SUSTAINABILITY
AT COOKERY SCHOOL

Imagine Cookery School at Little Portland Street as your culinary partner that’s all about making the food world better – for the planet, for people and for your taste buds. We focus on creating delicious food that is healthy and nutritionally balanced but that is also reposonsibly made. Our approach is one that considers the environmental and ethical impacts of the local and global food system that we are all part of.

The principles of sustainability are integrated into every aspect of our operation. From training Cookery School staff, to sourcing ingredients, kitchenware and equipment and cleaning products, to waste and recycling management, our aim is to cook and to teach cookery using methods that have a smaller ecological footprint than most and one that supports our farmers, makers and producers.

Ultimately we show you how your cooking choices can help change the world, from how you shop to what you cook and what you throw away. In other words, our classes are not just about learning recipes but about cooking up a better future for everyone.

All of our teaching, from classes to courses and events, is underpinned by sustainable values and certain classes and sessions have a specific focus on plant-based menus, recipes and learning.

We have also introduced a new Sustainable Kitchen Training programme for professional kitchens. 

Our Founder, ROSALIND RATHOUSE

Rosalind Rathouse founded Cookery School in 2003, but her sustainability journey started before the school began.

Her daughter encouraged her to buy as much organic food as possible, maintaining that if everyone bought only a small amount, demand would be established and then developed. Of course, that is just what happened and we are now aware of the benefits to our planet of using as much organic, sustainable food as possible. This meant that when Rosalind founded Cookery School and established the ethos, using organic produce was very much at the heart of what we did.

We know that overnight change is impossible to accomplish. Changes need to be planned and developed and we truly believe that eating responsibly (environmentally and ethically) is within everyone’s grasp.

We teach thousands of people each year and we are optimistic that we can play a big part in helping people reduce their carbon footprint through what they put on their plates.