Meet the team

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne is a food entrepreneur, author and educator driven by a belief that food can build fulfilling careers, improve lives, bring people together and create healthier, happier communities.

With a degree in Physiology, Lucinda has built her career at the intersection of food, health and innovation. After training at Leiths School of Food and Wine and London’s Michelin-starred Bibendum Restaurant, she ran her own catering company before returning to Leiths as a teacher, where she co-authored the award-winning Leiths Techniques Bible.

When her sons were diagnosed with severe dairy allergy and gluten intolerance, Lucinda wrote How to Cook for Food Allergies and set out to create a gluten-free bread her son could enjoy. In 2009, she founded Genius Foods, pioneering soft, fresh gluten-free bread and building a successful international bakery business. She stepped down in 2022 to support other entrepreneurs and serve as Chair of Scotland Food & Drink.

In 2025, Lucinda took over from Fiona Burrell as Principal of the Edinburgh New Town Cookery School, leading its transformation into the Edinburgh Food & Drink Academy, launched in March 2026. Her vision is to inspire and upskill the next generation of chefs and food entrepreneurs, champion Scotland’s exceptional produce and producers, and enable people aged 8–108 to discover the joy, creativity and health benefits of cooking from scratch and eating together.

Aisha Elshani is an experienced culinary educator and chef with a career spanning restaurants, small independent businesses and prestigious hospitality establishments, including occasions where she has had the privilege of serving royalty.

With experience catering from anything from 1 to 350 guests, Aisha thrives on a challenge and is passionate about delivering exceptional food and experiences, whatever the scale. She brings a wealth of industry knowledge, practical expertise and enthusiasm to culinary education, with a strong focus on inspiring and developing the next generation of chefs. Her experience also includes food safety, HACCP, curriculum planning and supporting students through practical and industry-focused learning.

In her role as Headteacher, Aisha is focused on building a positive and ambitious learning culture, supporting staff and students, strengthening industry relationships and continuing to develop innovative opportunities within culinary education.

For Aisha, there is always a solution to every culinary challenge – and she always delivers!

Colette trained at Edinburgh Food & Drink Academy when it was known as Edinburgh New Town Cookery School. An experienced all-rounder with a broad range of skills and an in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of cookery, she is passionate about teaching, learning and, of course, eating. Following her training, Colette turned her love of food into a new career, working as a private chef and caterer before joining the school as a Teaching Assistant.

While she enjoyed the energy and camaraderie of a busy kitchen, she found her true home in the teaching kitchens. Many happy years and several promotions later, Colette is now Senior Teacher, delivering the Academy’s full curriculum, from corporate team-building events and recreational classes to the Diploma course that first inspired her own career change.

Favourite utensil: She doesn’t have a favourite utensil (“too many to choose from!”) but does believe in using the right utensil for the right job.

Sophie has worked in professional kitchens in one way or another since the age of 16. She graduated from university in Dublin with a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts in 2015 before beginning her career in luxury hotels, first in Dubai and later in Ireland. She was part of the team that re-opened Adare Manor in Limerick where she stayed for 5 years, working her way up to sous chef. Sophie has gained lots of experience over the last 10 years, from running large events, launching a commercial chocolate line, developing restaurant concepts, and everything in between. In 2022, she moved to Scotland and became Sous Chef at Gleneagles, overseeing a team of 24 pastry chefs.

In September 2025, Sophie made the move into teaching when she joined the team at Edinburgh Food & Drink Academy. She is excited and eager to be part of the amazing team and share my pastry passion and experience with the students. She is excited and eager to be part of the amazing team and share my pastry passion and experience with the students.

Favourite utensil: My bread knife which I got as a gift when I left one of my previous hotels, I couldn’t be without it! 

Heather has always been interested in food and cooking, because “I’ve always loved eating”! Growing up in Hong Kong gave her a solid foundation and appreciation for all Southeast Asian cuisines. After training as a chef, Heather worked in a cookery school where she specialised in Southeast Asian cuisine for a few years before moving to Edinburgh and returning to traditional French-style cooking and teaching. She’s now been at the school since 2019.

She loves working with our full-time students and seeing their confidence and skills grow. It can be a challenge when you’ve got to taste 16 different batches of cheese scones, but someone has to do it!

Sue trained at Leiths School of Food and Wine before embarking on a varied and extensive career in the food industry. She worked as a freelance private chef throughout the UK and Europe and gained experience in French restaurants in both London and Edinburgh, where she also set up and managed the first Chez Jules restaurant in the city.

Sue later became a Chef Trainer for new chefs entering French restaurants and worked as an Area Manager overseeing restaurants across Scotland, Northern England and London. She also worked with Clarissa Dickson Wright at Lennoxlove, managing the catering company, before joining the National Trust for Scotland as Catering Development Manager, where she developed hospitality, food and beverage operations across multiple locations. She later became Head of Food and Beverage for the organisation before bringing her wealth of experience to her role as a cookery teacher at Edinburgh Food & Drink Academy.

Katie joined Edinburgh Food & Drink Academy in January 2026 after taking a short career break to raise her family. Originally from Edinburgh, she moved to London to study Nutrition at university before completing the Academy’s Three Month Diploma in 2015. Since then, she has built her career in restaurants and event catering across London. Her favourite experiences include four years at Spring Restaurant in Somerset House, working with Skye Gyngell, and two years at the Michelin-starred Portland.

Most recently, after returning to Edinburgh, Katie worked as Sous Chef at The Free Company, a farm-to-table restaurant on the outskirts of the city. She particularly enjoys cooking vegetables, fish and shellfish, and has a love of Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine – especially dumplings.