Meet the team
Share our passion for food
Immerse yourself in the world of cooking with a team that knows and loves good food – and has a passion for putting tasty dishes on the plate.
Get to know the team.
From baking to fine dining and private catering, our team is knowledgeable about food and has experience cooking in a broad range of settings.
Please click on the links below to find out a little more about the chefs who will be teaching you to cook, and get an insight into who Lizzie Marsh is and her background.
Lizzie Marsh
Managing Director
Lizzie Marsh
One day a ‘lightbulb’ moment propelled Lizzie into the world of cooking. She worked in the property business for 10 years and soon took stock of where she wanted to be in the future. From an early age, she has had a love for food especially baking and so in 2018, she took a break from the world of property and started a blog.
As well as baking, another massive passion is running, and she is regularly seen in the Surrey Hills with her running club. She lives in Godalming and managed the cookery school for nearly a year prior to taking over the business in March 2020. Lizzie loves to grow her own vegetables, coming up with recipes using leftovers (nothing goes to waste in her house) and visiting her friends and family.
Jake Pinn
Head Chef
Jake Pinn
Jake has been with the cookery school for a number of years and he is passionate about creating inventive and tasty plates of food. His career in cooking began when he was 19 and since then, he has enjoyed working in a broad range of settings – from bistros, fine-dining restaurants and high-end hotels to private catering and luxury yachts.
Now settled in Surrey with a young family, he enjoys coming to work and sharing his experience and knowledge with people who have a similar passion for food. Outside of work, he likes to experiment in the kitchen while cooking for his wife and three young children as well as hosting supper clubs.
- First Aid Trained
DBS Checked
Lea Stagogiannis
Chef Tutor
lea
With a strong foundation in classical and modern French cuisine, Lea’s culinary journey has taken him to world-renowned restaurants. His career began at The Vineyard at Stockcross, where he gained a comprehensive understanding of kitchen operations. Inspired by culinary giants like Heston Blumenthal and Jason Atherton, Lea honed his skills at prestigious establishments including The Fat Duck and Maze.
His passion for innovation led him to Asia, where he excelled as Head Chef at Fifty-Three and Saint Pierre. Lea’s culinary philosophy centres on seasonal, fresh ingredients and pushing creative boundaries. His unique blend of classical techniques and modern flair delivers unforgettable cooking experiences.
Cat Rochefort
Guest Chef
Cat Rochefort
Cat is originally from Reigate and grew up around Sussex and Surrey, but she has strong connections to France. Since studying French at university in Leeds, she’s moved between France and the UK several times, developing her knowledge of regional produce and learning from different chefs along the way.
She received classic French and European training from Leiths based on traditional French skills like sauce-making and preparing different types of meats and other modern techniques that covered anything from vegan cooking to French patisserie and classic British desserts.
Cat also has a particular interest in Japanese food and has worked with a Japanese chef who taught her loads about Japanese food, which has helped channel her interest into usable skills. She’s also passionate about fire cooking, having worked with Hunter Gather Cook and The Salt Box, and spends a lot of time cooking feasts for her family and friends with their fire pit on the beach!
Fiona Giles
Guest Chef
Fiona Giles
Fiona can’t remember a time when she didn’t love cooking, but she didn’t start her career in the food industry. She was a corporate solicitor in the city for a number of years before deciding to leave in 2010 and pursue her passion for food, training as a chef at Leiths School of Food and Wine. Fiona graduated from the Leiths professional diploma with distinction in 2011 and has been cooking and teaching cookery ever since. She has taught at Leiths for over five years and began teaching at Abinger in the summer of 2019.
Fiona also works as a private chef and has enjoyed cooking for families in the South of France and Greece as well as closer to home. She regularly tests recipes and assists on shoots for food magazines and cookery books.
She loves to travel and explore new places (especially trying out the local food) and has done cookery courses in Turkey, Spain, the USA, Vietnam and Thailand. At home, she is often found in the garden growing vegetables and devising new recipes.
Stefano Imperiale
Guest Chef
Stefano Imperiale
Born in Italy, my passion and interest in regional Italian cookery began at a very early age. Surrounded by the aromas coming from my parents Trattoria I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen and start experimenting myself. It was here that my passion to make cooking fun and my interest in making Italian cookery available and accessible to all was born.
I have worked in several renowned London restaurants, serving traditional and modern Italian dishes to top celebrities from around the world. I have also worked for many years developing award winning Italian food products including fresh filled pasta, sauces and soups for major retailers both in England and abroad. More recently I have been using my skills to teach traditional Italian cuisine to adults and children at both corporate and private events.
Hari Ghotra
Guest Chef
Hari Ghotra
I’ve always loved Indian food, cooking and creating spicy dishes. So I started running my own cookery classes, which grew and grew to the point where I started organising supper clubs and even pop-up restaurants.
Just so you know, I’m mad about spices and in my search for inspiration, I flew back and forth to India to breathe in the aromas and flavours and textures of authentic Indian food. I talked to friends and family about the meals they cooked, explored the local markets and visited the odd restaurant too. I brought home loads of new ingredients, interesting recipes and amazing herbs and spices to make even more delicious dishes for everyone.
I started to work at The Tamarind Collection of Restaurants which includes Tamarind of Mayfair – one of the first Indian restaurants (ever) to be awarded a Michelin star! But I needed to share my learnings and dishes with you in a bigger, faster, more flexible and interactive way and that’s when my website was born. Now instead of you coming to me to learn, I come to you through every digital platform from YouTube to Facebook to Google Hangouts.
Jacqueline O’Shea
Guest Chef
Jacqueline
Jacqueline has been involved with food and nutrition for almost 30 years. Her love of cooking began whilst running a chalet in the Swiss Alps. Following several years in the travel industry, where she was lucky enough to travel the world and experience many different types of cuisine, the desire for less commuting and more energy kicked in.
The highlight of Jacqueline’s career to date is obtaining a grade of Highly Commended for the 12-Week Certificate at the world-renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Jacqueline now teaches individuals of all walks of life to connect with their food, understand the importance of food sustainability and have confidence in the kitchen so that mealtimes can be fun and nutritious.
Olga Pullen
Assistant
Olga Pullen
Olga is originally from Moldova. After finishing university, she travelled throughout Europe working in customer relations and marketing. Discovering different cultures and different languages meant that she also discovered the diversity of food and with her enthusiasm and love of food, she has been inspired to learn more about the varied techniques used in cooking. She has settled in the Surrey Hills with her English husband and young son where she enjoys the countryside and the quality of the local produce.