Alison Sloan

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Alison has 30 years of experience appearing on Sky TV, Anglia TV, BBC Two .....Including  Out  To  Lunch  with  Brian  Turner  and  A  Victorian  Farm  with  Paul  Heiney ....as well as  taking part in radio phone ins twice  a  month  for Radio Cambridgeshire and Radio  Norfolk. Alison had her own column in the EDP for several years and has been a recipe writer for Somerfield Magazine, Gs Marketing and The National Trust as well as creating recipes for restaurants,  company  promotions  and for cookery  courses.  Working  for  the  National  Trust  gave  Alison  the  chance  to  become  involved  in  Food  History.  Alison  researched  the  history  of  food  relating  to  Oxburgh  Hall  and  Peckover  House,  as  well  as  the  local  Fenland  Food.  Alison  wrote  menus  to  fit  with  the  social  history  of  the  time,  worked  with  Sara  Paston  Williams,  author  of  the  Art  of  Dining  and  ran  courses  and  lecture  lunches  on  food  history.  This  led  her  to  go  on  and  work  freelance  for  the  Museums  service  researching ,  presenting  and  writing  recipe  cards.  The  exhibition  was  taken  on  tour  around  Fenland  with  Alison  carrying  out  cookery  demonstrations  Around  the  region.

Alison has worked at food shows such as the BBC Good Food Show with Gordon Ramsay, Ely Food Festival with Brian Turner, Aldo Zilli and Rosemary Shrager,  aswell  as  at  the Tastes Of Anglia Food Festival, the Ludlow Food Festival ....to  name a few.

Alison  has  been  devising  and  running  cookery  courses  for  three  decades;  for  the  National Trust ,  Surestart,  Museums  Service  and  for  schools  across  East  Anglia.  More  recently  Alison  has  been  teaching  food  and  nutrition to  children  aged  7  to  18   Including  GCSE and  A  Level.  

Alison  carries  out  talks  and  lecture  lunches  as  a  freelance  food  consultant  to  many  different  groups  on  topics  such  as  Food  History,  Bread,  Chocolate,  Edible  Flowers,  Herbs,  Food  from  Around  the  World,  Fish...  Courses  can  be  short  two  hour  sessions,  all  day,  evening  and  even  weekend  sessions,  such  as  A  Weekend  of  Fish  at  Brancaster  Staithe .  

Recently  Alison  has  been  studying  wine,  completing  the  WSET  Level  2  Wine  and  Spirits  course  with  distinction  and  is  currently  working  towards  the  Level  3  WSET  Wine  Award.  

This  allows  Alison  to  run  wine  and  food  pairing  events  and  pop  up  wine  events..  

Alison ran her first restaurant at the age of 18 before working in a hotel as a management trainee for a year. After University (Home Economics BSc) Alison worked developing products for Campbells Soups for 18 months. The call of hospitality came and Alison worked for 9 years running the restaurants and tea rooms of Oxburgh Hall and Peckover House. Here was where Alison fell into television  work, cookery courses and developed her love for restaurants. Event work included a dinner for the resident family at Oxburgh Hall, afternoon tea for the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, wedding receptions  lecture  lunches.......More recently Alison has managed and worked alongside pupils and chefs such as Cyrus Todiwala and Brian Turner cooking  and  serving  dinners for 120 guests, as well as Champagne and Wine Tastings, Pizza and Prosecco nights using her beloved wood fired pizza oven. 

Alison  set  up  Pop  Up  supper  clubs  in  Octavia  Hills  Birthplace  House .  Every  month  diners  enjoy  food  from  a  different  country  and  through  the  summer  Sunday  Brunch  is  also  on  offer.  All  proceeds  go  to  the  museum,  and  getting  a  seat  is  nearly  impossible  with  events  selling  out  immediately.