zola's cooking show called "Celeb Feasts with Zola" debuted, and she also appeared as a judge on The Great South African Bake Off, a guest finale judge on My Kitchen Rules South Africa and the Cast of Wedding Bashers.

Martyn Odell is the founder of Lagom Chef, a service that provides tailored meal plans and shares practical cooking skills to show you how to use everyday ingredients in creative ways to make zero-waste cooking at home simple. Having always been passionate about cooking and food, Martyn has significant experience in restaurants and catering. After choosing to to make a change and focus on fitness and endurance events, Martyn’s interest in nutrition was spiked. This road eventually led him to travel the world and garner an appreciation for the natural environment, as well as an awareness of the effects of global warming. Realising the impact food waste has on global warming, Martyn chose to do something about this by starting Lagom and make a difference through his passions of food and cooking.

Casey Ogle is a Canadian food lover who has travelled and worked in various countries around the world. While she studied Marketing, she was very interested and drawn to food and nutrition. After working many years in the business world, she decided it was time to pursue her passion for cooking. She studied at Le Cordon Bleu in London- Nutrition, Gastronomy and Food Trends and began her food career as a teacher at the Jamie Oliver Cookery School. Since then, she moved to Berlin and is now the Head Chef for Daluma. Daluma is not only a restaurant but a brand that represents sustainably sourced and package natural products made with effective nutrients for the body. Daluma offers freshly prepared food daily ranging from breakfast items to a wide selection of lunch/dinner dishes but also renowned for their variety of cold press juices. At Daluma, the goal is to provide an environment for a more conscious and healthier life with natural products for all nutritional needs.

Emma Pharaoh is a photographer currently exploring life in the professional world in and around London, shooting mainly lifestyle, food & street-style photography. She has also featured as one of the top 5 blogger photographers in Blogosphere Magazine.

After graduating with a BA and Mst in History Alice Pilkington went on to qualify as a TEFL teacher in Rome in 2011 and worked there for six months. She taught in various language schools before moving to Istanbul for three and a half years. She eventually decided to return to the UK, and after attending Le Cordon Bleu for three months and gaining a Diploma in Gastronomy, Nutrition and Food Trends, she has dabbled in many different areas of the industry as a food stylist assistant, an Assistant Manager of Urban Pantry, and as a full-time teacher at the Jamie Oliver Cookery School, where Dimo and her first met.

Based in the South East near Brighton, Georgia Strait, known by her followers as the Vegan Pixie, is a massive foodie that loves to share her passion for plant-based food on Instagram. She lets her followers know her opinion on new supermarket and small company product releases as well as reviewing new vegan dishes available at restaurants. Aside from food she loves all things travel and fashion and share vlogs and videos over on her YouTube channel. Make sure to head over to her Instagram @veganpixie_ & YouTube channel (Georgia Skye) to follow along with her adventures.

Originally from a beautiful village, Talaván in Cáceres, Extremadura, José has now lived in London for over 20 years, and is often described as the Godfather of Spanish cooking in the UK. José spent his early years here working at some of London’s most prestigious Spanish restaurants including Eyre Brothers, Brindisa and Gaudi. In 2011, José opened his first solo venture, José Tapas Bar on Bermondsey Street. José Tapas Bar is small and cosy venue, inspired by the bustling tapas bars of Barcelona. The daily menu depends on what looks good at the market on the day and it also serves an array of delicious Spanish sherries to compliment the dishes. Later that year, José launched Pizarro also on Bermondsey Street, which has gone on to earn numerous accolades. Since then José has since gone on to launch two further openings in the Capital: José Pizarro at Broadgate Circle and pop-up restaurant Little José in Canary Wharf. Jose has also appeared on BBC 1’s Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, Weekend Kitchen with Waitrose and more, He is also a published author of a number of cooking books. Jose believes hat tapas is for all - it’s all in the prep and keeping it simple.

Cooking runs in Madeeha’s blood, in her family. Born in Pakistan, but raised in Saudi Arabia, Madeeha’s upbringing has had a huge influence over her cooking. The UK is now her permanent home, and she became a fan favourite when she reached the final five on Masterchef, making history as the contestant to make the biggest servings ever seen on the show!

Florence founded Kids En Cuisine in 2014 after realising that she wanted to transform her passions for food and children into a business. From teaching in the comfort of her little chefs’ houses to schools, nurseries and birthday parties, Florence, also, developed strong partnerships with Planet Organic and Whole Food Market where she runs cooking workshops to teach children how to cook with seasonal products. In 2019, Florence decided to compile her best recipes in a cookbook for children “Cook with Flo” and a new adventure started across UK, USA and Australia where her book has been sold. Florence is also a private chef for fine diners but thanks to her online classes in 2020, plenty of families discovered her cooking classes for children, and adults started booking classes for themselves as they were learning chef tips.

Originally from Yorkshire, Master Baker Kevan Roberts has over three decades of experience in the baking industry, from artisan bakeries to new product development. He has been a technical advisor on "The Apprentice" and has guested on the BBC "The Price of Bread". He is now building and teaching bakery workshops at Breadahead Bakery School in the heart of Borough Market, London. He is also the author of "Baking Sourdough", a book taking readers through the complete formation of a sourdough loaf and more.

Alan has always been passionate about food, his knowledge fuelled particularly by time spent travelling and working abroad in Europe and further afield. After graduating in modern languages from St. Andrew’s University in 1999, he worked for Brindisa, the renowned Spanish food importers, deli and restaurateur. During this period, one of the highlights was returning to Spain, to study the art of carving Jamón Ibérico. Alan reported this experience for BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme.

Tristan Rutherford is a five-times award winning journalist who contributes to The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Brought up in the Bahamas, at the age of five his parents blew his illusions by moving to the British Midlands. Tristan relocated to the French Riviera in his early twenties, and has also been based in Shanghai, Istanbul and New York.

Jane Sarchet is a farmer’s daughter, a food writer, photographer, recipe creator and the founder of The Hedgecombers, a blog and YouTube channel which she shares with her online community of real food adventurers. Jane created The Hedgecombers in 2008, writing about her rural life, idyllic location and creating recipes using real food ingredients. The blog has developed into a community of over 170,000 followers and Jane records her adventures on her YouTube channel of the same name. Jane champions simple ingredients, foraging wild foods, traditional cooking methods, buying local produce and supporting compassionate farming practices.

8 years in the travel industry has allowed Craig to visit some amazing places all over the world. While some people want to immerse themselves in scenery and culture, Craig’s passion has always been learning about the cuisine. From the best pizza in the USA to learning how to make pasta in a remote village in Northern Italy with Mama Ulga - his love and passion for food has only grown from there. Craig has quickly gone from the guy that orders a pizza over the phone to the guy whose friends call him to cook for them. Constantly learning new skills and spending time pushing himself to make better dishes, Craig is inspired by TV chefs such as Roi Choi, Matty Matheson and David Chung.

In 2014, an idea of just a gap year working somewhere, turned into an experience of a lifetime. Introduced by din to the hospitality industry as a barback, Enji curiously and passionately ventured into the craft of becoming a liquid chef. Here at Farzi Cafe, those ventures are facilitated by the luxury of their laboratory and equipment. Enji works closely with Din to cultivate a style of cocktail making that is all about extracting flavours in particular ways and combining them in a manner that offers a balanced, easy drinking and elegant drink, which is almost too easy to reorder.

Cat has been teaching cookery for more than ten years, previously running a cookery school in Berkshire for Mike Robinson on Game and Wild Food which opened in 2007. Later she moved on to work for the Children’s Food Trust on the Let’s Get Cooking programme, which trained and set up over 7,000 cookery clubs across England, reaching over 3 million children. Cat also specialises in making beautiful wedding and celebration cakes. In 2008 she was asked by a friend to make a spectacular 4 tier wedding cake, which was such a success, she has gone on to make hundreds more for very happy clients, including a number of A-list celebrities.

Amy-Jo Simpson is a professional TV and corporate presenter specializing in fitness, food and adventure. Amy-Jo is also into her third year presenting for The Royal Air Force at all UK airshows during the summer months which she absolutely loves. In the past she has presented for QVC UK, Thane TV and Unibet amongst others. As well as this, she travels the globe hosting at corporate events introducing main speakers or hosting fun quiz shows to the delegates.

Arbinder Singh Dugal has been working in the hospitality industry for the past 14 years. Arbinder originally studied a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Diploma in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Administration at the Insitiute of Hotel Management in Aurangabad. He then started working as an Indian Chef in Mumbai’s Marriott Hotel for four years. Here he honed his skills as an Indian comis chef and assisted in the opening of a new restaurant in the hotel called Nawab Sahed, with renowned Indian culinary legend Jiggs Kalra. He has worked with Sat Bains (1 Michelin Star at the time) and at the Waterside Inn (3 Michelin Stars). In 2017 Arbinder got his first role as Head Chef at Hawkyns in Amersham where he has continued to develop his chefing style. Arbinder was a semi-finalist in MasterChef The Professional UK in 2019.

Jacqui Sterry is the founder of Mice en Place, an independently owned catering and hospitality recruitment agency that matches businesses and candidates within the hospitality industry. Founded in 1997, Jacqui has over 20 years of experience looking at CVs and job descriptions so she knows what makes a candidate really stand out. Jacqui is a mother to three teens and currently lives in Brighton. She previously trained as a photographer before moving over to consulting and ultimately starting her own business. She has previously also lived in Barcelona and Brazil, is passionate about travel, good food and living by the sea.

Kelly was classically trained at the Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London. Since qualifying as a chef, she has worked in the private sector in the South of France making the most of local markets and the artisanal way of cooking, slowing it down and appreciating the food and how its prepared.Since returning home to the UK, she has spent time in some of the best kitchens and with the most influential chefs, including The River Cottage, who are leading the way for sustainable, seasonal and organic produce. She loves to use seasonality, local produce with international techniques and flavours.

Ollie Templeton is a chef and co-founder of Carousel restaurants, which he set up alongside his cousins in2014. Ollie studied at Leith’s before working at Moro in Farringdon for two years. The concept for Carousel involves having guest chefs to cook every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as having a specific Carousel menu served during the day. The restaurants also host workshops, exhibitions and other experiences and now have three locations, two in Marylebone and one in Seven Dials.

Simon has worked in traditional butcher shops since he was thirteen- that’s 25 years behind the block. Butchery has over that time has gone through some major changes, and Simon has always been open to learning new methods and following food trends- he often refers to his coined term of 'Traditional butchery with modern twists’. Nowadays, with climate change ever in the headlines, Simon puts himself forward to try and convey a voice from butchers like himself, who believe in sustainability and repairing our climate, vouching for natural farming and butchery.

Esme Todd is an entertainment and children’s presenter originally from Bristol. Over the years she has worked with many large brands and household names such as the BBC, Vodafone, The Entertainer and Vue Cinemas. As a pescatarian, Esme loves trying out new veggie foods and dishes and making different vegetable-focused meals.

Baking has always been a passion for Maia from her childhood which made her pursue a career in the culinary industry as a pastry chef. From a home baker to a Head Pastry Chef at hotels and production houses such as Marriott, TGP Group and Pro Bake, she has done it all to learn and improve her skills & knowledge. Her career highlight includes working under the Michelin starred chef Thomas Muller in Georgia as a Head Pastry Chef which pushed her to go further and explore more in the world of patisserie.

Richard Turner is an acclaimed restauranteur, chef, butcher and food writer based in London. Currently Executive Chef of the renown Hawskmoor restaurant group and founder of Turner & George butchers, Richard is beyond passionate about quality British meat.

Mark Tuttiett is currently Head Chef of Carousel restaurants in London, working alongside co-founder and chef, Ollie Templeton. Before joining the team in 2017, Mark worked beside James Knappett at two-Michelin star Kitchen Table. Mark believe strongly in local, seasonal and sustainable produce and aims to constantly breathe new life into products that may typically be classified as ‘waste’.

Renato Correia and Helene Vaerlien started their coffee company with the solid determination to bring a high quality, varied taste experience to the Cape Town coffee scene. Having been inspired by Nordic principles of roasting, they set about sourcing and creating relationships with farmers. Forward thinking Helene Vaerlien and Renato Correia have pushed Espresso Lab to the forefront of cafe innovation.

Food photographer Giulia Verdinelli is here to show you how to follow your dreams of becoming a food photographer. Having photographed for National Geographic, Lidl, Tesco and Franco Manca to name a few, she's full of industry expertise and knowledge. Her goal is to keep growing and developing her skills whilst telling culinary stories and sharing her passion for food through photography.

James Whetlor is known at the 'Goat Man'. After working as a chef for 10 years in London at some of the City’s top restaurants, James moved back to his hometown in Devon and started working at the River Cottage. During this period, he bought four goats to help turn an area of scrubland into useable pasture and found the idea to help minimize the wastage in the UK dairy industry by supplying restaurants and butchers with top quality goat meat. Thus Cabrito was born. James currently lives in Devon with his family and is also the author of Goat: Cooking and Eating, a leading authority book on goats and filled with plenty of delicious recipes.

The Smoking Elk needs very little introduction in the world of cooking on fire. He is one of the UK’s leading experts and in this Masterclass series, “Elky” is going to take you around the world with some of his favourite global dishes…..all cooked on fire. Enjoy.

Ian Woodley is the Finance Guy- who also happens to be a huge foodie. As the founder of the Finance Kitchen, Woodley has made a business recognising and helping London's food entrepreneurs.

PickyWops is a modern Italian concept. What makes PickyWops different is not only the variety of doughs served, which are all unique in colors, flavors and textures, but that the PickyWops concept is also about welcoming all communities, regardless of their background, opinions or colors. PickyWops aims to bring everyone together and immerse itself in the community, just like the wops, their Italian ancestors that emigrated to London in search of a dream.