The local chef and author, Sally Butcher, now reaches her 12th cookery course. She has found considerable success with an attendance of people aged between 8 and 80, and now looks to continue her cooking demonstrations. 

Following on from customer demand, and spurred on by her own passion, Sally started her own cookery courses in her "bright yellow" restaurant 'Persepolis.' The Middle-Eastern vegetarian shop and restaurant on Peckham High Street has been the premises for Sally's cooking courses. 

The restaurant was started by Sally and her husband, and anyone who has visited gets to see their wonderful world, filled with art, colour, music, delights, and almost anything you could want. They have since gone on to win multiple awards for their restaurant, such as that of Time Out London. Sally herself, has had a variety of cookbooks published, starting with Persia in Peckham, which was shortlisted for the 2008 André simon award. Now she has a myriad of cookery publications, containing recipes ranging from small meat snacks to exotic vegetarian meals. 

Her cooking skills did not just bloom out of nothing however. Sally learnt to cook from people as she went through life, and has continued to do so. 'A good cook never stops learning,' she says; but Sally herself was not always in the cooking industry. Before going into catering, she went to university in London, but one morning, she woke up and realised university did not suit her, and so she dropped out!

Ever since, she has followed her heart, and in recent years, has begun her very own cooking courses to inspire in others what she felt on that morning of university. Even throughout the pandemic, although Sally's cooking classes were suspended, Sally and her husband posted a few videos on their YouTube channel on recipes and cooking. 

However, Sally eventually returned to the cookery lessons post-lockdown, once everything had settled down. During the cookery classes in the restaurant, Sally does cooking demonstrations in front of customers, and gives them some of her recipes, so that they can cook it themselves. She also takes the opportunity to talk with local customers, and form a personal bond with them- she is not a 'really intense chef' who concentrates on just their cooking. 

In her own words, 'food is culture,' and it is this which Sally Butcher, a local chef in Peckham, hopes to illuminate in others of all ages in her cookery courses. As the already successful restaurant owner, chef, and author, Sally's cooking courses are not only a demonstration of her cooking, but also of her enthusiasm. 

 

For a taste of their cooking courses, look at one of their YouTube videos- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vqBrTr725c