Consultancy, Coaching and Event Curation Services
Mary-Ellen has over 20 years experience in hospitality, spanning multiple sizes and styles of operation. Starting her career in the then-Michelin starred Sharrow Bay Country House hotel, she then went onto spend a year working in various restaurants at a 1000-room resort in the US.
This was followed by 4 years spent working with Heston Blumenthal, firstly as Sous Chef at the 3 Michelin-starred Fat Duck, then as Research and Development Chef, working on historical food for the Hinds Head and Fat Duck menus. She went on to open three highly-regarded restaurants of her own in Manchester (Aumbry, 4244, The Creameries) and has undertaken various Executive Chef roles (including tge Real Junk Food Project and Manchester Art Gallery.
Proud to have worked for many years on sustainable kitchen practises and zero-waste cooking, and in a bid to avoid huge food waste in the face of lockdowns, in March 2020 Mary-Ellen co-founded the non-profit Eat Well MCR, a hospitality collective that delivers nourishing and delicious meals made by chefs to people facing hardship in Greater Manchester. To date, Eat Well MCR has provided almost 100,000 meals.
Mary-Ellen has written regular food columns for the Guardian and the New Issue, and created special, thought-provoking food events for Manchester International Festival, Just So Festival, the Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester Central Library, Festival No 6, Meltdown Festival and Selfridges Exchange Square. She continues to delight in curating events that bring together beautiful food & drink, set design. sound design and performance to create exceptional experiences.
With this wealth of experience behind her, and a life-long passion for all things food, drink and hospitality related, a range of consultancy packages are available including:
food waste reduction workshops
curation of imaginative food experiences
restaurant consultancy
As a committed practitioner of sustainable restaurant operations and zero-waste cooking, Mary-Ellen can also offer individual business coaching, staff training, and workshops to help bring your operations into line with your sustainability goals.
Please visit the Contact Page to make an enquiry.
