Edinburgh Food and Drink Academy appoints a new head teacher after a year of growth

Edinburgh's cookery school for home cooks and aspiring chefs has had a busy year, and it has a new leader in the kitchen. The Edinburgh Food and Drink Academy has appointed Aisha Elshani as head teacher, to lead its cookery courses and culinary events.

Aisha joins after nearly eight years as a culinary arts lecturer at Edinburgh College. Her career has also included roles at Heritage Portfolio, Victor and Carina Contini Restaurants, where she was head pastry chef, and The Torridon Hotel, and she helped to establish Honeycomb and Co in Edinburgh. In her new role she will lead professional classes including the recently launched Evening Professional Chef Course.

She said she has always been passionate about making the food industry as encouraging and welcoming as possible to new talent, and that her experience has given her a sharp focus on cooking from scratch with high-quality, seasonal ingredients from good suppliers.

The appointment follows the academy's relaunch earlier this year. Chief executive Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne described 2026 as a pivotal year, with a rebrand, new professional courses, a wide choice of interest classes and partnerships with schools and businesses.

Based in the centre of Edinburgh, the academy offers professional chef courses alongside recreational classes and events for home cooks. Over the summer, its programme included a Comedy Cook Off with The Stand Comedy Club, hosted by Bruce Devlin, in which comedians cooked live in the demonstration kitchen and the audience tasted and voted. Formula 1 fans could hear Sky Sports analyst Bernie Collins and former pit crew member Ryan McGarva talk about life behind the scenes, followed by a cook and dine session.

There were also whisky and food pairing evenings with whisky consultant Annabel Meikle, a shortbread workshop, and a Gardener and Chef series with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, bringing together the kitchen garden and the cookery school.

For anyone thinking about a career change into cooking, or simply wanting to improve at home, the academy's growing programme offers plenty of ways in.

Course details and upcoming classes are listed on the Edinburgh Food and Drink Academy website.