Celia creates inspiring and unforgettable in-person corporate and private events at a range of brilliant food and drink hot spots in London, including Borough Market, where she holds an exclusive license to run tasting events.
She can design the perfect day or evening of varied wining and dining like no other, for small intimate groups or larger parties up to 25 people.
Since 2020, Celia has developed a range of exciting online food and cooking events, from personal consultations to private cooking lessons and group tasting experiences, conducted through Zoom.
Celia's Personal Consultations and Private Cooking Classes are the perfect gift for food lovers and can be purchased below.
“For over ten years now, we have entertained a large number of valued clients and contacts on Celia’s wonderful Gastrotours in various parts of London and we look forward to many more. On each occasion, the feedback from our guests has been that the Gastrotour is without doubt one of the best corporate entertainment events they have experienced. The combination of great food, interesting locations and Celia’s incredible knowledge and personal warmth makes these tours unbeatable.”
“Celia’s Gastrotours are a fantastic way to entertain clients and employees in a very relaxed, fun atmosphere. Celia plans everything in advance so that we can just turn up and have a brilliant time whilst learning about all sorts of foodie things along the way! The feedback from our guests is always universally positive, and I know that some have gone on to use Celia themselves! The tours remain an important part of our hospitality plans both now and in the future.”
“I was invited as a guest to one of Celia’s Borough Market Tours some years ago and enjoyed it so much that I (and a number of my colleagues) have unashamedly stolen the idea for outings for our clients and contacts. As a marketing event, it is an easy sell. If you enjoy great food and drink and listening to the story behind it from an impassioned and knowledgeable host, look no further. It is one of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon. I have been 5 or 6 times and am going again soon.”
“Celia’s food tours are excellent for team or corporate events as they combine Celia’s happy and enthusiastic personality, fascinating insight into London’s markets, behind-the-scenes opportunities to meet and hear from vendors passionate about their produce, and the chance to spend time enjoying convivial food and drink. What’s not to like? A great, and memorable, event that delights and educates in equal measure.”
Celia’s private Gastrotours in London are unique, bespoke events - ideal for client entertainment or a memorable, interactive treat for your office team or party group.
Isn’t it a bore to be stuck next to the same person all evening at a dinner? What if not everyone enjoys the races or golf?
Luckily, almost everybody loves food and booze.
Think of Celia’s private and corporate tours as an informative roving canapé party - whatever the venue, you and your guests will experience a multitude of scenes and flavours, while being plied with plenty of food and drink and Celia’s entertaining morsels of food knowledge. Plus the group gets naturally shuffled at each different stop.
Borough Market
An in-depth afternoon Market tasting tour starting with Essex oysters and Prosecco, stops at multiple different traders with generous food and drink tastings, and concluding with a seated rum and chocolate feast
Market tasting tour followed by an Iberico ham carving masterclass and cocktail party at Brindisa Spanish Foods
Market tasting tour followed by a Beef Feast in Hawksmoor Borough’s private dining room - watch the feast being prepared in front of you, using some ingredients sourced during the tour
Marylebone
An afternoon or evening experience composed of mini-feasts including a meet and greet and a secret subterranean champagne bar, British cheese with wine, British chocolate and meat, fish & chips with British beer, and Italian aperitivo with antipasti and Prosecco or cocktails
Covent Garden
An afternoon or evening starting with chocolate-themed cocktails, followed by a host of treats from a cutting-edge food hall with British wine and beer, finishing with fine wine and food at an Italian enoteca or “wine library”
More ideas available on request. Please contact Celia to discuss your event.
Online group tastings with hampers full of treats! Every guest receives a luxurious box of goodies curated by Celia.
These group sessions are an amazing and delicious way to connect with colleagues and clients from the comfort of home.
Participants tune into a scheduled Zoom session, with Celia guiding the group through an entertaining series of food pairings with wine. She will also perform a short, mouthwatering cooking demo.
These sessions run for about 1 - 1.5 hours, or whatever time period you see fit
Three-tier pricing so you can create the perfect event, even on a budget
Price includes the luxury hamper, delivery, and the informative tasting session
Guests can invite their entire household to join in, if desired
Check out Event Details & Price List for full information.
More ideas available on request. Please contact Celia to discuss your event.
“Celia is doing great things with our online cooking lessons! Such delicious food…we would have been more than happy with that if we had eaten it in a restaurant, and we are just a bunch of amateurs.”
“So much fun!!! Need some inspiration? Celia has you covered.”
“Celia is so knowledgeable and able to give some great insights into ingredients that you may not of thought of before.”
“Definitely recommend the Menu Inspiration Circle - we did the online video group last week & thoroughly enjoyed it, & have now got so many ideas for great things to cook just from what we have in the cupboards!”
With 30 years of passion devoted to professional cooking and writing about it, Celia is highly qualified to help solve your culinary conundrums.
She can give you personalised one-to-one advice on any area of food and cooking you’d like to learn more about, especially involving her areas of expertise.
With 30 years of passion devoted to professional cooking and writing about it, Celia is highly qualified to help solve your culinary conundrums. She can offer you advice regarding any aspect of food and cooking, especially her areas of expertise, which include: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, low-calorie cooking, growing and cooking fruit and vegetables, plus intermittent fasting (such as the 5:2 Diet).
Examples of questions to discuss:
How can I get more vegetables into my family’s diet?
My partner / children hate veg - how can I get them to eat more?
Help! My child / partner has gone vegan / vegetarian; what family meals can I cook for everyone?
I’d like to lose some weight through intermittent fasting. Can you help me with weekly meal plans?
What can I do with a glut of _______ from my garden?
I’ve just acquired a garden - where do I start?
First, the session is purchased. Then Celia will be in touch to schedule a date and time and get any idea of what the subject(s) of the consultation will be.
Price per consultation:
30 minutes - £50
1 hour - £100
Terms and conditions: Sessions can be rescheduled if the time has been changed with 48 hours notice. With less than 48 hour’s notice, we may not be able to reschedule, depending on availability. Unfortunately, no-shows will not be rescheduled.
Before contacting us, please see the dates available for your chosen tour, then email Celia’s PA (Cecilia Edmunds): info@celiabrooks.com who will take care of your booking.
Please DO NOT try to book online using your voucher, but do visit the site to see available dates.
Celia will bring her passion and expertise into your kitchen via Zoom. Let’s cook together! This can be one-to-one, or with family and friends; at your home or multiple locations. She’ll plan lessons based on whatever theme takes your fancy.
Think of it as a virtual dinner party, where everyone cooks together from their own homes!
Invite Celia into your kitchen via Zoom for a private cooking session. This can be one-to-one, or with family and friends, at your home or multiple locations.
Think of it as a virtual dinner party, where everyone cooks together from their own homes!
Celia will plan lessons based on your choice of a regional-inspired menu, a particular favourite ingredient like cheese, tofu or pulses, or a three-course meal using recipes from one of Celia's cookbooks, or whatever you fancy.
Some class themes to consider:
A three course meal - Celia will plan lessons based on your choice of a regional-inspired menu, a particular favourite ingredient like cheese, tofu or pulses, or a three-course meal using recipes from one of Celia's cookbooks, or whatever you fancy.
Two or three recipes exploring one ingredient or food type, such as quinoa, or cauliflower, or tofu, or cheese. For example: make your own fresh paneer cheese and cook with it.
If there's something you’ve always wanted to learn how to cook, Celia is happy to teach it!
You could also set up a course of several lessons, running weekly, or however you’d like to schedule it. Contact Celia to discuss package rates.
First, the session is purchased. Then Celia will be in touch to schedule a date and time and have a conversation to decide on the theme of the cooking session. She'll then send you recipes and a list of equipment, and you’ll buy the ingredients and have them ready for the scheduled lesson. Celia will be cooking along with you during the lesson.
Price for approximately 2 hours:
One household - £180
Up to 3 households - £360
Celia will gladly accommodate more than 3 households. Please contact Celia for further savings.
Terms and conditions: Sessions can be rescheduled if the time has been changed with 48 hours notice. With less than 48 hour’s notice, we may not be able to reschedule, depending on availability. Unfortunately, no-shows will not be rescheduled.
Before contacting us, please see the dates available for your chosen tour, then email Celia’s PA (Cecilia Edmunds): info@celiabrooks.com who will take care of your booking.
Please DO NOT try to book online using your voucher, but do visit the site to see available dates.
A group Zoom experience to zest up your cooking repertoire. Celia created this concept during lockdown in April 2020, and it continues to be an inspiring interactive event.
This is for anybody who is looking for cooking ideas, especially using ingredients you have in stock, to conjure some magic in the kitchen and have some fun.
This unique interactive online event is perfect for groups. It's ideal for anybody who is looking for cooking ideas, especially using ingredients you have in stock, to conjure some magic in the kitchen and have some fun.
You show Celia photos of what you’ve got in your kitchen, and she'll flood your imagination with ideas for what to cook, then send you a bespoke recipe collection afterwards.
Invite your friends and family to participate, wherever they may be.
Here’s how it works:
Participants are asked to provide a few photos of what you have in your cupboards, pantry, fridge, etc ahead of time. During the Zoom meeting, Celia gives each participant a personal consultation, throwing out lots of ideas for what to make with your ingredients. The whole group will benefit from the ideas, and we'll ping-pong our culinary thoughts.
Afterwards, Celia will send you all a collection of recipes based on what reveals itself. Celia will be using books (mostly the 9 cookbooks she's written) and stuff from her kitchen as teaching tools.
This is ideal for people who like to cook - not necessarily experts, but enthusiasts - but are a bit stumped and needing some va-va-voom injected into their repertoire.
Celia has dedicated her life to inspiring people to enjoy cooking and to get the most out of ingredients, and wants to keep sharing as much as possible! She specialises in vegetarian, but embraces all foods, and every palate is welcome.
Please allow about 1-1.5 hours, depending on how many attend and how carried away we get.
Available for private groups of three or more people and choose a date that suits you by contacting Celia.
Relish the flavour and soul of Borough Market from your home by taking part in a delicious online tasting event.
Guests will receive a luxury hamper of food and wine the day before the scheduled evening session - these can be delivered all across the UK. Then take part in the tasting, hosted Celia and a Borough Market expert trader.
Relish the flavour and soul of Borough Market from your home by taking part in a delicious online tasting event.
Guests will receive a luxury hamper of food and wine the day before the scheduled evening session - these can be delivered all across the UK.
During the event on Zoom, TV chef, author and Borough Market expert Celia Brooks, with one featured Borough market trader as co-host, will guide the group through the stories behind the contents of the luxury hampers, and conduct an entertaining and informative tasting.
Celia will also perform a short cookery demo using one or more of the products for extra inspiration.
The whole event lasts approximately 1 - 1.5 hours.
Celia has created a unique consulting practice: bespoke interactive tasting tours designed to enlighten and inspire business teams by connecting them directly with the vanguard of London’s world-class foodscape. This special insight can be of great value for inspiring new businesses and development teams by directly exposing them to the constantly progressing cutting edge of London food culture. Celia is a leading expert with her finger consistently on the pulse. The tour is individually designed for the client, and is perfect for sparking concepts for NPD, forecasting food trends, and understanding success. Plus it’s a fun day out away from the office.
Celia works in partnership with a professional photographer if needed, to document the experience and / or provide high quality images for the client’s print or web use.
A full-day tour of London’s hottest new juice bars to help a Scottish farm cooperative decide whether to invest in a juice product range (they did!)
A half-day tour for the CEO and PR of a top Austrian supermarket to study London’s trends in health foods, documented by a photographer. The experience was written about in a lengthy article in an Austrian national newspaper
A half-day tour for the head executives and development manager of a frozen meals company looking to expand and modernise their range of vegetarian meals
For general questions, please contact Celia’s PA (Cecilia Edmunds). If you have questions about private tour bookings, please contact Celia directly.
What’s the minimum number for a private group booking?
Usually 6. A group of fewer than 6 pay the same as 6.
What is the maximum number for a group booking?
Usually 12 people for Borough Market; up to 25 for some other locations. Please contact Celia to discuss.
I want to buy a gift voucher, but I’m not sure which tour the recipient would prefer; what should I do?
I offer a General Voucher which gives a choice of 3 tours (Portobello, Covent Garden, and Borough Market). You pay for the cheapest (£90) and if they choose Borough Market (£110), they make up the difference when they book - or you can pay this, if requested.
Do the gift vouchers have an expiry date?
They are good for 1 year.
Are Gastrotours suitable for people with special diets, ie vegetarians?
I do my best to accommodate any special diet, as long as I am informed in advance.
Are children under 18 allowed on the tours?
Yes, but alcohol will only be served to guests aged 18 and over. Unfortunately, I am not able to offer a discount for those not drinking.
Can I bring my child in a pram?
Yes, with advance notice.
Is it suitable for wheelchair users?
Most tours, yes. I will inform you of any awkward points to be aware of in advance.
If I am sick on the day or unable to come for some reason, can I get a refund?
Unfortunately no. You can, however, send someone in your place.
What if I have to cancel or postpone a private group booking?
For private groups, I request a deposit (usually £250), which is non-refundable due to high demand for dates. If you wish to reschedule, you must give me 3 weeks' notice, and your deposit will be carried over. I will be in touch a week before the booked date to confirm numbers and arrange payment in full.
What is your Covid-19 policy?
If a public or private tour has to be cancelled or postponed due to government-imposed restrictions, I will issue a full refund or offer rescheduling. If someone has to cancel due to Covid-19 related illness, I'll offer an opportunity to reschedule once.
