Rosemary brings her crazy side to Kent
Most people nudging the other side of 60 might be thinking about hanging up their hat when it comes to work.
But not Rosemary Shrager, who has been slaving over a hot stove for most of her three score years.
A long, lazy retirement, curled up with a good book and a nice cup of tea is the last thing on Rosemary’s mind, which is just as brimful with ideas as it was when she burst into our living rooms, brandishing a wooden spoon, more than 20 years ago. She has just launched her latest venture – The
Rosemary Shrager Cookery School – in The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, where she plans to bring her own special kind of cookery magic to the public – as well as training up the next generation of cordon bleu cooks. Born in Surrey, Rosemary has spent most of her working
life in the north of England and beyond. Spells in Scotland, Cheshire and, more recently, Yorkshire, have left an indelible mark on her character. TV appearances on “Ladette to Lady” showed her
formidable side and earned her a reputation as an honest, straight-talker, inclined to call a spade a shovel. But, in reality, Rosemary is just a big softie who is passionate about her work. Larger than life, she’s bursting with fun and loves nothing more than the next crazy challenge. It was that daredevil streak which landed her a role in
“I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here” last year, surrounded by her fellow “celebs” - and a whole host of spiders, cockroaches and rats. “The food – or lack of it - didn’t bother me,” she says,
“But I really wasn’t prepared for all the creepy crawlies and rats. The first night was the worst. We were all shut in a room, with huge spiders, cockroaches and rats for about eight hours. And the smell was disgusting. In the end, the rats were playing games with us, taunting us as they came ever nearer. It was just vile.”
Cooking fascinated Rosemary as a child and she worked
her way through the ranks, as did most of today’s so-called celebrity chefs. So what made her decide to desert the wild moors of
North Yorkshire for a prime position in the Garden of England? “Christopher Nevill, the Sixth Marquis of Abergavenny, who lives at Eridge Park, told me he had bought the former Corn Exchange and thought it would make a great cookery school – and the seeds were sown.”
Larger than life, she’s bursting with fun and loves nothing more than the next crazy challenge.
Taking up three spacious levels of this magnificent
Regency building, kitting out the cookery school was no mean feat. It took four months to install banks of appliances, gizmos and gadgets – everything today’s cook would expect to find in a first class kitchen. As well as the “public” side of the business, there is also
a “professional” side where would-be chefs and full-time students will be taken on and trained up to work in some of the country’s top restaurants in due course. “There is something for everyone here,” she said. “From the absolute basics to the more sophisticated dinner party tricks. Restaurant courses, dinner party courses, corporate and team building exercises – the plan is to cover all aspects of the spectrum.
4 Mid Kent Living
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