Natural Chef Ceri Jones authors “It Starts with Veg: 100 Seasonal Suppers and Sides”

Ceri Jones is a graduate of the Natural Chef Program, now the Holistic Chef Program, at Bauman College. She works as a Chef for wellbeing retreats, Food Educator at The Garden Museum in London and recently authored It Starts with Veg: 100 Seasonal Suppers and Sides, which is set to be available in the US in June 2024.

Discover how Ceri went from managing concerts in London to releasing her first cookbook by reading her story below.

Key Principle of Cooking With Seasonal Produce

I’m Ceri Jones, a Natural Chef, and I was at Bauman College in 2013-2014. This was a huge career change for me after 10 years working in the classical music industry in London. Back in 2013, there was nowhere in the UK to go and study cooking at a professional level alongside nutrition, and Bauman College was offering a substantial program that felt perfect for me aligning all my interests. It also gave me the opportunity to have some travel time and an adventure after leaving the job I’d been in for 10 years, and after the losses of both of my parents.

Obviously I learnt a huge amount of cooking skills and techniques whilst I was at Bauman College, and the key principle of cooking with seasonal produce was something I really took on board during my time there. Also, it was during one of my externships, helping out at a cookery school, where I had a penny drop moment and realized that Food Education was the route I wanted to go down.

I Love the Variety of My Work

Currently, I am the Food Educator at a small museum in London – The Garden Museum. I teach a wide range of people cookery classes, focusing on vegetarian cuisine and getting people to eat more plants. I do this part-time alongside my work as a food writer, and retreat chef.

I have just written my first cookery book, It Starts with Veg: 100 Seasonal Suppers and Sides which will be published by Harper Collins in the UK and in the USA in June 2024. I love the variety in my work, working with a wide range of people, showing people easy ways to cook vegetables, and making food that is also good for them and delicious.

Championing Veg-led Cooking

I’ve finally just written my first cookery book, which was a dream of mine, before I even enrolled at Bauman College. It’s been a long time in the making and I’m thrilled I’ve done it at last. Getting published is no mean feat! I’m now nervously waiting for it to be released in June of this year. I’ve had a varied career in food since I left Bauman College, but I’ve found my feet the last few years as a food educator, occasional retreat chef, and food writer – championing veg-led cooking.

I realized a few years into my professional cooking life that for the most part a lot of people find nutritional info a lot to take on (me included!), and that simply encouraging people to eat more and a wide range of seasonal vegetables – which I do across my work – was where I felt most comfortable, happy and had the most amount of passion and creativity for!

If you are interested in Bauman College, my advice is to jump headfirst into the program, and every experience that you can alongside it. I would also say that trying lots of things out after graduation is the best way to work out what you ultimately want to do, and not worry about getting it right, right away, there’s plenty of time! I’ve worked in a café, written recipes, taught cooking in a community and corporate setting, cooked for yoga retreats in countries where I’ve not spoken the language. Working in a café, was the only one I didn’t really enjoy!

Contact Ceri online at cerijoneschef.com or connect with her on Instagram and Facebook @cerijoneschef.