Hello!

That's me, Lucy.

Founder, creator and chief-do-er at Pickle Kitchen.

Lucy from Pickle Kitchen enjoying a plate of delicious food in the Yorkshire Dales

Enjoying a delicious meal in Malham, in the Yorkshire Dales!

Sharing the love

Pickle Kitchen is a food education business delivering hands-on workshops for children across Leeds, West and North Yorkshire, plus a range of supporting resources. We inspire a food adventure as we taste, talk, discover and cook. I let children explore their curiosity.

It was founded by me in May 2024, though it’s been a dream for years. It’s my chance to share my love of food with others and inspire others to have a great relationship with food, learn new skills and have fun.

Food is more than just nutrition (though nutrition is super important!). Food is something to share, to bring people together and simply be an enjoyment. It is a tool to connect generations, and skills around food are often passed down through the generations.

Our aim at Pickle Kitchen is to support young people to build a great relationship with food, through fun and engaging sessions that interest and excite. The world of food is complex, but our aim is to help guide families through that. In our sessions, we talk about all kinds of foods, using current recommendations and guidelines around eating habits and nutrition in children.

At Pickle kitchen, we don’t just cook and craft – we smell, dance, grow, explode. We take food apart, taste it, dance around like types of beans.

Because food isn’t just about eating – there is a whole world to explore and skills to develop along the way. A love of food isn’t formed on your plate, and changing eating habits isn’t just about what you feed them. When children are allowed to explore food, it encourages tasting it; when children grow their food, it sparks a love; when children make their food, it promotes independence.

Results from our 'You + food' survey* indicate parents think a lot about what their child eat. Our sessions can help support that.

*Survey by Pickle Kitchen, April 2024

A tray of savoury muffins, fresh from the oven

Survey results for 'How often do you tihnk about what your child eats?'

Our
Ethos

At the heart of Pickle Kitchen is a love of food, and a desire to share this with the world. We believe in exploring the world through food, encompassing tasting, learning as well as eating. Our approach goes beyond the ordinary cooking class; we aim to equip you with essential skills while ensuring that you have fun and enjoy every aspect of the cooking and eating, and building true life skills. We encourage you to touch, taste, see, play and explore. We are committed to helping you build a positive relationship with food, turning cooking into an enjoyable adventure rather than just a task. Underpinning all of this is true life experience, a love of nutrition and a care about you and your family.

Join us as we embark on this delicious journey together!

Our workshop types

All About Me

Hi, I'm Lucy! Founder, creator and chief-do-er at Pickle Kitchen. I'm a food geek turned mum behind Pickle Kitchen.

You might find me happiest when I'm in a cookshop or a homeware shop. I'll happily try any interesting recipe including carrot truffles from a Greek cook book. I'll craft and create with what I have in and can tweak any food to look fancy (even if it is waffles and hoops)!

I've been in love with food forever! I love eating it, creating it, learning about it and sometimes growing it too. I have always "played" with my food, pulling it apart to see how it is made and analysing it. I love food podcasts, watching TV food shows, reading food magazines. You get the picture!

And I can't remember a time when I wasn't like this. My mum instilled getting me into the kitchen from an early age and that gave me the springboard to want to know more.

Pickle Kitchen is founded upon a lifelong love of food, first-class education in food science and nutrition, and the reality of being a parent. I follow the nutrition world, school dinner discussions, as well as getting to the nitty gritty of why we’re losing food skills.

My background

You've guessed... (it contains food!)

I made a career out of my love of food. I have a degree in food science and nutrition and I worked in the food industry for 8 years. I've kept food safe, crafted tasty treats, developed new foods and trained a lot of people along the way. What's more, I also love keeping up to date with current food trends and new product launches. I've also worked with children of all ages across a number of voluntary roles.

A woman dressed in a graduation gown is standing next to the Food Science Building at The University of Leeds

So you could say Pickle Kitchen is the best bits of me, personally and professionally, on a plate (pun intended!). I can't wait for you to get started in our Pickle Kitchen sessions and share in the fun.

Oh, and my favourite food... too hard to say. But I am a massive Yorkshire Tea Biscuit Brew fan.

Join the fun!