Hi there – my name is Derryck Strachan. I currently run a copywriting company but I have been heavily involved with food in the past, and continue to write for numerous food industry clients (among others). I previously wrote for Time Out, The AA Restaurant Guide and Food Magazine, worked (briefly) for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and helped to set up a cookery school in Devon.
I also taught cookery courses at the school including a Chillies cookery course (which was listed by Waitrose Magazine in their top 25 cookery courses) and a Thai cookery course. To train for the Thai cookery course I took the professional chefs’ cookery course at SITCA on Koh Samui; I later spent a week as a “stage” at David Thompson’s Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in London, Nahm – a great experience, but one that showed me that I don’t have the stamina or inclination to be a chef full time. Matthew, the head chef at Nahm, also runs Thai cookery classes - he’s a nice guy with a great deal of expertise in Thai cookery.
