Meet August - head tutor of the Raymond Blanc gardening School

My name is August and I am the Head tutor of the Raymond Blanc gardening school. It has been one incredible rollercoaster over the last 4 years to get to this point. Just 5 years ago I had never grown a thing. I had been an Air Hostess for Virgin Atlantic for 20 years and had no idea my future was going to be full of plants! I think I would have laughed you down the aisle with my coffee pot if you had told me.

I began my journey with my two girls Posie and Winnie and together we began to unwind in the magic of growing food. My children were slightly fussy with eating veggies but I began to find the more we grew together their fascination grew and slowly but surely, they began to eat everything. That was the moment my obsession began; I can only liken it to Alice falling down the rabbit hole with new and exciting packets of seeds flying everywhere and my looking glass was through my children's eyes. I began digging up the grass making veg patches, creating edible secret flower gardens for the children to make everlasting memories, I was HOOKED and I had found my passion in life.

One day my husband took me to this truly enchanting hotel and restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat ’Saisons and the moment I stepped through the gateway into the Kitchen Garden I knew I had to be there. Pumpkins and squash tumbling all over the beds, carrots lining the pathways and Bean teepees standing strong like soldiers in a row. As if by magic a job for Kitchen Gardener came available the very next week and that moment my new life path began.

On my first day I met Raymond Blanc and he gave me a big hug to welcome me to the family and shared with me his vision and passion of the journey from garden to plate. I have honestly never met such an inspirational human, the fairy tale of Le Manoir he has created is like nothing I have ever experienced and every single part of the Le Manoir family from chefs, front of house to Cookery school and gardens share the same passion and vision, weaving together a beautiful story for our guests to enjoy.

Don’t get me wrong being a kitchen gardener is not always a fairy tale, there are harsh cold days and fiery hot afternoons but you have to work hard to achieve your goals and my goal was to teach the Raymond Blanc gardening school. I studied horticulture at night, embarked on a degree in environmental studies, and began gaining experience in teaching at a primary school in London, which inspired me to create my own business, ‘Seed Explorers’, a growing box of magic designed to inspire children to connect with growing food. I can now say all the hard work has paid off and I am so honoured to be the Head tutor of the Raymond Blanc gardening school where I work closely with Raymond to share his vision and the importance of growing food with our guests.

I truly believe you can achieve anything with hard work, passion and dedication, never give up on your dreams they are just around the corner.