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The Chefs

Rosemary Shrager, the ebullient and vivacious chef, has previously worked for Pierre Koffman at Tante Claire and also with Jean Christoffe Novelli. She is passionate about food and teaches with an infectious enthusiasm. Her “passion for the subject and desire to impart her knowledge, which she does with warmth and verve, cannot fail to fire those fortunate enough to be her pupils” (Claire MacDonald). She has run courses previously at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle on the Hebrides and, since 2003, at Swinton Park.

She enjoys a global following as a TV celebrity chef, starring in Rosemary Castle Cook and Rosemary on the Road for Channel Five, Rosemary Queen of the Kitchen for the USA Discovery Channel, Ladettes to Ladies for ITV, as a judge in Soapstar Superchef for Granada and her own ITV series filmed here at Swinton Park, Rosemary Shrager's School for Cooks.The accompanying recipe book has been published by Dorland Kindersley, please contact us if you would like to purchase a copy.

Recent projects include National Baking Week, and a GMTV series Chef at Sea where Rosemary spent a week on a cruise with Marco Pierre White, mentoring cookery students and judging them at the end of the week, along with the BBC2 Royal Upstairs Downstairs series. You can also see Rosemary as resident chef on the Alan Titchmarsh Show, and she also regularly appears on This Morning and GMTV.

Rosemary runs all of our two day residential courses (which run over three days) and her own One Day Masterclass courses..

John Rogers is the Cookery School Head Chef who runs the majority of the Day Courses along with his own residential Weekend Course. John has demonstrated extensively at food festivals in the region, including Swinton Park’s own Alfresco Food Festival, and has a natural flair for the theatre of cooking and engaging with his pupils. He has trained at Michelin starred restaurants, and joins the school having spent over three years in the restaurant kitchen.

Gilly Robinson is Rosemary’s demonstration assistant during her courses and, as a working mother and a Girl Guide Leader, she has always championed nutritious wholesome family food. Her Children’s Cookery Courses also inspire children to enjoy and experiment with cooking themselves. She also runs the Christmas in a Box afternoon course.

Prett Tejura is the brains behind the highly successful Curry Cuisine spice label, and now also runs our Friday night Curry Club and the Indian Masterclass Day Courses. With her roots in India, she draws on influences from different ingredients and styles of food throughout Asia.

Chris Bax is the instructor on our Wild About Food day courses, and also our Back to Nature foraging and survival skills courses for private groups. Chris also runs our "Hunter Gatherer" courses in the parkland, with our falconer Sophie Abbott and the "Go Native" children's outdoor parties. Chris trained as a chef, before venturing into wild food. As recently seen on BBC’s Countryfile, Chris is passionate about living from the land and preserving rural skills.

Simon Phillips has spent many years cooking sushi at a professional level both in the UK and in the Far East. His mission is to share his love of sushi with all, including his own style of fusion food. he is joining us to run the day Sushi Courses and also our weekend Sushi Dinners.

Michelle "Clippy" McKenna is the founder of Clippy's Apples, a unique awarding winning brand focused on British-apple based preserves. Her products are sold nationally through top end retailers such as Fortnum & Mason. Over the past 15 years Clippy has travelled across the globe, savouring the delights of diverse cultures; from apple butter to green figs picked from Atlantic rooftops and from bohemian cafés to camping under the stars. BBC Countryfile recently commended Clippy as "pick of the best… preservers" in the UK - come and see 'The Master Preserver' in action!

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