Sally Gardner Food

Edinburgh and Yorkshire based freelance cook /chef, food stylist, cookery teacher and food & drink writer, but happy to travel further afield, if required.

In 2014, after a decade as an English teacher, I decided I'd had enough, so left it all behind to embark on a new career. I wasn't certain what that career would be exactly, but I knew I loved cooking and the world of food and drink, so that's where I began.

After a wonderful month training at The Grange in Frome, Somerset, I knew I was on the right lines, so set about getting as much experience as I could: working as a cook in several cafés around Edinburgh; assisting stylists on photo shoots down in London; work experience at Olive magazine, testing recipes and gadgets as well as writing, and anything else that came my way. However, being in my mid-thirties, I needed to accelerate the process and decided that the only way to do this was through more cookery training, so signed up for the Intermediate /Advanced course at Edinburgh New Town Cookery School. It was a fabulous three months! It was hard work, but worth every minute; I learned so much, and the fact that I gained a Distinction proved to me that I had chosen the right path.

Since finishing at ENTCS, I have worked as a private chef; worked freelance for the Edinburgh catering companies, Appetite Direct and Ginger Snap Catering; worked on photo shoots in both London and Edinburgh for magazines, cookbooks and brands; taught regular classes at ENTCS, and worked for two PR agencies that specialise in the food and drink industry.

With all that experience behind me, I am now going it alone and feeling pretty excited about it all.

If you want to book me for any cooking jobs or if you would like some cookery teaching within your own home (either 1-on-1 or with a group of your friends), I'm happy to discuss any ideas. Drop me an email or give me a call and we can make a plan.