"Lisa helped me turn an interest into a hobby and now all I have to worry about is my waistline. For a cack-handed, male, diabetic pensioner.... that's not bad"

Jeff Baitman,
Cookery Course at the Institute

 

"Before learning to cook with Lisa I would have been hard pushed to scramble an egg. My lack of cooking ability has been a bit of a running joke at home. However, thanks to Lisa's patience, skill and amazing recipes (not to mention good humour) I am now able to produce food that brings people running to the table and asking for seconds. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and sense of camaraderie as we tackled dishes from around the globe and my palette has been broadened as much as my cooking skills. Wednesdays will never be the same!"

Lisa Goodyear,
Cookery Course at the Institute

 

"I have loved doing this cooking course with Lisa! I decided to do it because my cooking skills were very limited to say the least & my husband virtually begged me to do it. Not only are he & my son enjoying all the new dishes I've been making but I've also started a weekly supper club where girlfriends & I cook together. It's given me real confidence & been such fun. Lisa is a antastic teacher, she manages to make the classes enjoyable & is incredibly patient! I never thought I’d be making things like risotto, meatballs & my Sons birthday cake!!!"

Claire Cyzer,
Cookery Course at the Institute

 

"Cooking with Lisa really was great fun. She has a calm manner and she never seems to get flustered, which is an essential skill when teaching cookery. Not only did she show us how to make some delicious dishes, she also showed us how to pre-prepare a few things so that when our friends came over for a dinner party, we were ultra prepared. Her little culinary tips are invaluable and she was able to show us what items we needed in our kitchen. Her expertise is absolutely worth every single penny!"

Angela and Ben Novick

 

"This was by far the best and the most useful experience I have ever had in cooking. I previously knew how to cook for myself but now I can invite friends over for dinner and feel confident about the taste and the presentation of the food. I have learnt how to prepare some simple stuff like pizza as well as some “posh” meals like Whole Baked Sea bass in Banana Leaves. It has definitely built my confidence in preparing meals. The best part is that you can take home everything you have prepared and enjoy a great evening sharing food with whomever you have invited. Thanks to Lisa and the cookery school courses my friends have now got used to coming to my place on Wednesdays - I cannot get rid of them! :-)"

Renata Grgek,
Cookery Course at the Institute

 

"Cooking with Lisa was fun, educational and above all very tasty! I learnt some fantastic new recipes which I will definitely cook again. They were so delicious but completely manageable. I also learnt great new tips from how to cut vegetables properly, to learning how to cook those simple things that always seem to go wrong. I will definitely be booking another course with Lisa and would recommend anyone to have a go! You will love it!"

Davinia Teacher

 

"I know Lisa through some children cookery courses she taught here, The Institute in East Finchley, during the summer. I contacted her because the teacher who was contracted to teach our popular Cookery School courses had to leave. Although it was at a very short notice and with little induction from my part, Lisa has proved to be an excellent teacher. She is extremely professional, very conscientious and very enthusiastic about food. These qualities have been a contributing factor to the success of the course. So much so, that the current students want not only to carry on next year but will cater for the Staff Christmas Party, where we are expecting around 80 people. Lisa has been a real asset to the cookery team here at the college."

Barbara Mansi,
Head of Leisure & Language

 

"Cooking with Lisa was great fun – like having a friend round to help you cook dinner but one better – this friend helps wash up. By the end of the session, I’d picked up lots of tips about Jewish ingredients and cooking techniques, the house was filled with delicious aromas (my husband was in seventh heaven when he opened the front door), and we had a table laden with hearty, home-cooked food. Perfect."

Rose Smith,
food and drink editor,
Fabric magazine

 

"Hilary and I really enjoyed our cooking lesson and we will definitely be signing up for some more sessions.

The comprehensive shopping list you provided in advance made things very easy and I now have a fully stocked store cupboard of essentials which is useful.

Thanks to your step by step instructions we produced a really excellent meal which I feel confident I would be able to reproduce for a dinner party. I am looking forward to having a go."

Joanna & Hilary

 

"Birthday girl 'I didn't like my party I LOVED it'.

Saydee and Daysee had a ball. All the children said they really enjoyed the cooking party. It was something that they had not done before."

Michelle Brown

 

"We were given a course of cooking lessons with Lisa as an engagement present and have thoroughly enjoyed the lessons so far. Lisa is very organised and patient and has helped us to make full use of our kitchen equipment (including things we didn't know we had!). We have both picked up some useful techniques to take the stress out of entertaining! Our lessons have been planned to cover a diverse range of recipes with dinner parties in mind and we have had great fun testing out the meals on our friends following each lesson."

Michelle & Steve

 

"It has been a pleasure welcoming Lisa into our home. She has taught us what we never thought we were capable of. Lisa is very thoughtful and patient – especially with my 4 year old. We all think she’s great and can’t wait ‘til the next lesson. Thanks Lisa!"

Simmone Angel

 

"We were delighted to welcome Lisa Roukin - of Cook with Lisa – to The Institute for our first ever Creative Holiday Camps. Located at our beautiful new Arts Centre off Bishops Avenue, the childrens’ summer camps ran for three weeks from July 20 to August 7 2009 inclusive. On offer was a varied programme of cooking, craft, pottery and digital art. The children simply loved their sessions in the kitchen with Lisa where they made a delicious and nutritious menu of vegetable-topped pizza, cup cakes iced in a range of amazing colours, bubble and squeak - and challah every Friday. Lisa’s warmth and charm, her rapport with the children and her passion for cooking wholesome, tasty fun food won over even the most reluctant young cooks. Standing in the foyer at the end of the day - as the children rushed to show their mothers proudly what they had cooked - was a really happy moment for everyone. We loved having Lisa here – and we loved getting the left-over’s too – and we look forward to welcoming her at The Institute again in the near future."

Helen Harris,
PR & Events Coordinator.
The Institute Arts Centre

 

"I did a course with Lisa and surprised my Dad for his birthday with the most amazing meal with everything so beautifully presented. My dad absolutely loved it and loved every mouthful! I'm certainly in his good books for a long time! The course with Lisa was fantastic, fun, easy to follow and I now know how to make some wonderful meals! Thank you so much."

Jo Lipman

 

"It was great sharing the cooking with my husband for a change, the only problem is now I can’t get him out the kitchen! We learnt so many useful tips from Lisa that have made cooking much easier, and we now really enjoy making our 'Cook with Lisa' dishes together for our friends. I would highly recommend a lesson!"

Jo Kaye

 

"My afternoon with Lisa was not only educational but very enjoyable too. Her enthusiasm and passion for food is fully demonstrated through her service. I would highly recommend 'Cook with Lisa'."

Jo Brook

 

"I absolutely loved my afternoon of “Cook with Lisa”. I had 11 people coming for dinner and Lisa arrived at 2pm with all the shopping and a clear idea of what we would do first, which was lucky as cooking for that many would totally stress me out!

I learned how to make chicken soup and bread, followed by sweet and sour meatballs plus a vegetarian tagine and for desert we made cheesecake.

There is no way my head could have coped with everything that needed to be done and it was very reassuring to know that Lisa was on top of all the timings. She also made it a fun afternoon and I picked up loads of tips from chopping onions to cooking the perfect rice.
Lisa kept me so stress free and organized I'm not sure my guests believed I'd spent hours in the kitchen!"

Harriet Bloom

 

"Lisa came to do a cooking lesson with my 5 year old son and his friend.
Lisa engaged the children from start to finish from explaining how the weighing scales work to explaining all the different ingredients and smells. She kept their concentration the whole time by making the cooking fun and so interactive. She started by getting them to decorate their chef hats which the kids loved and eased them in slowly. Within 2 hours she had made pizzas from scratch, gingerbread men and Caramel Chocolate biscuits with them.
They loved every second and my son was calling himself a Sous chef by the end. He keeps asking me when he can do it again! I would definitely book a kids cooking party with Lisa any day. She is the best cook and a true professional even with 5 year olds."

Vicky