About Us
The Artisan Bakehouse is an independent family owned and run business and the passion and vision of husband and wife team Les & Louise Nicholson.
Les is Sussex born and bred. Originally from Brighton he’s lived all his life in Sussex with the exception of an 8 year stay in rural south west France. Here he developed his love of all things bread. After mastering the French language (that’s another story!) he went on to train and learn traditional artisan bread making skills and has developed a huge passion for making bread by traditional artisan methods. We support and are members of 'The Real Bread Campaign'.
14 years ago we returned home to Sussex and fell in love with the beautiful 16th century cottages, pretty gardens & woodlands here and set about creating what is now our home and The Artisan Bakehouse.
Louise, with her background in both retail banking & catering keeps the finances, marketing & behind the scenes admin in order and also heads up the busy Bakehouse kitchen when we are open to the public and hosting private functions. Her passion for good food & health, and using local seasonal produce shines through in everything on offer. Her influences from her time in France are very evident in the food and style of the Bakehouse.
Our vision has always been to embrace the natural, tranquil, idyllic location here and to create an experience where people can learn to make delicious bread & foods and to spend time enjoying local seasonal Sussex produce, relaxing and restoring themselves in this beautiful, special location.
OUR TUTORS
They are all different characters but share the same values, which we love .....Highly skilled and experienced Bakers and Chefs, foodies, great sense of humour, fun, totally passionate about their subject and teaching you, so be assured - you are in safe hands!
Les Nicholson Owner
Emmanuel Hadjiandreou is an internationally renowned baker and author and teaches our Sourdough classes, Viennoiserie and other seasonal bakes. He's a wealth of knowledge having worked in bakeries around the world for many years.
Jacqui O'Shea is a passionate baker who currently runs her own successful Micro bakery having trained with many leading bakers and Leiths & Ballymaloe Cookery School. She teaches our Introductory class, Mediterranean Breads, Gluten free baking and others.
Mike Noble is an award winning chocolatier with his own artisan chocolate business, he teaches our Chocolate Making masterclasses.
Kenny Tutt Masterchef Champion in 2018 this talented fun chef teaches our Pasta, stocks & sauces, Mexican classes and heads up our NEW BBQ school with his exciting fire & feast events.
We look forward to meeting you personally and together with our friendly dedicated team will do all we can to make sure your time here is special and memorable. In the meantime you can always enjoy one of our online masterclasses if you can't visit just yet!
We fell in love with this magical place and didn’t want to leave, we know you will too!
Les & Louise
