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Chefs & Experts

Local heroes, hunter-gatherers, chefs, gardeners, farmers, herbalists, foragers, bakers, butchers, authors, cooks, designers.

Joff Elphick

Head Gardener

Joff loves nothing more than liasing with our chefs to ensure we have fresh and seasonal produce for our kitchens from our kitchen gardens.

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Daryll Taylor

House Chef

Culinary Director and Head Chef - Thyme Food School

Named as one of Sydney's 'most visionary young talents' when he was working there, the passion for food hit English-born Daryll Taylor at the very young age of 3, when he started cooking with his Great-Grandma. No surprise then that he had his own vegetable and fruit garden by the age of 6.

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Marjorie Lang

House Chef
BBC TV Masterchef Winner. Marj is a passionate, self taught cook who works alongside Daryll to create and teach all of our cookery programmes. Marj has lived and worked in Tokyo, London and Bath as a food writer and teacher.  
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Silvana de Soissons

Guest Chef

Silvana de Soissons is an Italian cook who writes about food and drink.  A fourth generation cook, born into a foodie Lombard family from Milano and Bergamo, growing fresh food, sourcing good ingredients and preparing delicious meals have been at the heart of her everyday life and work ever since childhood.

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Sebastian Snow

House Chef

Sebastian Snow,  Head Chef -  The Swan at Southrop

The Swan, part of  the Southrop Manor Estate and  the Good Food Guide's 2010 UK Restaurant of the Year, is run by the immensely talented Sebastian and  his wife Lana. 

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Marc- Frederic

Guest Chef

Marc-Frederic, Britain's only French registered "Boucher - Charcutier - Traiteur" has acquired his skills over the many years that he has lived and worked in both Germany and rural France.  His talent in butchery and skill in charcuterie is extraordinary and it is no wonder he is constantly travelling the breadth of the UK and mainland Europe sharing his knowledge to those who wish to learn this disappearing skill.

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Claudio Bincoletto

Chef, ethno-botanist, forager

Claudio Bincoletto is an Italian chef, ethno-botanist and expert on wild food, taking our foraging classes, as well as our Italian Charcuterie class.  Originally from Fossolta di Piave near Venice, Claudio began collecting herbs for local herbalists and restaurants as a child.

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José Pizarro

Guest Chef
Sometimes know as 'the father of Spanish cooking in the UK', José Pizarro has lived in this country for 11 years and in that time has worked at some of London’s most prestigious Spanish restaurants including Eyre Brothers and Gaudi. Latterly he has been the head chef and co-owner of the critically acclaimed Brindisa Tapas Kitchens in London, which have all received rave review since opening. José has now left Brindisa to pursue his own career.
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James 'Bob' Parkinson

Guest Chef

Chef/patron of ‘Made by Bob’ in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. Bob was previously head chef at The Swan at Southrop, and has also worked in London at Sir Terence Conran’s famous Bibendum restaurant under Simon Hopkinson and at Nahm with Australian chef and internationally recognised Thai food master, David Thompson (who describes Bob as “a fantastic chef”). 

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Bunny Guinness

Garden Designer

Bunny Guinness is a passionate and active gardener, designer, landscape architect and author. As one of this country’s leading designers, she has been a regular Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time Panellist for eleven years and writes a weekly column for the Sunday Telegraph.

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