Our Story
A warm welcome to WhitePepper. The academy headquarters are based in regenerated horticultural buildings on the south-coast of England and just a stone’s throw from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Many have described the farm setting as a culinary retreat, igniting the ultimate space-in-time for professional training and development with purpose.
2010
Cookery School Founded
Founded by Chef Luke Stuart at age 30, taking charge of two disused horticultural buildings on a previous Longhorn beef farm.
2011
Short Courses Launched
The academy opened with five signature courses: Beside the Sea, Feathered & Furred, Forage Fungi, French Patisserie and Bread at Bere Farm.
2012
Kid’s Cook School Launched
This ran for 4 years, from 2012 to 2016, and was consistently sold-out six months in advance. We offered classes for ages 4 to 7 and 8 to 12. We are now seeing those children attend our adult courses.
2014
Best Community Focused – UK Finalist
We were runner up at the UK & Ireland Cookery School Awards for our children’s Food Safari concept, and our support work for a disabilities charity.
2014
Best 1-Day Experience – UK Winner
Our experiential British game course, Feathered & Furred, plucked the top spot from runner-up, Jamie Oliver Cookery School.
2015
Chef Academy Launched
A professional ladder of Bronze, Silver and Gold training is devised, all underpinned with accredited qualifications by the CTH and Ofqual.
2015
Britain’s Favourite School – UK Winner
A huge milestone, the WhitePepper Academy wins Britain’s favourite small cookery school by vote of the British public.
2018
BAPTA Education Award – Winner
A David and Goliath contest, triumphing against universities, colleges and language schools within a 50 mile radius of Bournemouth and Poole.
2018
Cookery School Of The Year – UK Winner
Scooped the coveted award at The Royal Automobile Club, London by Food & Travel Magazine (the same year Chef Tom Brown won ‘Rising Star’).
2020
Gold Centre Status – By Invitation Only
From The Confederation of Tourism & Hospitality’s Academic Council, making us just 1 of 3 worldwide, at the time.
2020
WhitePepper Online Launched
A blended and flexible pathway towards a Level 2 culinary award, for educators, enterprise and individuals.
2022
Best Culinary Academy – UK Winner
A prestigious award from Southern Enterprise Awards, whose judging panel upgraded a regional nomination to a national title.
Meet The Team
A team of experienced professionals who passionately strive to unlock the potential in every student.
Luke Stuart
Culinary Director
Luke leads the teaching team and has a wealth of experience in both hospitality and education, spanning 25 years. A chef since 1997 and a Level 5 qualified teacher since 2004, Luke has worked across London, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. His previous employers include the Roux brothers, Tom Conran and Ivana Trump.
Kayleigh Forkin
Academy Manager
Kayleigh manages the admissions office and works as student liaison for existing students while training with us. Kayleigh has extensive knowledge of curriculums, and course funding options. Kayleigh’s previous experience includes working with consumer-facing brands, including Royal Mail, Hermes, Avon, Tesco, Spectrum Educational, Slimming World.
James Palmer-Snellin
Academy Tutor
A talented chef who since achieving a culinary arts diploma has gone on to work across boutique hotels and patisserie shops. James has an impressive skill set and infectious passion for food. Remarkably this dedicated chef also offers private dining events through his own enterprise.
Freddie Fumpston
Academy Apprentice
Freddie joins the team under a 2 year apprenticeship programme working towards Level 3 Certificate in Professional Cookery. Freddie works in all areas of the business from provisioning, food preparation, as commis chef and kitchen support.
Claire Holliday
Associate Director
Claire has worked across various business sectors holding positions with clients including Tesco, Ford and Hitachi. Claire has particular success with finding pragmatic and logical solutions to complex problems specialises in business to business, hospitality partnerships, scholarships and licensing agreements. She has travelled extensively and is passionate about international food, especially Asian cuisine.
Sustainability Unearthed
WhitePepper is based on a former Longhorn beef farm in Dorset and within view of the spectacular Poole harbour. The location allows us to benefit from some of the UK’s best land and sea produce and there is a strong commitment to sourcing regionally. Connecting with the seasons is a skill we teach and this is telling on our plates. We work in partnership with our local suppliers to host provenance trips, showcasing the journeys of the food we eat.
Our Partners
Reviews
Trustpilot is our review hub. We have found this to host the most genuine and trustworthy reviews from our students, customers and clients.
I expected nothing else really as this place is 5 star all the way. Bread, fish, patisserie, Italian, Indian and all the many others on offer. Stop thinking and just book! Just a top place, wonderfully set up and run…
As a teacher myself, I do not say lightly that the teaching of the CTH Award in Culinary Skills has been faultless – and so much fun. We covered so many skills, which have transformed me with so much more confidence…
My experience at WhitePepper has been fantastic. Their passion and guidance in the kitchen was a huge help and it gave me the confidence to push myself daily and overall reach my goal of becoming a chef…