Bayside mum celebrates ten years of sharing cooking know-how at southeast culinary school
A Bayside mum is taking the stress out of hosting dinner parties by teaching singles, families and corporate groups how to create the perfect meal for entertaining. And the classes are booming — discover how you can make cooking calm.
Inner South
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Kitchen whiz Nellie Kerrison is living the culinary dream.
The mother-of-three, the beaming face behind cooking school Relish Mama, is celebrating 10 years since the business first blossomed from her Sandringham home.
“I had friends asking me how to take the stress out of cooking for guests … now I’m giving people the confidence to cook delicious, stress free meals at home,” she said.
“I realised the importance of the essence of bringing people together … that’s where it all started.”
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Ms Kerrison used her “baby break” to launch the classes in 2009, moving into a fully-functional creative space at Cheltenham three years later.
Now Relish Mama holds up to five classes a week with a focus on fresh and simple meals including Ms Kerrison’s favourite Moroccan chicken tagine and nourishing green salads.
The school also runs team building sessions for corporate groups and even takes adventurous members on food expeditions across the world, including annual trips to Morocco, Portugal and Sicily.
With her school’s name inspired by her pickling champion grandfather, Ms Kerrison has also launched two cookbooks and is gearing up for the group’s next European escapade.
Ms Kerrison said taking time off work or going part-time to look after children should not be seen as a career setback.
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“I think for women who become mothers, that time at home can be quite transforming,” she said.
“It‘s a special time for women to really look at the bigger picture. You have the time and space to consider what actually drives you and what you’d like to pursue long term.
“I really have more enthusiasm for this business with every day. There’s not a day I don’t love what I do … I adore the Relish Mama family we have created.”
Relish Mama cooking classes run at Warehouse 1, 347 Bay Rd Cheltenham.
Bookings: relishmama.com.au