Ever wanted to learn how to cook under the watchful eye of some of Britain’s top chefs or find out how to make the best cocktails from leading professionals? Here’s how you can…
Virtual events have been a lifeline many businesses have relished in organising over the past few months, with many individuals tuning in online to learn a variety of skills.
One woman who is currently living in Muir of Ord has launched a business which will connect the public with some of the UK’s top hospitality talent, partnering with Great British Menu winners and Michelin-starred chefs.
Established by Julia Kemp, Knowledge Recycled offers small-scale, live virtual classes hosted by leading food and drink experts, giving individuals the opportunity to access useful classes.
From knife skills to how to use spices in cooking, not to mention mastering the art of sushi making, learning to taste wine like a pro, making afternoon tea pastries and perfecting your martini making skills, there’s plenty to get stuck into.
New venture
Returning from living in San Francisco in March, Julia headed north to the Scottish Highlands to surprise her parents for the weekend. However, with lockdown measures commencing, she ended up stuck there, so decided to make that here base for the foreseeable future where she launched her new venture.
She said: “My initial intention was to help small businesses and people in the industry in the local area during lockdown. I have a background in growth marketing and building products. I’m a freelance contractor so had some time on my hands. I wanted to share the wealth of knowledge the hospitality sector as the hospitality industry was hurting.
“It all kind of snowballed and I think the small businesses were a little wary of it to begin with. I reached out to chefs across the UK and got some confirmations of big names and pivoted my focus towards leading top experts. One thing I’d really like to do now that it is away to launch with all these top people is contact the smaller businesses I spoke to initially. I’m thinking there could maybe be a platform on the website where we could have a small business section to help support them in any way we can.”
Top names
Names including Tom Dyer, the world flair champion, Marcis Dzelzainis, cult mixologist from Sager + Wilde, Great British Menu winner Tom Anglesea, Great British Menu “Champion of Champions” James Cochran, and Josh Katz, author of Berber & Q cookbook who has appeared on Saturday Kitchen and Sunday Brunch, have all signed up with their courses now available to book online.
There is also award-wining sommeliers including Honey Spencer, Master of Wine Anne McHale and Noemie Favrat.
She said: “There’s everything from cocktail classes, wine tastings, cooking classes – we even have a kids class – a series with Michelin-starred chef James Cochran who starts with knife skills and progresses to foams and sauces, sushi workshop with former MaserChef judge Shaun Presland, pastry classes, afternoon tea pastry classes with Sarah Mountain and more.
“We’re offering an intimate experience and people will be able to ask questions and that sort of thing. My main aim was to offer this intimate experience with these knowledgeable professionals for an hour or two.
“Sharing knowledge is at the hearth of this and there’s so many people in the country with a huge wealth of it and it is great that the public will be able to learn from these professionals.”
As well as classes for the public, Knowledge Recycled also offers advanced classes for those who work in the industry and are looking for ways to build on their skills.
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