MasterChef champion Irini Tzortzoglou cooking up life lessons at University

 

University of Cumbria is teaming up with 2019 MasterChef champion Irini Tzortzoglou to offer its students an exclusive cookery class series.

‘Uni.Yum’ is a series of six free sessions launching on Wednesday, 27 January 2021.

Irini will present a 45-minute session every Wednesday at 6pm from the kitchen of her home in south Cumbria. After the launch, each session will follow a different theme ranging from cookery basics to nutritional elements such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Via Microsoft Teams, students will be invited to create dishes in real time with Irini and join in live and interactive Q&As.

The scheme aims to help students at University of Cumbria learn to cook satisfying and nutritious meals for themselves and others, on a budget and using basic ingredients and equipment. They will gain valuable culinary skills and knowledge, not only helping break the time spent at home during lockdown but also preparing them for life beyond graduation.

Harnessing the power food has in bringing people together, the cookery series will also be a creative outlet to support students’ wellbeing.

Not only will they be able to cook with Irini, students also have the option to watch the shows with those within their households at a time when many are correctly following government’s ‘Stay at Home’ messages and are not yet back in their usual university halls or accommodation.

Crete-born Irini said: “I am thrilled to be sharing with students some of my cooking knowledge, tips and tricks. These are no ordinary cookery classes as Uni.Yum will include advice on shopping, cooking and eating mindfully,  aiming for a healthy and happy time on campus and beyond while increasing confidence and creativity. 

“Uni.Yum is also going to break up time studying and being at home during lockdown. Eating food is often also a shared experience and I hope this will give University of Cumbria students across the country and beyond a chance to cook dishes for loved ones and others where that is possible.”

Irini lives near Cartmel in south Cumbria, a food lover’s haven renowned for its award-winning restaurants and eateries and its world-famous culinary figures. She published her first book, ‘Under the Olive Tree’, in the summer of 2020 and is currently writing her second.

She added: “I’m also very excited to be able to continue to offer knowledge in the form of short videos, photographs and recipes through the dedicated Instagram feed Uni.Yum where students will be also invited to post and put questions to me whenever they need to be supported or inspired.

Dr Signy Henderson, Dean for Student Success at University of Cumbria, said: “This is a challenging time for us all including our students. The social aspects of university life this year are necessarily different with much more of a focus on staying in and making the most of the home environment.

“Therefore it is pleasing to see how Uni.Yum will provide students with a creative outlet to try something that’s different and fun, expanding their knowledge about balanced eating and how to use good, simple ingredients to nourish themselves and perhaps share within their household.

“Uni.Yum offers the flexibility for students to join the cooking sessions with Irini live or to watch the demonstrations and cook later, whatever works for them.”

Molly McConnell, welfare officer at University of Cumbria Students’ Union, said: “I am delighted to have been able to assist Irini and the university on the Uni.Yum project, especially having had my own challenges with meal times during my degree and my recent healthy eating campaign halted by the pandemic.

“The project also aligns well with the Students' Union's focus for the beginning of this semester: we're working to reignite the motivation and passion in our student body as they push through their assessments and, for many of them, continue on as key workers alongside their studies.

“Irini's passion and energy has been hugely refreshing and I know it will be an incredibly inspiring experience for the students that engage with the sessions. I can really see the potential therapeutic value for our students too, particularly those struggling to switch off in the evenings and on again in the mornings.”

Follow @Uni.Yum on Instagram and the hashtag #Yumbria across social media platforms.

Irini Tzortzoglou – Chef, Food Writer, Tutorials, Motivational Speaking

• 2019 UK MasterChef Champion
• July 2019 – culinary retreat at 5 star hotel, Crete
• October 2019 – Women Of The Year awards lunch
• Instagram lives – cooking with other chefs, including Michelin (5 star) Simon Rogan and others
• Cooking videos for Kids On The Green (Grenfell Tower related charity) and Royal Voluntary Service
• July 2020 - UNDER THE OLIVE TREE (recipes from my Greek kitchen) was published by Headline.  Currently writing the second cookbook to be published in the Spring of 2022
• Recipe development for Dodoni UK (producer of feta cheese)
• Recipe development for Tsantali wines
• UNI.YUM – cooking and nutrition classes delivered to Cumbria University students
• Culinary retreats in Crete with Simpson Travel
• Regular commentary on BBC Radio Cumbria
• Featured in The Times, Hello Magazine and many others

Passionate about the culture of her homeland, where the food heritage goes back thousands of years to Minoan times, Irini (who was born in Crete and herself benefitted from homegrown, simple and often wild ingredients) is a fervent advocate of growing our own foods and buying locally wherever practical.  She is also a keen supporter of growers and breeders who engage in ethical and responsible practices and use foodstuffs offered freely in the local countryside.  Irini is herself a keen forager.

Convinced, like many, that our planet’s resources are fast being exhausted, Irini likes to inform and to inspire others to adopt a more caring attitude to the environment through the use of simple, seasonal or fresh ingredients wherever possible.  She has developed and is now delivering food classes to university students with the purpose of helping them plan and organise their shopping and cooking activities so as to ensure nutritional, balanced, flavoursome and beautiful dishes involving little waste in their preparation and consumption.

Being a people person (her career in banking was always centred on 

customer facing roles) Irini loves imparting her passion and knowledge by giving cooking classes and holding culinary retreats in the UK, Greece or other countries which she feels an affinity with.  Her paternal grandparents came from Asia Minor, she feels a strong connection to Italy and generally loves the food of the whole Mediterranean region. The first book she bought on moving to the UK in 1980 was about Moroccan cuisine.

As a trained olive oil sommelier, Irini is also passionate about the health and culinary benefits of extra virgin olive oils and is invited to speak and hold tastings on this fundamental pillar of the Mediterranean Diet. 

Irini also enjoys and is often engaged to design recipes using ingredients that she knows, uses herself or discovers.  When in her home island of Crete, Irini enjoys learning of developments in the local cuisine, goes foraging with family members and contributes in family or community events where food has centre stage. 

Irini inherited an artistic and creative nature.  Her father played the bouzouki and her mother enjoyed painting and taught Irini from a young age to knit, crochet and embroider whilst her grandmother and aunts were great weavers. She studied History of Art, Architecture and Design at Kingston University and was a legal director and leading actress for a London based Greek theatre group.  Irini brings her artistic flair to the food she creates as evidenced in the dishes that wowed the judges on MasterChef, by focussing on putting together flavours and textures that work perfectly together as well as eye-catching food-styling and photography for her social media following and print media content.

Over the course of her life, Irini has attended many self-development and motivational seminars, has read the works of modern thinkers and practitioners and her experience while competing at the highest amateur culinary level has provided her with invaluable lessons that allow her to inspire and empower others.  Using food as a medium, she believes that food preparation – as she experienced herself growing up in a communal style of cooking and eating – is a great leveller.  This has led her to leading team-building weekends where company employees (who may feel they have plateaued, uninspired, bored even disgruntled) can share in the joy of such a basic but also all-pervasive and time-honoured act of sourcing, preparing and sharing food for ourselves, loved ones and community.   

Your PR Emerging from Lockdown

The reputation of any organisation can be built on how it adapts to a crisis and how that organisation’s customers responds in the aftermath.

In my many years of working in public relations, I have been witness to many crises in global, national and local PR, and I have found that the key to emerging unharmed from catastrophe is to address the concerns of your audience directly while maintaining a constant stream of communication.


Stay in touch with your customers

The current government-imposed lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic is having a devastating impact on businesses, but the way you handle the crisis now is crucial as it will have a direct impact on the behaviour of your customers in the future.

When consumers finally come out of lockdown and start spending money freely again, it's likely that they'll choose the businesses that have kept in touch with them during the quarantine period.

However, in order to attract customers to spend their money on your products and services, they need to be given a compelling reason to do so. Staying silent will not encourage them to take action, so it's essential to communicate with your consumers and keep them updated on what you're doing while staying relevant.

Start planning ahead now!

Your post lockdown PR needs to start immediately. One of the first things that you need to do is to re-learn consumer patterns as consumer spending habits are changing. Prioritising main concerns over ease of purchase, social distancing and hygiene and communicating this to your audience effectively is essential.

Always ensuring that you follow through on your promises. The lockdown regulations are also a fantastic opportunity for local and online brands to attract customers, as people are currently either reluctant or unable to travel long distances.

In fact, 60% of all shopping has moved online too and telling your customers and new customers that you are now selling on the internet is an ongoing piece of work.

Consumer behaviour can change in the blink of an eye, so after three months of lockdown and a slow transition period of easing restrictions, it's likely that consumer habits will have changed for good.

To be prepared for this change and get a head start on your business promotions, get in touch with our expert team at redheadPR today by filling in our online contact form or by dropping us an email at sara@redheadpr.co.uk

Don’t leave it too late to tell your audience what you are doing.  Regularly and correctly.

Winners of The Whitewed Directory Awards 2019 Announced

The winners of The Whitewed Directory Awards 2019 were announced at a glamourous Awards ceremony held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon on Thursday 6 February 2020.  

The winners are:

·         Business of the Year 2019: George Goes Out, based in Devizes

·         Start-up Business of the Year 2019: MK Hair & Makeup, based in Pewsey

·         Most Inspiring Business Person of the Year 2019: Fluffy Puffin, based in Calne

·         The Peers Award 2019: Wendy House Flowers, based in Lyneham

·         The Director's Award 2019: Holly Robinson Jewellery and Willoughby & Wolf, based in Marlborough

The judging panel, who had to make extremely hard decisions in choosing the winners, comprised of three highly respected industry professionals: Sara Tye, award winning, top 500 international PR, business and organisational development expert and serial entrepreneur, Ian Larrard, Director of Business West in Swindon and Wiltshire, and Emma Richards, Director of Sales of DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon.

Sara Tye commented: “A huge congratulations to all the 2019 winners. The standard of entries increases year on year and this year was no exception. I’m always delighted to help celebrate great entrepreneurship!”

 “I am so thrilled for our four Whitewed Award winners, they beat off stiff competition as the standard of entries was so very high. To win is a great accolade. Congratulations too, to those companies who made the shortlist. This was a great achievement due to the extremely high standard of all entries,” said Natalie Lovett, Director of The Whitewed Directory.

Shirley Ludford, broadcaster and station manager of Swindon 105.5, the community radio station, was the keynote speaker.

Over the last five years, The Whitewed Directory members base has grown, and so have the relationships within it. Many members recommend each other and are often delighted to find out they will be working with each other, as they know they’ll be working alongside a professional and quality peer.  

"All of the entrants demonstrated real business acumen, a knowledge within their specific sector and crucially, a determination to succeed. The judges were so impressed with the high-quality entries, it was really tough for them to choose the winners,” said Lovett.

“All of us would like to say a big thank you to everyone who entered and offer our congratulations to the winners.”

LESS THAN HALF OF UK ORGANISATIONS USE DATA TO DEVELOP THEIR BUSINESS

Less than 50% of key business decision makers have commissioned research to help develop their business. This comes from the latest research commissioned by Independent South West based PR consultancy redheadPR and conducted by YOLO Communications.

It was also found that only 41% of senior decision makers had commissioned research with their customers to help drive sales within their organisation.

“Data and information are the foundation of decision making. Without it, it’s harder for your stakeholders or customers to believe in you. For me and my business, it’s vital to have this data to be able to grow successfully.” said founder and managing director, Sara Tye, the award-winning business and organisational development expert, and a top 500 international PR and serial entrepreneur.
 

The Daily Mail recently reported that small firms are losing sales to rivals due to fake news.

“The Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) stated within the Daily Mail report that small firms are reliant on online platforms to succeed. Something we can all relate to. With fake news rife in today’s news and social feeds, it can be hard to determine what to believe. Without the credible data to back it up, these articles can quickly have a damaging effect on any business.” continued Sara.

Other results found that senior decision makers commissioned research:

·         With their customers to help develop their business – 38%

·         With their target audience to produce competitive analysis - 28%

·         With their employees for internal feedback on their organisation - 28%

·         With a general audience to create content for PR, marketing and social media - 21%

It was also found that 15% of decision makers had never commissioned market research for their organisation.
 

“We also learned that only 33% of decision makers had commissioned any research to help them understand their key market. This means that much of their current understanding comes from opinion or anecdotal research, which could result in false and untrue information, leading them down the wrong path.” continued Sara.

Founded by Sara in 2003, redheadPR is a dynamic and independent public relations market leader and social media agency based in Swindon, Wiltshire that celebrated 15 years in business last year. 2018 saw the PR agency voted one of the top three marketing agencies in Swindon. The company manages the profiles of blue-chip corporations, products and well-known individuals, blending established and ground-breaking digital techniques for effective, compelling and brilliantly bespoke campaigns for clients.

To find out more about commissioning research, contact redheadPR: pr@redheadpr.co.uk.

Real Business asks Sara Tye what PR mistake stands out in her mind

The PR gaff that stands out in my mind, which took years to rectify, was the lack of comment and action from HRH The Queen post the death of the late Princess Diana. Probably one of the most high-profile news items and deaths ever – it was handled poorly by the Royals and by Buckingham Palace.

There is a saying that ‘A gap left with no communications can be filled with misinterpretation, fear and dread’. We’ve all felt that at some stage in our lives and the country felt this when the Queen left it days to comment and return to London, and mourn the death of Princess Diana with the people.

The Queen made a decision to stay with the young boys in Scotland and unfortunately it was misinterpreted by the British people. This was the start of a profile/perception issue for The Queen.

It took years to turn it around. It took films, documentaries, softening up, Princes William, social media to make sure our Queen is much more accessible. An accessibility that Princess Diana started.

Could this have been mitigated. Of course.

Better decision making and discussion at Buckingham Palace on immediate and short-term PR actions, plans and outcomes would have helped. Maybe the Royal household went into melt down at such an awful accident. It was huge! But it looked like it took too long.

What would have been the outcome of The Queen saying something quickly. Nothing but positive reaction. Sometimes emotions and feelings stop us doing things. But this was, in the end a ‘Royal Business/Organisation’ decision not just a personal one.

There was probably little communication of the current reaction in London and at the gates of Kensington Palace until they saw this themselves on the news. Had someone been there and relayed the information correctly, then maybe a different decision would have been made. London activity becomes national/international activity.

Also, the softening of The Queen could have started earlier. The approach taken now by the Royals in terms of perception is just fantastic and maybe it took a crisis to turn it around. Or maybe it took the Duke of Cambridge and the effect on him and the way he carries himself.

The Queen was and is a professional and global ‘PR Maven’ and had an impeccable record before this incident and does now. It demonstrates how one decision can cancel out years of work.

Whenever a calamity hits and PR is at the forefront of the action, acting and making decisions are crucial. Sometimes they can be the wrong choices. But if you have great credibility in the first place, then turning this around into positive action and perception is not difficult. But saying and doing nothing is worse.