Get to know regular chef & tutor Stephanie Moon!
Meet tutor chef Stephanie Moon!
Get to know one of our regular chef’s Stephanie Moon!
We have a number of regular chef’s here at Wold Escapes, home to the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School, who have tutored courses here for many years. We know and love them all very much but thought we’d share some more information about who you’ll be spending the day with when you book onto one of our cookery courses.
First on the list is Yorkshire chef Stephanie Moon. Many of you will know her from BBC’s Great British Menu, plus many other TV appearances. She has travelled and cooked around the world but still always champions local foods from around Yorkshire and beyond, but lets find out a little more…
We asked her a few questions and here is what she had to say:
Please tell us a little about yourself Steph:
“Hi, my name is Steph – I have been a professional chef for many years and have a very supportive family and two little King Charles Cavalier dogs; Honey and Pickle typical chefs’ dogs! The sweet and the sour! They have even stayed with me here at Wold Escapes in one of the dog friendly glamping cabins – they love a trip to Wold Escapes and running out on the beach nearby.
I have been working with the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School since 2015 so I must be doing something right! 😊 I love the drive over from Harrogate and working with the brilliant team there, but the students are what really makes the job fabulous!”
When did you decide to become a chef?
“It was the dawn of realisation when I was not going to get three ‘A’ levels and become a Physiotherapist! Actually it was an easy choice to follow food next and become a chef.
My Granny Moon was a brilliant cook and I remember as a girl her bringing hot cross buns to the farm and us all eating them still warm and oh so delicious!
I was then due to go on a YTS course and my cookery teacher called my parents and told them I should go to college and study food. I loved doing this and really found my niche. One student every year got to go to The Dorchester Hotel in London on work experience and I was the lucky one! My first full time job was at 18 years old as fourth commis chef on room service in a five star hotel in London! It really was a great place to start my culinary journey!”
What is your earliest memory of food?
“So many memories… Food has been important to me all my life. The worst memory would be school dinners, sat there trying to eat liver for lunch after everyone else had left the dining hall and I was still sat there with a plate of liver – I just could not do it! I love it now but then….!!!
Or, walking the cows in for milking on the farm and eating wild strawberries on the roadside, to big scale catering… I remember us making mountains of sandwiches for the silo makers on the farm. When the contractors arrived it was all hands to battle stations – my jobs where rowing up grass on the old grey Fergie tractor, and making a lot of sandwiches!”
Do you have a favourite food?
“A bowl of my Mum’s buttery mashed potato – simple but very lovely! These days my Mum is unwell and I remember I used to love coming home from London and having whatever served with my favourite buttery mash.”
What is your greatest career achievement?
“I would say there have been some real highlights, but the three that really stick out are:
1. Going to Buckingham Palace as a Young Achiever and meeting the Queen, the then Prince Charles and other members of the Royal Family. On my one moment with the Queen I told her I was Head Chef of Congham Hall just down the road from the Sandringham Estate. She replied “Oh Congham Hall that has an excellent reputation for fine cuisine” to which I said “Yes Maam and we buy raspberries from your Estate!” Talk about zero food miles and what a thing to talk about! She was incredible and what an honour to meet her, I was very impressed with the whole experience.
2. Getting a gold medal at The Salon Culinaire …On the day of the competition I had car trouble and the hotel came and delivered me in their mini bus and consequently I was setting up as chefs around me had already started cooking! Still it all worked out with a Gold Medal so worth the stress! (Thank goodness!)
3. Cooking for the Tour De France winners on the Grand Depart in Yorkshire at the Royal Gala Hall in Harrogate July 2014. Matty Wilkison (now Rudding Park Head of Kitchens) and myself devised the menu for the 300+ people event, it was a night we will never to forget! Rudding Park management and other hotels and chefs from Harrogate supported the event and we gave the former winners a evening of Yorkshire Hospitality with some stunning food, brass bands and even flat caps filled with breads.”
Which foods gets you excited?
“I love the variety of the foods we cook at The Yorkshire Wolds Cookery. I teach Steak, Vietnamese, Chocolate, Sushi, Yorkshire, Fish, Street food, Long Table Dinners classes and Chefs tables in short no two days are the same! I love the variation as we stay fresh and focused on delivering a good experience for our students and guests.”
Who have you met that really inspired you?
“Anton Mosimann, the world renowned Swiss chef and restauranteur, was my first culinary inspiration, and we are still friends to this day. His attention to detail and fitness was second to none – a class act!”
What do you most love about coming to the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School?
“The guests and the staff are both brilliant and it is such a welcoming vibe in the place it is impossible not to smile and enjoy yourself.” 😊
Have you any funny stories about your time at the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School?
“There are so many fun times but one that really stands out was when the Countryfile team came and filmed at JSR farms, the owners of Wold Escapes and the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School.
As part of the filming we were told Matt Baker and the team wanted to come to the Cookery School briefly. It was a bit of a surprise and myself and my students that day all agreed to it, though when the camera crew all turned up the realisation hit and we were all a little nervous…
We were making rhubarb meringue desserts that day and one of the students dropped the sauce on the bench in a very modern art way and we all fell about laughing, including Matt Baker thankfully!
Matt was charming and allowed us to have selfies and seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing – I took photographic evidence as you can see…”
Book a cookery course with Stephanie Moon today at the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School
See Steph’s many classes on our Cookery School page on our website. You will honesty not regret booking onto one of Steph’s classes! Her enthusiasm for all things food is infectious and you are guaranteed to have a brilliant time whilst learning some fabulous recipes and skills for life!
Here is a list of her up and coming classes:
Steak Masterclass | Wed 2nd October 2024 (2 X half day cookery class) | £90
A Taste of Mexico | Wed 9th October 2024 (half day cookery class) | £75
Best of British Pub Classics | Wed 9th October 2024 (half day cookery class) | £80
Street Food with Steph Moon | Wed 20th November 2024 (half day cookery class) | £85
Vietnamese & South East Asian Cuisine | Wed 20th November 2024 (half day cookery class) | £75
Sushi with Steph | Thurs 21st November 2024 (half day cookery class) | £75
Fish Masterclass | Thurs 21st November 2024 (half day cookery class) | £90
Here are some of Stephanie Moon’s many career achievements:
Chef Consultant All Things Food – my own business for several years.
2023 – Harrogate Ambassador
Hospitality and Tourism awards winner Harrogate and surrounding area
Chef Consultant Rudding Park,
Harrogate Chef Tutor Leeds City College
Executive Chef Rudding Park
Head Chef Consiton Hotel, Skipton and on site assisting with the opening of the hotel
Head Chef Congham Hall Hotel, Norfolk
Head Chef Wood Hall Hotel,
Yorkshire Park Hyatt Hotel, Sydney Australia and Hayman Island Resort, Great Barrier Reef
Dorchester Hotel, London
Hotel Four Seasons, Munich, Germany
Kulm Hotel, St Moritz,
Switzerland Dorchester Hotel – Apprenticeship
Special Achievements BBC Two ‘Great British Menu’ twice reaching the judges’ chambers Yorkshire Evening Post Oliver’s Award – Outstanding Achievement
Bronze Medal winner, British Culinary Federation final at Hotel Olympia in Expo London Deliciouslyorkshire Champion
Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards judge
Deliciouslyorkshire Food Product judge
Yorkshire Life ‘Chef of the Year’ winner
Semi-finalist in National Chef of the Year BBC One ‘Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is’
Channel 5 ‘Street Market Chefs’ filmed in York National Award for ‘Young Achiever’ at Buckingham Palace
Gold Medal Winner of Fine Foods Salon Culinaire, Sydney
Currently involved in the food demonstration circuit for Yorkshire
(wow that’s quite a list of achievements Steph!)
