Chefs Stage

We will be welcoming some of Britain’s favourite chefs including Lesley Waters and Carmela Hayes.

Lesley Waters is well known for her cookery books, and television appearances on Ready Steady Cook (BBC), Great Food Live (UKTV), and This Morning (ITV) and The James Martin Saturday Show.

Lesley has had her immensely successful cookery school in West Dorset, which is now based in Shaftesbury, where she also lives with her husband. Originally a Londoner born & bred, Lesley was quickly charmed by the beauty of Dorset area and inspired by the superb quality of the fresh local produce available right on her doorstep. She likes to cook seasonal food whenever possible and her simple, modern style creates dishes that are easy to recreate with stunning results.

Lesley studied French Cuisine for three years at Ealing College, which included time as a chef at the Waldorf Hotel. During this training period, she won one gold, and two silver medals at Hotelympia and was awarded a scholarship to the Hotel Intercontinental, Dusseldorf. She joined Prue Leith’s Restaurant and was quickly promoted to senior chef. She then worked as a freelance corporate chef and caterer for government officials before joining Leith’s School of Food and Wine as an instructor, rising to head tutor. Here she perfected her cookery demonstration and food photography skills. She has often represented British food at international cookery displays, taking as her theme ‘good food for health’s sake’.

Lesley is passionate about healthy eating and keeping fit and is a qualified fitness instructor.

She has worked in television since 1989 and her varied career has included writing and presenting. Most recently, in addition to regular appearances on This Morning, Lesley appeared on the Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is for BBC1, Food Network’s The Big Eat, ITV’s You’re Back in the Room, and The James Martin Saturday Show.

An accomplished writer, Lesley has written many cookery books, including collaborations with Sainsbury’s and Weight Watchers and is regularly in demand for her food journalism. Her book titles include: Fifteen Minute Feasts, Four Seasons Cookery, Classic Starters, Juice Up Your Energy Levels, Broader Than Beans, Cooler Than Chillies, Healthy Food, and A Year at Abbots Hill.

A revised edition of New to Cooking was published with Ryland Peters & Small in September 2013, and Deliciously Dairy Free was published by Hamlyn in 2015.

Over the years Lesley has worked with a number of high-profile brands. She is currently an ambassador for Teflon and was the face of Lidl Supermarkets 2010-2012. She headlined The British Club Singapore’s Best of British Festival in 2017, and regularly appears at events around the UK such as Telegraph Travel Show, BBC Good Food Show and Be:Fit London, and she is Patron of Planet a cancer charity.

Carmela Hayes

Carmela is a passionate Italian cookery tutor who specialises in the art of making pasta as is known as a pastaia – specialist pasta maker. Carmela is also an event planner, cookery demonstrator, recipe developer, food writer, founder and chef of a sell out Italian supper club and author of five beautiful Italian cookery books.

Compère George Mcivor OBE

Congratulations to George McIvor who has been awarded an OBE for services to the catering and tourism industries and charitable fundraising and will be compèring with us on the Masterchefs Stage at Gatcombe Food Festival.

Since he took over as chairman of the MCGB in 2006, the group’s training masterclasses have grown to reach over 1,000 apprentice and student chefs per year. McIvor also works with charities including Leukaemia UK and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

“I am deeply humbled to be recognised in the King’s New Year Honours List. I strongly believe in encouraging young people and children to participate in and enjoy food. Their natural inquisitiveness and eagerness to learn is something to be encouraged. I am very grateful to my fellow chefs and supporters who enable our work.”