Congratulations to Bini Ludlow, from Clapton, who spent Monday, 11th November at the British Cookery School Awards in London. Bini had been nominated and shortlisted out of 200 entries for the People's Choice – Best Small Cookery School award. Although she didn't win first place for her local cookery school, Sweet Cumin, to get to the final three is still a huge achievement for a company that has been running just over a year.

And what a year it has been. You may remember

seeing Bini in The Journal before, when she featured on the ITV 'Food Glorious Food' programme, hosted by Lloyd Grossman, and was a South West regional finalist, cooking her 'ultimate curry' – slow cooked shoulder of lamb with a tiger prawn. In September this year, she achieved a Gold Award for Taste of the West for her takeaways in the retail and hospitality sector and was shortlisted as an overall winner. There were only two Gold winners for this category in the whole of the South-West, a fantastic achievement.

Bini opens up her kitchen in Clapton to share her knowledge of cooking traditional, Gujarati food. She teaches both budding cooks and professional chefs, also running classes with students at the Royal High, Bath. Locally, Bini has been working alongside the Sensory Trust, developing a partnership with Fosse Way Nursing Home where the elderly grow vegetables for the cookery school.

"Indian food is part of my life, with my mother teaching me all I know – teaching

people of all ages and abilities about spices and how to use them is just a wonderful journey," she said. "The British Cookery School Awards recognise the quality of teaching and food produced in the UK and how people from all walks of life can enjoy cooking. Shows such as The Great British Bake Off and The

Incredible Spice Men have made cooking fun, accessible and enjoyable.

"The votes and testimonials for the British Cookery School Awards all came from cooks who have come along to the school and have felt I

deserved to have their vote. I feel very proud to have been recognised for the work I have conducted over the last

sixteen months. It's just

brilliant."

Judges of the competition included Nigel Barden, food and drink presenter for BBC London TV and Radio 2, plus Readers' Recipe columnist for The Telegraph, Xanthe Clay.

Now that Bini is back in Clapton, the hard work does not stop. Last week, she catered for the Somerset Community Foundation, who donate funds to local charities, and will also be going to the MC Academy, in Exeter, (set up by renowned chef, Michael Caines), to teach the future chefs how to cook Gujarati cuisine. On Saturday, 7th December, Bini and local wine expert, Stefan Gorda, from QWines in Midsomer Norton, will be running a curry and wine tasting event at Clapton Village Hall. For more details, contact: [email protected]">[email protected]