Penny delivered her high professional standards to a newcomer to cooking like me,with patience,professionalism and person-ability.
She made preparing and delivery of high quality cuisine a seamless exercise transforming the rank amateur into a cook that can and does deliver very acceptable dishes to all tastes.

It is difficult to recommend her to highly as  given her role as chef to the aristocracy, she is still able to summon the humility and patience to teach those who hitherto have had little clue as how to cook semi-professionally.

Therefore i should like to recommend Penny as the all-round master chef that can and will prepare and teach high class cuisine to one and all thus bringing down any barriers to those wishing to prepare and deliver high quality food without intimidation.

Learning under Penny has been a life-changing experience for me and I would recommend her qualities without reservation or hesitation.

with thanks,

Ben Maxted

My friends Louise and Julia and I have been to two of Penny's cookery days (so far): Entertaining Made Easy and, just last weekend, Temptingly Thai. We were fortunate enough to have Penny all to ourselves on both occasions, and what a great time we had. Penny is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and imparts that knowledge and enthusiasm with a smile and great patience! The Thai dishes we prepared were so flavoursome and fresh, and we left not only full of delicious food but also full of ideas and good intentions to buy lots of gorgeous Thai ingredients and have a go ourselves - though how we will fare without Penny's expert guidance remains to be seen ...

I spent two and a half wonderful days at the Culinary Cottage. Penny welcomes you in to her beautiful home just outside picturesque Abergavenny. From the moment you arrive you feel that nothing is too much trouble and you are treated as a friend rather than a stranger.

The course itself is very hands on and intensive. Every dish is made from scratch and you cook lots of dishes from Penny's vast repertoire. Although intensive you find the time flies by and you learn so much. Everything you prepare is from a recipe sheet and these are in a binder that you take home with you. Penny has infinite patience and has the rare gift of making everyone feel at ease and also an excellent teacher.

If anyone had told me I could bone and stuff a poussin before going to Abergavenny I would have laughed them out of my kitchen! But bone and stuff it I did and even if I say so myself it looked pretty good.

All in all a great experience for anyone with an interest in cooking. There are plenty of other cooking schools out there but very few that offer the personal, caring tuition of Penny Lewis at her lovely cottage.

Gavin Steer, Saundersfoot - Pembrokeshire.

I have attended two of Penny’s courses at The Culinary Cottage and have recommended them to friends and family. Penny’s style is informal and very hands on. Penny herself is very knowledgeable and you can ask her any question you like on all aspects of food preparation, cooking and what equipment is best. No time is wasted on the courses at The Culinary cottage and the big bonus is that you get to eat what you cook and you can bring home some delicious food and recipes to share with your family and friends.

Shelagh O’Loughlin

Having come from a non-cooking orientated family, we took the unusual step of opening a restaurant. After working with some chefs, I realised that I needed to learn how to cook. After speaking to family and friends in the trade, I knew there was only one place to go, "The Culinary Cottage" in Pandy.

So I spoke to a lovely lady Penny on the phone and booked a 3 day course and a 5 day course to learn different things. What I learnt was amazing, I went from someone who couldn't really boil an egg confidently to a master cook. I was able to cook with confidence, and should the volatile chefs decide to "walk out", I could quite confidently take charge and knew exactly what I was doing. The course came complete with the recipes we had cooked so I could make these in the restaurant, one of the particular favourites is the Cheese Sauce, also the Almond Tart goes down a treat with our restaurant guests (when there is any left, I do have to force myself to stop eating and lock it away from staff).

I cannot thank and recommend the Culinary Cottage enough, we cooked, tasted, cooked, tasted and so on! It is a must for anyone who is a beginner and I would even recommend it to a master chef. Thanks Penny!!!

Regards

Jeff Smith