10 years of Akaroa Cooking School
Why we do what we do
There is a growing awareness of the importance of eating well. With the rapid rise of fast foods and processed foods over the past 50 years many people have forgotten or never learned how to cook proper healthy meals. We want to change this trend and show people that cooking healthy nutritious meals can be fun, quick and easy.
We’ve been doing this awhile
Running successfully for 10 years and with a loyal following of guests from all over the world. Akaroa Cooking School owners Lou and Ant Bentley wrote their first cookbook which was published in 2014 and have just completed their second book ‘Fresh from Akaroa’. They live in Akaroa with their two children Chloe and Oscar.
Who we are
Meet the team
Lou Bentley
Lou was born and bred in Oxford, North Canterbury growing up on a farm. She spent 10 years in London from 1995 where she worked as a Business Analyst in Investment Banking. Lou’s real passion however is food, cooking and sourcing local, seasonal produce which is why Akaroa was chosen as the venue for the cooking school. Lou trained at the New Zealand School of Food & Wine in Christchurch and has had many hours experience in the kitchen both in catering and restaurants before opening the cooking school in 2009.
Ant Bentley
Ant grew up in Auckland and spent his childhood summers at Waiheke Island where fresh seafood was never far from the menu. Winter holidays were spent on relatives farms in the Wairarapa where he developed an understanding of food origins. After returning to NZ from a 10 year stint in London working in Finance he began thinking of business ideas to follow his passion for food and cooking to create a lifestyle for his young family.
Piece of paradise
Why we love Akaroa
Fresh local produce
There is a growing awareness of the importance of eating well. With the rapid rise of fast foods and processed foods over the past 50 years many people have forgotten or never learned how to cook proper healthy meals. We want to change this trend and show people that cooking healthy nutritious meals can be fun, quick and easy.
World class location
Running successfully for 10 years and with a loyal following of guests from all over the world. Lou and Ant wrote their first cookbook which was published in 2014 and have just completed their second book ‘Fresh from Akaroa’. On top of running cooking classes in Akaroa they run culinary tours in both Italy and New Zealand and also travel abroad running master classes as guest chefs. They live in Akaroa with their two children Chloe and Oscar.
