 |
About Me My name is Rachel Gerrish, I am a trained chef from Buckinghamshire. Since a very young age, I have been truly inspired by food. When I was as young as 4 years old, I’d be baking cakes with my Mum or my Granny. I still remember my first ever cookery book which, to this day, had the best ever tangerine cheesecake recipe in it. I have been brought up on real home cooking, as in everything made from scratch (Pastry, Cakes, Yorkshire Puddings…) and it taught me a lot. In secondary school I started making cakes for all of my friend’s birthdays, which is where I really began to experiment. In school I studied art and design, and I discovered that I could use that in my cooking. As well as making food that tasted amazing, it also had to look amazing. |
  |
Professionalism In 2013/2014, I attended the Leiths School of Food and Wine for a three term professional teaching course, resulting in a Diploma in Food. The course was super intense but very enjoyable at the same time. I learnt a serious amount in a short space of time and it defined who I am as a chef. As I said before, I was very much into baking growing up. At Leiths, I discovered pastry. I really enjoyed the intricacy of pastry work. When I graduated from Leiths I very quickly got a job as a pastry chef at a local patisserie. During my time there I learnt an awful lot more about refinement and specialist techniques used in pastry work. I was introduced to traditional patisserie and the complexity of such small details. I really learnt to appreciate the art of the work. In 2015, I decided to set up my own business, teaching the art of creativity in food to others. As much as I love to be creative myself, I love nothing more than watching someone else learn that they too can produce something amazing. I began writing recipes, which allowed people to be creative in their own way and cook something that is completely their own style. Cooking and baking should be rewarding and I would like more people to realise that they really can do it! |
 |
Cookery Club At Rachel’s Creative Cooking, we run after school cookery clubs in South Buckinghamshire primary schools. The clubs consist half or full term courses, one day a week. During the course, the children prepare their own meals and desserts within the space of an hour. The importance of each lesson is to be ‘creative’, using a variety of ingredients and techniques, which will differentiate each child’s food from the next. Throughout the course, the children will learn important safety procedures, refined knife skills, baking techniques, presentation skills and how to work within a team. The lessons are enjoyable and completely individual. Find the recipes we use on the Recipes page. |
