Margate Cookery School – Specialist cookery classes in Margate

Get hands on with our experienced tutors

Join us in our kitchen in the heart of Margate

Have fun and learn new skills

Join a class or book a tailored group session

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About the school

Margate Cookery School is the brainchild of Margate restauranteurs Kate, Harry and Simona. Kate ran Margate institution, Hantverk & Found for seven years before opening Mori Mori on Northdown Road while Harry and Simona run the acclaimed Bottega Caruso.

Having been restaurant neighbours in Margate’s Old Town for several years, we have called on each other for spare chairs, emergency wine, an ear to bend and also lots of delicious meals. It only seemed natural we would end up working together too.

The school showcases the wealth of culinary talent right here in Thanet, so as well as ourselves, we feature classes from lots of the other brilliant local chefs, foragers, bakers and barmen. As proud as we are of the burgeoning food scene here in Thanet, we also host classes from people we admire wherever they hail from.

Our tutors

Simona Di Dio

Simona grew up in the south of Italy, watching her mum and grandma cook. She'd learned a deep love and appreciation for food and the hard work that goes into it. Now she's excited to be able to pass on some of this knowledge to students of Margate Cookery School.

Find a class with Simona

Kate de Syllas

Kate de Syllas has been head chef at Margate’s Hantverk & Found since opening in 2015. She trained at Tokyo Sushi Academy and will be leading classes on Japanese cooking.

Find a class with Kate

Harry Ryder

I’ve worked in the hospitality for 20 years now, from kitchen porter to Operations Manager, warehouse raves to Michelin starred restaurants, I’ve seen, and hopefully learnt a lot. I am very excited to pass on some of this knowledge to students of the Margate Cookery School.

Find a class with Harry

Emma Tillyer

Emma is a pastry chef and Baker from Manchester, currently working as head of pastry for Barletta. She has previously worked at Flor and Where The Light Gets In. She believes in baking with the seasons, utilising local ingredients and that food is one of the most fulfilling ways to connect to your environment and your community.

Find a class with Emma

Jessica Leah

Jess has been a professional chef for over 18 years now, working in restaurants for 13 of them, and running her own catering business, Jessica Leah Catering, for the last 5.
She's excited to join us at Margate Cookery School so inspire others with skills and tips you can't learn in a book.

Find a class with Jess

Thom Eagle

One of the UK’s leading voices in food and fermentation, Thom is a freelance chef and writer, consults on pickling, fermenting and curing projects, and is the author of two acclaimed books, Summer’s Lease and the Fortnum & Mason’s Award-winning First, Catch.

Find a class with Thom

Emily Dobbs

Emily is an acclaimed chef of 10 years having worked at The Dock Kitchen, Ducksoup, Petersham Nurseries and Spring. In 2017 she set up street food stall ‘Weligama’ hailed by the Evening Standard as ‘utterly fantastic’ which became the title of her first cookbook. She moved to Sri Lanka in 2019 becoming head chef at ‘Palm’. She hosts cooking lessons online and is currently writing her second book.

Find a class with Emily

Felix Cohen

Felix has been working behind bars since he was a student at Bath University. His bars have won various awards and accolades including OFM Best Place to Drink and Bar of the Week in Time Out as well as ranking in the 2019 World’s Top 500 Bars. Felix enjoys using modern equipment and techniques to reinvigorate classic drinks, as well as finding unusual ingredients to surprise and delight guests.

Find a class with Felix

Mike Richardson

Cook, caterer and wild food enthusiast Mike has been peppering his menus with foraged ingredients for years and is eager to share his know-how in their use in the everyday home kitchen.

Find a class with Mike