THERE are few moments in a week when Ilia Makri is not creating delicious food.

And that is just how she likes it.

She runs cookery courses most days of the week at the Mersea Island Cookery School and also takes her skills to food enthusiast's home where she gives one to one lessons.

On top of that she also runs her own hugely successful cake making and catering business, Ilia's Kitchen.

And there is always a warm welcome from Ilia, whichever kitchen she happens to be working in.

"When I do the cookery courses I will have made some breads or sweet Chelsea buns before everyone arrives and then we will sit down and have a coffee and talk about what we are going to make.

"Then we will spend a couple of hours going through it together and I will already have some food ready for us all to sit down and have a light lunch together.

"Then they get to take home whatever they have made," she explains.

There is a smorgasbord of culinary styles to choose from at the school with Ilia at the helm of most of them unless they have a visiting chef in.

British food, Eastern, French, Spanish and of course Ilia's native Greek cuisine all feature.

She also runs courses creating classic British cakes and teaching the tricks behind baking bread.

"We all cook three loaves and I do my own before everyone arrives so that when we sit down to share some soup for lunch they will then have their own bread to take home with them," says Ilia.

She admits there is one area she would like to cover at the cookery school, which is on Rewsalls Lane on the east side of the island.

"I think probably the only area I do not cover, or have not so far, is Asian and Thai food but I am looking for a visiting chef to come in and cover that as I do love that style of food," she explains.

Ilia was born and brought up in Greece where she learnt to cook at her mother's side - but it was only when she came to Britain to study that she really fell in love with it.

"I had cooked with my mother certainly, but not for myself and other people so when I came to Essex University 24 years ago that was when I began really experimenting with it and using different flavours.

"And I began to build my repertoire from there."

Settling in Essex Ilia, began working in the city but later made a decision to concentrate on her cooking.

"I did a diploma in food and I went into catering but then we moved back to Greece for three years and while I was there I actually wrote recipes for a national newspaper.

"And when we came back I actually carried on doing that for a while from a distance."

Having started out just doing the odd course, Ilia now resides over most of those organised at the Mersea Island Cookery School and she is kept busy with returning customers as well as knew ones seeking fresh skills.

"There is a mixture of people who really want to build up their skills and then others who have good skills but want to add to those they already have."

She is also passionate about helping people build confidence in the kitchen, and as part of her own venture she has begun heading out to customer's homes to help them do just that.

"I have helped one lady who was basically just filling her fridge with ready made meals and she really wanted to change.

"And within a few weeks she was sending me photographs of the food she had made after we had worked together and she was so pleased with herself.

"She said she was going to make the change one meal at a time and I thought that was just a great way of putting it.

"I will teach basic skills like what vegetables and meats to select and then chopping and preparation and we can start work on basic dishes like a bolognese sauce and then a shepherd's pie," says Ilia who is also mum to Richard, nine, and Sophia, seven.

She says she never gets tired of cooking and her family will often get to try out new dishes and cakes.

"They do have a lot of tasters as they are first people I will ask but they don't mind at all," she adds.

For more information about courses and Ilia's catering and one-to-one courses click here and here.

ILIA'S RECIPE

TRY this recipe for an Asparagus and cheese flan which is among the dishes Ilia guides students through on her cookery courses on a daily basis.

"On a baking day we will often do a flan or a quiche as they are something you can do that is simple and tasty.

"We will cook together and then have a light lunch and they will take home what they have made with them," says Ilia.

INGREDIENTS

250g homemade shortcrust pastry

For the filling: One large courgette coarsely grated

30g butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 egg

100ml cream

100ml whole milk

50g ricotta cheese

50g feta cheese

30g mature cheddar cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

5 asparagus spears, parboiled for 2 minutes

2-4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

METHOD

  •  Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Place a 24cm flan tin onto a baking sheet that fits in your fridge.
  • Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use it to line the flan tin. Ideally, use a fluted tin.
  • Prick the base with a fork. Cover the pastry with the cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  • Line the base and sides with baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beans. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the beans and paper and bake the empty case for a further ten minutes, or until the base is lightly browned. Turn the oven down to 150°C.
  • In the meantime, put the grated courgettes in a bowl, sprinkle them with a teaspoon of the salt and mix them around. Leave for about 20 minutes and then squeeze out as much juice from the courgettes as possible, using both your hands cupped together.
  • Heat the butter in a small pan over a medium heat and soften the shallots for five minutes. Add the courgettes and cook for a further five minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
  • Mix the eggs with the cream and the milk, then add the ricotta, feta cheese and cheddar followed by the courgette mixture. Taste for seasoning; there may be enough salt from the courgettes.
  • Pour the filling over the tart case add the asparagus spears on top and sprinkle evenly with the parmesan cheese.
  • Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is set with a slight wobble in the middle.