Leigh Drew

Country of Birth

Australia

Qualifications

• Statement of Achievement, Small Business Management, TAFE

Experience

Leigh Drew has been cooking since she was nine years old, and has been a passionate and devoted kitchen experimenter since then! She completed 18 months of a chef’s traineeship in 1999/2000, which was a great learning experience.

Leigh became vegan – a lifestyle in which no animal products are consumed – in March 2003, and has found being vegan one of the most positive and interesting experiences of her life. She enjoys sharing tasty and easy-to-prepare vegan food with as many people as possible.

With a day job in the IT industry, Leigh currently makes many of the desserts for sale at Naked Espresso/Basil Pizza in Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west.

Achievements

Aside from running vegan cookery classes at the Sydney Community College, Leigh’s other achievements include publishing a cookbook of vegan desserts, Vegan Indulgence, in August 2008, through an independent Australian publisher, aduki independent press.

She presents vegan cooking demonstrations at various festivals, including demonstrations at the Under the Blue Moon Festival in Enmore/Newtown and the Cruelty Free Living Festival at Belmore Park in 2008. In 2009, Leigh will be back at the Cruelty Free Living Festival with a whole new demonstration!

Leigh is also part of a group that has recenty started running a vegan bake sale at the Newtown DIY Markets, on the last Saturday of every month. The profits from the bake sales go to a different animal charity each month.

Teaching Style

Leigh is an enthusiastic and (hopefully) funny tutor, passionate and interested in the subject matter – she welcomes questions and encourages participation. She believes everyone can cook well, and that ‘doing’ is the best way to find out where a student’s skills lie. While her classes do involve presentations, students are expected to participate by cooking at least four dishes in teams of around four people.

Leigh provides comprehensive notes on the vegan lifestyle, ingredients, nutrition and of course, all of the recipes cooked in the classes.

Something Unique

Apart from being vegan, a lifestyle which is fairly unique as a precentage of the general population, Leigh is yet to learn how to drive, swim or ride a bicycle.