Chef Spotlight | Colin Wheeler of Ground Up Cookery School
Meet Colin Wheeler, co-founder and Culinary Director of the Ground Up Cookery School, a small family business set in a beautiful corner of Devon, near Chudleigh... and current holder of the Best Training School title at the 2025 Food Drink Devon Awards.
The school's teaching is rooted in sustainability and specialises in foraging, preservation and reducing food waste. Colin delivers chef training, public cookery classes and inspiring corporate experiences, that combine practical skills with a deeper understanding of seasonal, local ingredients.
We asked Colin to tell us more about the cookery school, his career highlights, treasured memories and more...
Tell us about your career and your ethos as a chef.
I was classically trained in the Royal Navy which gave me an excellent skills base. After my role as Head Chef at the Royal Naval Academy in Dartmouth I've built a very diverse culinary career spanning more than three decades across boutique hotels, charter yachts, large-scale catering and food development.
Raised in a fishing and farming community on the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides, my cooking is deeply influenced by the landscape and the seasons. Today I have become widely known within the industry for my expertise in foraging, fermentation, preservation and reducing food waste, bringing wild ingredients and traditional techniques into modern kitchens through innovative ways of capturing fleeting seasonal flavours.
Currently I work part time as Global Development Chef at IMCD Group, alongside leading the Training Development and Consultancy at Ground Up Cookery School.
I love to enthuse both professional chefs and intrigued home cooks through hands-on courses that explore sustainable cooking, seasonal produce and the flavours found in Devon’s hedgerows, coastline and countryside.
My inventive, curious approach to flavour has earned me reputation among fellow Chefs as something of a 'Willy Wonka of the cheffing world'; always experimenting, always discovering, and always encouraging others to see ingredients in a completely new way.
What's your most treasured or earliest food memory?
So many, but drying carrageen seaweed with my grandmother is a treasured memory. As a child on a small island, my life was grounded in seasonality. She remains a lifelong inspiration to me in the kitchen.
Which three words sum up your style of cooking?
Innovative, resourceful, seasonal.
Tell us about your career highlights so far?
Cooking for and meeting the late Queen on two occasions has been a true honour. More recently, being invited to present at the World Chefs Congress in Wales in May 2026, speaking to an audience of 800 chefs from around the world, was a particularly exciting milestone. Winning Best Training Facility at the 2025 Food Drink Devon Awards was also a proud moment for our team.
Another highlight is our ongoing collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Marcus Waring, who has brought his Level 4 apprentices to Devon each year for the past five years to train with us at the school. Sharing our approach to foraging, fermentation, sustainability and reduced-waste cooking with the next generation of chefs, and seeing the value Marcus places on what we do has been incredibly rewarding.
What is your favourite seasonal ingredient, and how would you serve it?
It would have to be Pepper Dulse Seaweed. It has a wonderful rich truffle flavour that's notoriously difficult to retain when preserved, so fermenting it in honey is my favourite way to capture that elusive flavour.
What does ‘sustainable’ mean to you?
For me, and at Ground Up Cookery School, sustainability isn’t a buzzword, it’s a way of being. It’s a practical, everyday approach to working with food that respects ingredients, producers and the environment.
It’s also about creativity and responsibility: using one ingredient in as many different ways as possible to minimise waste, while demonstrating innovative, achievable solutions. Sustainability should feel inspiring and accessible, not restrictive, something that enhances how we cook, rather than limiting it.
What would you choose as your last meal?
My last meal would be something simple. A plate of warm ripe sliced tomatoes topped with crumbled aged feta, drizzled with exceptional olive oil, sea salt, fresh black pepper and a lovely hunk of sourdough bread.
What’s always in your fridge at home?
Curtido (Sauerkraut from El Salvador) delicious fermented coleslaw alternative that works with everything and is fat free, good for your gut and tastes amazing!
Do you have a secret weapon in the kitchen?
Currently, it would have to be smoked seaweed powder. It has an amazing umami roundness that adds richness to a huge range of dishes. The smokiness adds a level of complexity and aroma and is great in bread dough, stews and casseroles, meat, cheese, dairy or vegetable marinades, whipped butter, you name it!
What was your favourite seasonal treat growing up?
I still remember as a child growing up in the Hebrides, the first fresh mackerel of the summer and the first new potatoes boiled with fresh mint and served with lashings of homemade butter. They tasted so good. The anticipation no doubt increased the pleasure, but ultimately it comes down to eating food in season.
Find out more
Find out more about the Ground Up Cookery School, forthcoming courses and their Heath & Hedge range of artisan spirits; wild-infused gin and rum inspired by the hedgerows and landscapes of Devon.