Tutors at the Chef's Room

THE CHEF'S ROOM PROGRAMME OF COURSES IN DETAIL

MEET OUR TUTORS

We try and repeat the courses that have proved most popular each season but in order to keep the school vital we are constantly adding new courses to our programme
More details will be added to course dates as the year progresses but please get in touch if you would like more information.
Tel 01989 562353 or email Click to email

Best Lindy

The level of expertise of our tutors and their capacity to share their knowledge and enthusiasm is essential but we also believe in the importance of making our classes relaxed. If you feel at ease you will get so much more out of the course.
Lindy Wildsmith has had a life long association with Italy. Our resident tutor, chef Franco Taruschio was born in Le Marche and we believe the authenticity of the our Italian cookery courses is indisputable.
We now welcome Anglo-French tutor Claudine Bulstridge who will teach French cooking as well as other basic courses and Malaysian chef Shaun Nean who will be teaching wok skills and his native food

FRANCO TARUSCHIO

was born in the Marche region of Italy. He came to the UK in 1961 for a six month period but which turned out to be a much longer period. Three weeks before he was due to return home he met his future wife, asked for an extension to his stay and in 1963 he and his wife Ann, bought what eventually became the renowned Walnut Tree. After 37 years he sold up and since retiring he continues to help aspiring chefs and has discovered he derives great pleasure from teaching cooking to enthusiastic amateur cooks.
Over the years Franco has been honoured with manu awards for his services to the restaurant and tourism industry but in February 2003 he received his greatest honour when he was awarded the OBE in recognition of his services to the culinary industry and to the community in Monmouthshire.
Since 1986, when Franco appeared in Take six cooks, he has taken part in many TV programmes, including a six part series titled Franco and friends.
In collaboration with his wife Ann he has had five cookery books published, they are currently writing a book on the cuisine of Le Marche.
Franco is also a hands-on president of St Anne's Hospice, Newport. A position he is very proud to hold.

LINDY WILDSMITH

Lindy Wildsmith lived and worked in Bologna and Rome for many years and on returning home wrote a book about pasta and Italy; so started her career as a freelance food and recipe writer. Her style of food brings together the best of her native British country food, Italian regional cooking and the culinary experiences she enjoys around the Mediterranean and further afield.
Cured, her latest book, for which she has been nominated for an Andre' Simon award takes an in-depth look at the timeless crafts of curing and preserving fish, poultry, meat, game fruit and vegetables.
Lindy will take you to Parma, to learn how the experts make Prosciutto di Parma, to Sardinia to discover the secret of making bottarga, to the French farmhouse kitchen to make rilettes and confits of duck and has enlisted the help of the president of the South Carolina Barbeque association to share the secrets of Barbeque.
Chapters are dedicated to salting, air-drying, spicing, smoking, potting preserving and carpaccio. For those who love eating these specialities but don’t feel inclined to make themselves there will be a directory of where to source the very best artisan products and lots of mouth watering recipes to make them.
Lindy’s other cookery book titles include, Eating Outdoors, cooking and entertaining in the open air, Rylands, Peters and Small, 2006; Pasta Sauces 2004; and Preserves, jams, pickles and liqueurs 2004. She has also contributed to many others books on food and on travel in Italy.
She writes a monthly food column and writes articles on food, cooking and travel.
Her specialist subjects are fish, meat and game, preserving and curing
She is an experienced teacher and cookery school consultant. She runs her own G2 Club cookery club at Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire and the Chef’s Room fish and cookery school in Blaenavon in Wales and teaches in London and nation-wide.
Lindy speaks fluent Italian, runs Italian courses, gastro-tours and has an in-depth knowledge of Italy and Italian food.

CLAUDINE BULSTRIDGE - French cooking and knife skills

We are delighted to welcome Claudine Bulstridge who has recently moved to Wales as a new regular tutor at the Chef’s Room. Her Anglo-French background and international upbringing provide her with a wealth of culinary knowledge. She was trained as a professional chef at Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London where she has since taught a wide range of topics. She has also taught at Divertimenti and The Cookery School at Little Portland Street. She has also worked as a freelance chef for an exclusive London design company and catered for the rich and famous. When she is not teaching, you’ll find her creating and testing recipes for a well known celebrity chef and she is also in the process of writing her own cookery book.
Claudine is exprcting a baby this spring so we hope to welcome her back in the autumn for more knife skills courses – the perfect gift for any budding chef and French food

MICHELLE MCKENNA - CLIPPY

Is at the forefront of the preserving world and has been highly acclaimed by BBC Countryfile as one of the best preservers in the UK. Starting from her home kitchen in Cheshire, Clippy’s Apple Preserves is now stocked nationally from Harvey Nichols to Ocado the on-line retailer. In this spring preserving class Clippy will teach you traditional preserving techniques adding in her creative touch to give the preserves a 21st century feel, featuring ginger, chilli and garlic. So don’t miss out on this truly inspirational morning of preserving with Clippy.

SHAUN NEAN - Malaysian chef

Is a native of Malaysia and it was here he learnt his initial cooking skills. After working his way around the world he settled in Gloucestershire were he is now Head Chef at Gloucestershire College’s ‘Renaissance Restaurant’ in Cheltenham. His cooking is a fusion of Asian and British flavours and he is a master of cooking with the Wok. He will be assisted by
MARTIN GRIFFITHS grew up on a small mixed farm on the Herefordshire borders and combines cooking with disability supported students at the Renaissance with freelance writing and photography for Herefordshire Life where he consistently explores the potential use herbs and spices with local and seasonal produce.

SHAUN HILL

We are very fortunate to have Shaun Hill as our guest tutor. Every year in spring Shaun gives up a day of his busy schedule to take a masterclass at the Chef's Room. He is hands-on chef/patron of the near-by legendary Walnut Tree restaurant and consulant chef at Fortnum and Mason's to revamp their venerable eateriers.

Shaun is an articulate teacher but nothing in his manner or in his teaching style reflects the illustrious Mitchelin star studded path of his career other than the calm quiet assurance or his delivery and the anecdotes he loves to tell garnered during his working life.

Definitely not to be missed!

Reserve a place early to avoid disappointment Ring Lindy on 01989562353

Tutors at the Chef's Room Statistics: 0 click throughs, 995 views since 2011