Lerato is a pioneering cookery writer, presenter and cookery teacher bringing African foods to a global table through her vibrant recipes, immersive supper clubs and masterclasses.
Inspired by her love for Africa and the glorious foods of the continent, she founded a cookery school to educate and inspire cooks to invite African flavours into their homes. Her unique style of effortlessly marrying cultures has attracted food lovers and celebrity chefs as guests at her table and global brands for whom she consults, teaches and develops recipes.
After graduating with a degree in Economics in London, she took an unexpected path and started her career in food. Lerato went on to become a TV chef, a breakfast television presenter while writing a column for a national newspaper. She was also the youngest editor at a national newspaper and went on to produce a second cookery show.
Lerato’s feasts and cookery classes, have been featured on the BBC, The Financial Times, Time Out, Daily Mail, GQ, The Guardian, The Evening Standard, Vice and more. She is sought after for her contemporary recipes celebrating African flavours. Lerato collaborates with exceptional brands such as Tilda, Waitrose, Tesco, Soho Group, to develop recipes and create immersive events that bring this vibrant cuisine to the homes of food lovers.
Her latest supper clubs have been in collaboration with Waitrose, held in several Waitrose stores transformed into amazing pop-up dining spaces. She also works with social enterprises such as Brighton & Hove Food Partnership to teach and support the community with more accessible cookery classes for all.
Lerato lives in Was Sussex with her husband and cockerpoo.
COOKERY CLASSES & LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS
This has been a wonderful medium to truly create a globally diverse table with recognition for African foods as strong cultural inspiration for cooks around the world.
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Lerato has also worked with multinational clients such as SHELL, GSK, Soho Group, Slack, Aviva PLC, NGO's and educational organisations like Imperial College London, teaching and hosting professionals from across the world. Her collaboration with Waitrose and Wefifo saw contemporary African food brought to one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK.
Clients & collaborators include
Tesco, Shell, GSK, Imperial College, Aviva, Tilda, British Red Cross, Beacon Scholarship, The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, Visit Brighton and more, Robert Welch, Le Creuset & more
To work with Lerato to bring sunshine to your organisation or event, and to set your brand apart please get in touch. For brand & corporate partnerships or for speaking engagements or live demonstrations please
fill in the form here or send an email to
info@leratofoods.com and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
"My goal is not a forced fusion for the sake of it, but a happy marriage of cultures, so that you can be inspired wherever you are."
Lerato's journey in food
After graduating from university in London at age 18 with a first degree in economics, her dream of working in Economic Development took her around the African continent. Things took an unexpected turn in Nigeria, when she ended up starting her first business, a catering company, where after a passionate conversation, a customer invited her to host a new cookery show syndicated across the continent. She later went on to work for a national newspaper, creating and editing a weekend entertainment supplement in the Friday paper, before becoming co-anchor on a breakfast tv news programme, and producing her own cookery show.
Lerato Immersive Supperclubs
She returned to the UK and launched an immersive super club to bring people together, to inspire conversation about diverse cultures. Her supperclubs expanded around the UK, growing more popular and with guests wanting to learn to cook Lerato’s unique recipes, she founded Lerato Cookery School & Kitchen, a community cookery school in London and the South East.
Supper Club with Waitrose & Wefifo in the UK
