Anthony O’Shaughnessy

ABOUT ME.

It all started in my early 20’s.

After graduating from university with a degree in Psychology, I wanted to get out and travel straight away. During my twenties, I visited over thirty countries and spent some time living in East Africa, Asia and South America working for health development charities. After returning home to the UK, I started a career in the NHS with hopes of progressing into a medical career. That all changed once I felt the therapy of cooking after a long shift. After years of cooking, travelling and researching world cookery, I ultimately decided to put my skills to the test…

I began a professional cookery career after reaching the semi finals of BBC’s MasterChef UK. I left my job in the NHS and relocated to Leeds, West Yorkshire where I started restaurant training as an apprentice. I was hosting cookery demonstrations at food festivals in my spare time, I loved the live entertainment of it and I eventually found his real home: cookery education. I went on to teach full time at Jamie Oliver’s renowned Ministry of Food project, then became a resident chef tutor at the award-winning Leeds Cookery School. During my time in Leeds, I also designed and taught a mobile community cookery programme for parents and children in the city’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. In 2022, I finally returned home to Newcastle, where I ran Blackfriars Cookery School, set within the historic walls of Blackfriars monastery in Newcastle city centre. As head chef, I developed a catalogue of 80+ cookery classes, furnished with carefully curated recipes that illustrate a cultural story. The cookery school won an Experience of the Year award by NE England Tourism in 2024 and it continues to be an asset of cookery education in Newcastle.

Nowadays, I work freelance as a chef and cookery instructor. I continues to teach cookery classes at various locations and deliver demonstrations at food festivals around the country. Whichever project I work on, I want to spread the joy of home cooking and appreciation of world cuisine, explaining the science of cookery techniques and revealing restaurant hacks for smarter home cooking. I continue to contribute to TV, radio and charity projects to help me on this mission and I’m very active on social media.