Join us to build a unique cookery school & dining space to inspire passion for cooking and to promote togetherness & wellbeing in the community.
Looking for a place of inspiration, a place to feast, to share and to discover hidden passions, to make new friends and rekindle bonds with one another, while gaining important life skills? Our cookery school is just the treat. A home away from home, an inclusive space that reflects and celebrates the diversity in our great community.
We are excited to be opening our first and Eastbourne's only cookery school in 2020. We invite you to join us to raise £14,000 before Christmas to bring our cookery school to life in the New year.
After feeding lots of people at unique events from African dinner & dance to Provencal-inspired supper clubs, cookery classes, immersive dining experiences, to yoga brunches and feasts in the forest, the single most popular question asked is, can I have that recipe? Our capacity for learning is infinite and the more we learn about food the better we can feed ourselves and our families. We want to empower others with the tools to cook and eat well, while supporting those in our society who need help.
Become A Founding Member
As a founding member of our cookery school, you will help us build something truly amazing in our community while you enjoy exciting rewards from hands-on cookery classes, private dining & wine tasting experiences, outdoor experiences from our yoga feasts to Seven Sisters country park walks & forest feasts, kids cookery club membership and more. All our supporters's names will be etched onto our' Founders's Wall Forever!!!
Join us to start a food revolution in Eastbourne, not only for Eastbournians but for our friends and family afar including all the wonderful people we attract to our sunshine coast.
HOW YOUR PLEDGES WILL HELP US
Your support will be invaluable towards creating a space for learning, leisure, friendship and support for members of the public and those in need in our community.
We would love to:
- Provide a welcoming and inclusive space for visitors and all members of our community, showcasing different cultures, including black and minority ethnic communities to share their culture, experiences and foods with the wider community
- Create free & subsidised program of cookery events for the community - allowing us to run classes with local organisations who work to improve lives
- Kit out the kitchen with adequate tools, equipment and crockery for our classes
- Provide wheelchair access with wheelchair accessible cooking station, giving everyone access to our classes
- Support our community with cookery classes for caregivers and the elderly to encourage independent living and the chance to alleviate loneliness and depression
- Create cooking classes for children and young adults to learn to be independent
- Continue to host our Christmas feasts for those who would otherwise be alone at Christmas or those unable to afford a celebratory meal, this time on a much larger scale
- Provide food for local homeless organisations and projects such as Winter Night Shelter, including a weekly pay as you feel community kitchen
- Provide flexible employment opportunities, training in hospitality and support for those who want to start pop-ups
You can also help us a great deal by sharing our crowdfunding campaign, offering your time, expertise or signing up as a volunteer for our community programmes. If you will like to join us please contact us here.
I am Lerato, a cookery writer and teacher. After my experience as a tv chef and presenter in Nigeria, I got married to an Eastbournian and swapped my London-Lagos life for life on the coast and this has been the best decision ever! We love the wonderful community spirit here and of course the sea breeze!
Thurston & Lerato Umah-Shaylor
I caught the bug for teaching ever since I started as a TV chef and as a columnist for The Guardian. Since then I have taught so many from hundreds at live at food festivals, at partner venues like the London Cooking Project, with social enterprises like The Community Kitchen of Brighton & Hove Food Partnership and even in our home. My cooking style is an explosion of flavours, with homemade spice blends, lots of fresh and seasonal produce, inspired by my African and European family and upbringing. I have also collaborated with great brands like Tilda Rice, Miele, Le Creuset, exclusive members clubs such as Soho House, Groucho Club, and many more who believe in my mission to educate and inspire through food.
As a regular contributor on the BBC, it is incredibly fun sharing recipes with thousands on-air including friends, family and neighbours. What a privilege! We even hosted a supper club live on BBC Sussex & Surrey with our lovely friends at Wefifo.
Our London Cookery School on BBC
We have also been featured in local, national and international media such as the BBC, Waitrose Weekend, Time Out, Evening Standard, GQ Magazine, Sussex Life Magazine including being featured amongst the best chefs in the country on Great British Chefs.
One of my most popular recipes is the chickpea tart, inspired by steam beans called moin moin which I loved a child. Just ask Celebrity chef Lorainne Pascale who literally wiped her plate clean at one of our brunch events in London. Read her glowing review of our supper club here, 'her first full experience of African food'
Chickpea Tarts with Beetroot Hummous
Supperclub live on BBC Sussex & Surrey
Our events and classes have been incredibly popular with the public and a variety of organisations. We have hosted multinationals like Aviva, Shell & GlaxoSmithKline at cookery classes, organisations like British Red Cross, Women for Women, Visit Brighton & University of Brighton at private dining experiences, educational organisations like the Beacon Scholarship who support brilliant young minds and we have even fed an entire movie cast and crew on set in London and all around Sussex.
WHY IS COOKING IMPORTANT?
Cooking for survival
Learning to cook is a basic survival skill that will be useful at almost every stage in our lives for good health and nutrition, from a child learning to be independent, teenage and early adult years when we prepare to fly the nest, and for independence in our older years.
Cooking for better mental health & nutrition
Cooking is important for nourishing not only our bodies but our minds. We can learn a lot about nutrition and how to better feed ourself by learning to cook. There are increasing evidence-based studies that support the benefits of nutrition in the prevention, development and management of diagnosed mental health problems including depression. *Mental Health Foundation
Cooking together to strengthen relationships
While it can be deeply therapeutic to cook for oneself, cooking with others also strengthens our human relationships, teaches us teamwork and creative thinking as we adapt recipes to suits our different lives.
Aubergine rolls assembly line in our cookery class. Not much made it to the dinner table as 'you' ate it all!
What to expect at our cookery school & kitchen?
We are designing an open plan kitchen and dining space perfect for immersive experiences. We aim to host members of the public to a variety of cookery classes and feasts inspired by cuisines from around the world;
Cookery Classes & Immersive Dining Events to include;
- Adult Cookery Classes, Demonstrations & Chef's Table Events - to develop skills or be inspired to try new things.
- Free & Subsidised Community Cookery Classes to encourage inclusivity, healthy habits and food budgeting
- Cookery Club for Kids, Teens & University Prep Workshops (to inspire young ones to cook healthy meals ay home and when they leave home)
- Vegan & Vegetarian Feasts (Our popular classes loved by all who want to learn make vegetables interesting)
- Fish & Seafood Classes with fresh & sustainable catch from our local fishmongers at Southern Head Fishing Co.
- Sustainable Cooking Classes
- Parent & Child Cookery Classes
- Bread Making & Baking Workshops
- Seasonal Supperclubs & Guest Chef appearances
What guests have said:
A wonderful Sunday afternoon well spent! The Food tasted divine and the preparation and cooking part was very enjoyable. I went alone and met some lovely people! I look forward to sharing the recipes with friends and family (who by the way are already lining up for me to make at home after seeing photos I shared). Would highly recommend. Thank you again Lerato!
Claudia Halabi from London
Do give Lerato’s Supper club a try. She does get sold out pretty quickly so have a look at her website for regular updates. I really enjoyed the experience of trying new food with interesting people in new surroundings.
Celebrity Chef - Lorraine Pascale
Lerato hosted my 21st birthday party cooking class and it was amazing. Her cocktails are great and the food recipes are even better. She made the experience fun and engaging. I would definitely recommend this experience.
Seun
It was delightful. Our host was very sweet and charming, and made an effort to make sure we were all happy. The food as delicious, and so well thought out.
Pam Hobbs, Lerato's Waitrose Supperclub
Hands-on & Fabulously Fun Cookery Classes
BBC Saturday Breakfast Interview
Live on stage cooking for hundreds of guests at a food festival
PLEASE SUPPORT US TO CREATE A WONDERFUL HOME AWAY FROM HOME. A COOKERY SCHOOL FOR US ALL!
REWARDS
Have you seen the wonderful rewards we have for you? The names of all our supporters will be etched onto the founders' wall in the cookery school. Lots of rewards also available for our supporters in London, Brighton & Eastbourne. See some of what we here and do checkout
Exclusive Launch Party + Immersive Dinner & Live Performance
You will be hosted to a 5-course immersive dinner with a surprise live performance. You can sit and enjoy the show, join us in the kitchen to watch, chop some herbs, whack a pomegranate or both.
Treat someone to a feast - Join us put smiles on people's faces with one of our favourite rewards. You can treat a friend or a stranger to a cookery class or give a Christmas treat to someone who will be alone at Christmas. As part of our mission to promote healthy and inclusive eating, we will like to host as many people as possible. Those who need help with social integration, nutrition and more.
3 months Brownie Subscription - Chocolate lovers, this is for you or as a treat for a loved one. Our brownies are the most incredible brownies ever. Rich yet light, dark, decadent made with fair trade West African cocoa and chocolate, wrapped in our luxurious gift box.
Kids Cookery Club Membership - £150
Treat your tots to a series of cookery classes; building blocks for greater independence. With 10% of a kids party and some goodies to take home
Private Cookery Classes, Supperclub & Chef's Table Experiences
Enjoy a truly fabulous treat as you and your friends or family will be pampered, as you will have the entire space all to yourselves. You can choose between a private class, supperclub or chef's table where you watch and get involved in the preparation of your feast.
Home is where the heart is, but we say home is where the food is, and we cannot wait to welcome you into our new home!
Please click here for our cookery classes and upcoming events
About Lerato Cookery School & Kitchen
Website
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