about

My name is Jana, I’m 33 years old and I’ve been working in the hospitality and nutrition industry for more than a decade. After working in various types of kitchens in Germany, including a Michelin starred Restaurant and a small, family owned spice and herb shop, I moved to the UK.

I have a particular interest in allergies and intolerances, but I wanted to specialise more and move from “just” cooking what I fancied in a professional setting and hosting dinner parties to restaurants and kitchens that cater for people with nutritional issues.

In 2017 I started working at a small gluten free, paleo based restaurant in London, leading to joining one of the biggest organic retailers in the UK. My particular focus was to move away from vegan and gluten free bakery products being an afterthought, only needing to taste “acceptable”, to making them the star of the show.

In 2018 I began studying for a qualification in “Nutritional Coaching” with one of the biggest distance learning universities in Germany and in parallel I finished a diploma in “Vegan and Vegetarian Nutrition” in 2019 with a distance learning institute in the UK.

Over the course of time I’ve gained various qualifications in cooking for people with allergies ensuring that I’m always up to date when it comes to diets, food trends and particular substitutes.

In 2020 I finished the “Nutritional Coaching” qualification and added in depth courses in “Coaching”, “Early Years Children’s Nutrition” and “Eating Psychology”, all whilst working full time as a professional chef.

After working for a prestigious private boarding school in the UK I worked as a Lead Chef and Nutritionist for a renowned nursery group in London, developing menus for all nursery and preschool age groups and support and coach chefs and clients from all age groups. I even supported creating the Make and Bake Programme for Grandir UK.

My focus in both my personal life and my professional career is producing beautiful meals that don’t sacrifice taste or quality to meet allergy requirements. If you’d like to read more about my approach to working with children or my opinion on how to approach picky eating, check my blog posts “Small Tummies” and “Cooperation Pebbles“.