Chefs
We are proud to have some fabulous and inspirational chefs here at Seasoned. All specialists in their fields and talented tutors. They are dedicated to passing on their vast experience, whether it be basic skills or masterclass techniques.
Jeff Thomas
Jeff Thomas has over 40 years experience as a chef having trained in Cardiff and then worked in London, the West Indies, Bermuda and the South of France. After running a successful restaurant he is now a consultant chef to restaurants and food companies. Jeff has a wealth of experience in teaching cookery and enthuses customers with his passion. He is a member of the Craft Guild of Chefs and has won numerous medals at Cookery Championships including Best in Class at this years Hotelolympia.
Sara Danesin Medio
Finalist of 2011 Masterchef, Sara combines her rich Italian heritage with the principles of fine dining to make modern, stylish Italian cuisine. “My cooking is a celebration of both my heritage and the wonderful local produce that this country has on offer. It is about communicating my passion and skills using simple, fresh ingredients, skillfull presentation and a twist of creativity." Sara will be teaching two courses; Essential Italian, where you can learn the basics of Italian cuisine and Inspirational Italian which will teach the more advanced skills to take Italian cooking to another level. We are thrilled to have Sara as part of our team.
Jackie Kearney
A top four finalist on 2011’s Masterchef, Jackie Kearney has a huge passion for vegetarian dining and Asian street food. Having travelled widely across Asia and having worked with some of the UK’s most highly regarded chefs, Jackie has an aim to ‘raise the bar’ for vegetarian and street food dining in the UK. Jackie will be teaching our Asian Street Food course. We are extremely proud to have Jackie as part of our team.
Ruth Clemens
Ruth Clemens is a celebrated baker and finalist of The BBC’s Great British Bake Off. She is a self-taught mum of 3 boys(!) who is driven by recipe development and has a dream to write professionally for magazines. She is now the author of the ‘Pink Whisk’ Blog and professional baker. She will be passing on her own baking techniques and tips, as well as cake decoration, sugarcraft and cupcake masterclasses to beginners and 'oldhands' alike. We are very proud to have her as part of the team.
Julie Woods
Julie is owner and founder of ‘Vintage and Cake’ in Derby, providing vintage china hire, cupcakes and celebration cakes to customers across the Midlands. She has a passion for all things cake, with exceptional dedication for detail and presentation. Julie will be sharing her knowledge, hints and tips for cake decoration, presentation and baking on our cupcake and cake decorating courses. We are thrilled to have Julie as part of our team.
Turan Turan
Turan has been cold smoking food for many years and has a real passion for producing wonderful smoked salmon, cheese, meats, eggs and fish. Turan runs his own cold smoking business in Milton Keynes, specialising in making smoking accessible and affordable for people in their own homes. Turan is also a qualified fireman which puts you in extremely safe and experienced hands.
Tony Rose
Tony has 17 years’ experience in the hospitality and catering industry and now teaches at an Academy. Tony began his passion for charcuterie 5 years ago, by reading books and talking to people in the field. He has developed this as a hobby alongside his teaching, experimenting with various different methods. This experience has enabled him to make the art of charcuterie accessible to all at home. Tony is a great teacher and is a fantastic addition to the Seasoned family.
Sanjeev Kumar
Sanjeev is Director and Executive Chef for Sanjeev’s Indian Restaurant in Stoke on Trent Staffordshire. Sanjeev’s passion is Indian Herbal Science (Ayurvedic Concepts) that creates dishes with ancient herbs and spices to release stress and tension.
After training in Rajasthan, India Sanjeev has worked in fine dining restaurants throughout the UK and was awarded the International Indian Chef of the year in 2006 for his efforts. Lively and passionate, we are honoured to have him as part of our team.
