Meet The Team
Mark David
Mark is responsible for the day-to-day running of the school, including course content, recipes and sourcing of quality ingredients.
His career spans a wide area from the depths of a large hotel kitchen in Yorkshire as a trainee chef, to marquees in rural Suffolk as an established Outside Caterer, specializing in Weddings and Corporate Events.
He combines no-nonsense, unpretentious cookery skills with enthusiasm for food and wine, but most of all, for people.
Various positions in restaurant kitchens and front-of-house preceded 3 years with Egon Ronay as an Inspector of Hotels and Restaurants, followed by a year with Robert Carrier at Hintlesham Hall, Suffolk, as his Restaurant Manager.
Mark also contributes regularly to local radio, with a mixture of lively chat and cookery tips.
Didier Piot
Didier has sold his restaurant in Lavenham to concentrate on his Outside Catering Business. He also comes to The Cooking Experience for a rest!!
Didier brings with him Gallic flair, a delightful French accent, much humour and some delicious food ideas.
Like our other chefs, he knows how to enthuse and inspire without blinding people with science.
Didier's Day Courses (particularly French Provincial) are Fun and uncomplicated. His latest course “Fine Patisseries and Desserts” combines pure indulgence with simple-to-follow recipes.
Simon Cook
Not only does Simon “know his onions”, he is able to get the message across to the clients and have a laugh into the bargain.
Simon owned and ran The Smugglers Restaurant in Hadleigh for a number of years and has now created The Pudding Club and Smugglers Event Catering.
He finds a day taking a course at The Experience “relaxing and fun”.
Like the rest of us, if he can’t find an ingredient he leaves it out or finds an alternative. He also has great anecdotes and is a good listener!
Ken Parker
Ken has an enviable history in restaurant kitchens including Robert Carrier at Hintlesham Hall in the 1970’s, and latterly at The Colchester Institute where he shared his wealth of knowledge with young catering students.
He brings not only a great portfolio of recipes and skills, but also a refreshing attitude to cooking which fits in exactly with our philosophy here at the school, and that is that cooking should be fun and good results achievable without too much fuss.
If you pass the Cooking Experience when Ken is there, you will undoubtedly hear his loud guffaw!
Guy Moore
We are delighted to welcome Guy Moore to our growing team.
His qualifications are impressive, from his training at various prestigious Catering Colleges including Westminster through to nearly 20 years working in Europe (Swiss Hotel School, Spanish Hotel School, Belgium as a Food and Beverage Consultant).
Guy is very down-to-earth, loves food and people and fits in with our rather "off-the-wall" operation here at The Cooking Experience. He has a great sense of humour, and like our other chefs, has a wealth of food knowledge and experience which he is very keen to share.
Have a look on the course calendar for his courses, in particular Spanish Tapas.
Annie David
"The Hostess With The Mostest"
It is usually Annie that greets you on the telephone or when you arrive at the Cooking Experience.
"Behind every successful man is a strong woman!". Annie and Mark are a good team and started this unique experience some years ago , with a loud splash , but Annie has always kept her feet on the ground, hence the efficient day-to-day administration, from the complex bookings system to the necessary accounts.
Her 5 years with the BBC (Radio 3 and 4 Drama Productions) and many years running outside catering events with Mark, has equipped her well for her present role alongside Mark. Oh! She also raised 3 children along the way.
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