Experienced chef heads to Waikato Show

Charley Ainscough with her book Charley Chop Chop Shares her Culinary Magic. Photo / Supplied

Charley Ainscough with her book Charley Chop Chop Shares her Culinary Magic. Photo / Supplied

It was the kids at a Hamilton pre-school that gave Charley Ainscough her nickname Charley Chop Chop.

An experienced chef, Charley will demonstrate easy-to-prepare recipes at Homegrown Harvest's Spade to Spatula kitchen during the 2018 Waikato Show.

Charley has a bit of a story. A square peg when it came to academic pursuits, she couldn't wait to get out of school in her home town of Edinburgh in Scotland.

"But I was really good at cooking and started work in catering under a couple of French chefs who were really tough. I thrived in that environment, the sky was the limit."

She spent four years cheffing in Australia, around Sydney's Circular Quay and North Shore.

"I'd never worked so fast in my life." She returned to Edinburgh where she and a partner launched Appetite, a business catering smart lunches, canape parties and social functions.

Then she met husband Wayne Ainscough, a maintenance fitter who promised her that "New Zealand has so much more for you let me take you there".

The couple set up in Nelson where Charley established Get Cooking at The Hub, an after-school programme for at-risk youth. Eight years ago the couple returned to the Waikato where Charley took up as chef for Creators, a Forest Lake Rd early childhood centre.

"That's where the kids started calling me Charley Chop Chop. I thought that was gorgeous and it inspired me to write a cook book Charley Chop Chop shares her Culinary Magic full of ideas to encourage kids into cooking.

"Food creates rituals and kids learn from their parents and I'm a great believer in simple recipes that are easy to cook."

For children, learning to cook is also a means of learning reading and mathematics. During the Schools Day Out on Friday April 6 at the Waikato Show, Charley will be working her culinary magic as one of the hands-on learning stations at the popular Schools' Programme.

Charley will front her Charley Chop Chop cooking show using locally grown in-season produce to create nutritious food in a fun environment.

Copies of Charley Chop Chop Shares her Culinary Magic are available by contacting Charleychopchop@icloud.com