The Yum Interview: Number One
Today we meet Emma Smith from Emma’s Kitchen, Battersea
Wandsworth Yum is never far away from deliciousness. In the first of my series of Yum interviews, here I meet Emma Smith from local cookery school, Emma’s Kitchen, Battersea. She shares a little about the school and why she loves to live in SW London.
Welcome to my first blog interview Emma! Let’s kick off with telling us a little about yourself…
I live in Wandsworth and have lived here for almost 18 years now. I have three children ages 14, 15 and 16 who go to the local school. I have set up some little businesses to run around being a full time Mum, which is what I really want to be.
Emma’s Kitchen is one of those businesses. Tell us a bit about it…
When I was little I used to pretend that I was in cookery programs. I have always loved food. Friends often call me and ask what they should cook if they are hosting a dinner party, so I share my ideas with them. It started from that. Emma’s Kitchen has been running since September 2016.
At the very beginning, it all began with teaching au pairs and nannies how to cook. I thought that would be a really useful thing to offer to busy Mums with au pairs who didn’t have time to teach them how to cook meals for their kids. The au pairs would often be great at cooking food in their own culture, but didn’t quite know how to cook some traditional style classic kids meals. That particular class covers steaming vegetables, and lots of other basics.
What other classes do you now offer?
A whole variety now. One of the really popular ones is Simple Italian Cooking. The guests arrive and are offered beautiful canapés and drinks. Then we cook six or seven recipes. The focus is on simple delicious food. I make the cooking accessible and simple to people who aren’t the best cooks. I really take pride in that.
I also offer Cooking for Families, Dinner Party Cooking, Luscious Salads (which is a new course starting this Spring). It’s not just iceberg lettuce and tomatoes, but with other lovely things like roasted vegetables, beetroot and seeds. Healthy but not too healthy!
I do a course for Daddies with their kids, Daddy & Daughters & Sons. A great gift for Fathers Day coming up.
Also for young cooks, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Skills Course is to help students to fulfil their Award skills and have lots of fun at the same time.
And sometimes you branch away from cooking…
The space here is really great- I can host about 20 people here. Sometimes I cook for them whilst they are doing an activity. So for example, at Christmas, people came to make Christmas wreaths co-hosted by a florist friend, Robin Pritchard. Last year we hosted 75 people making wreaths whilst feasting on a little tasting menu.
We also hosted some Hen Parties who make floral head pieces which was really fun. Tomorrow we have another Hen Party who will learn how to make delicious canapés.
I also do Children’s Parties. They make pizza dough from scratch, decorate cupcakes, cookies, make sausages rolls. They are informal and fun cooking events- that’s what I love doing.
Where do you source your produce for your classes? Is this something that you do locally?
There are some great places to buy food in the area. For the service and care they give, I like Moens in Clapham for meats and Moxons in Clapham South for fish. And for day to day shopping, I do Tesco online because I can shop at 11pm and they will deliver by 6am the next day- I probably do this four times a week.
What exciting plans to do have for the future? I’ve noticed that you’ve started your own You Tube channel.
I like to try everything. I have a friend who edits TV shows who turns up with all of the gear and turns the kitchen into a mini TV studio. Then goes away and edits it. That’s fun.
What do you love most about living and working in SW London?
I love that fact that I brought up my family here. And because of my little businesses, there are a lot of people I know in the area. So I love walking around and having glimpses of lovely people that I know. Wandsworth Common is an amazing place. I do fitness on the Common, I walk my dog on the Common. We are so beyond lucky.
And finally, where are your top foodie destinations in the area?
I like a dinner party so I like to host things here and going to friends for dinner. I love a drink at local wine bar, Vagabond- its a really interesting night out. You can taste some really expensive wine and just see if you like it. I also love Flotsam and Jetsam on Bellevue Road, very good for brunch. I have also been trying French Kitchen on Trinity Road. It’s a lovely little bistro.
If you are interested in booking any of Emma’s classes, or planning a special event, visit Emma’s Kitchen at emmas-kitchen.co.uk
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