Our Story
A warm welcome to WhitePepper. The academy headquarters are based on the south-coast of England in view of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Our geographically location is incredibly advantageous to sourcing the very best produce for our students, whilst also creating excellent access for our visitors.
2010
Cookery School Founded
Founded by Chef Luke Stuart from 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.
James Palmer-Snellin
Head Chef & Tutor
A formidable chef involved in every aspect of WhitePepper’s culinary training from; menu planning, provisioning, budgeting and teaching. James developed his impressive skill set and infectious passion for food from time spent during the early part of his career in boutique hotels and patisserie shops. Don’t miss one of James’s super club events!
Hande Olgun
Pastry Chef
Hande is a wonderful chef who transitioned from a career as an academic in her home country, Turkey to join us in Dorset, UK. Hande, has a broad skill base but with a particular interest in patisserie. When she is not cooking, you’ll find her researching, drafting, testing and writing on repeat!
Fred Fumpston
Chef de Partie
Fred holds a Level 3 Certificate in Professional Cookery and is entering his third year of employment at WhitePepper. Fred works in all areas of the business and ensures the smooth running of courses/events, location of equipment/ingredients, alongside supplying the cafe with tasty products o0n a daily basis.
Sustainability Unearthed
WhitePepper is based in the historic fishing town of Poole. We benefit from some of the UK’s best land and sea produce. We are personally responsible for sourcing our own game produce from our connections with local gamekeepers and farms. More than a decade ago, we coined the term Provenance Trips, where we designed a number of experiences for our trainees to connect them to the seasons, sustainable practices and artisan food production.
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…
