All About The Unorthodox Cooking Academy

Hi there, I’m Gareth, the creator behind The Unorthodox Cooking Academy, and I’m here to share with you how cooking became my unexpected path to healing and self-discovery.

For many years, I struggled with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and addictions that left me disconnected from both myself and food. My relationship with food was unhealthy—sometimes I ate, sometimes I didn’t—but it wasn’t until later that I realized how deeply our relationship with food affects our mental health and overall well-being.

Over time, and with the help of therapy and a lot of self-compassion, I began to rebuild my life. Cooking came into the picture quite unexpectedly. At first, it was difficult, to say the least. I had to re-learn what food meant to me and let go of the guilt and fear I had around eating. But as I spent more time in the kitchen, I discovered that cooking wasn’t just a task—it was therapy. It helped me stay calm, express myself creatively, and find peace during some of my toughest days.

I began to teach myself how to cook, experimenting with flavorus, techniques, and styles. Over time, cooking became a joyful practice that improved not only my relationship with food but also with myself. As I continued to develop this passion, I realised that cooking could help others in the same way it helped me—by offering a creative, therapeutic outlet that nourishes the body and mind.

Since co-founding a Retreat in 2014, where I’ve spent countless hours cooking, experimenting, and teaching, I’ve had the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with others. Along the way, I wrote two cookbooks and three books on mental health, focusing on the connection between food, mental health, and self-care.

Through The Food Brain system, I’ve created a framework that blends the art, science, psychology, and love of cooking to help others build a better relationship with food, boost their mental well-being, and experience the creative freedom that comes with cooking.

I believe that when we’re kind to ourselves, cooking can be an incredibly healing and joyful experience. And that's what I’m here to help you discover—how food and cooking can transform the way you feel, both in the kitchen and in your life.

I have often thought about sharing the story behind the story of how I got into cooking and how much it means to me but for some reason, I have avoided doing it and just touched upon it briefly every now and then.

How do I sum up years of pain, frustration, self loathing, sadness, overwhelm and so much more into something that is quick and easy to read ?

Looking back on my life, I never could have imagined that cooking would be one of the things to help me keep my life together and on track. Come to think of it, do we ever have everything together and on track but I think you know what I mean. But here we are, and cooking - I prefer to think of it as preparing meals for people to enjoy - is now one of my greatest forms of therapy. To some, this might sound a bit crazy however, I don’t think I would ever be able to label myself as normal so crazy fits the bill. 

My journey to my life changing (cliche, but true) relationship the art, science, psychology and love hasn’t been an easy one but it has, by far, been the most rewarding, and challenging, one ever. 

For many years of my life, quite a long time ago and in a country (Zimbabwe) on the other side of the world, I didn’t have the best relationship with food or, if I am honest, life in general. I went through quite a bit of “stuff” as a child and lived with some rather challenging mental health conditions (bipolar and schizophrenia.) I started using alcohol, drugs and self-harming at a young age as a way of dealing with what was going on deep down inside. 

Even though I did my best to show that everything was OK, it was all I knew how to do at that point in time - put on a brave smile, and as they said in Finding Nemo - just keep swimming. On the surface, I had a great job, a beautiful family who I loved dearly and lots to live for and, as so many people can relate too, I was terrified to admit what was going on internally. When you keep things bottled up for so many years. The thought of even starting to talk about it is overwhelming so you just keep going.

I didn’t really care much about food for myself at all - it was just something I had to prepare for my family and then shove a little bit in my mouth to keep going. Sometimes I ate, sometimes I didn’t, and that was the extent of it. Food didn’t have much meaning to me at all. 

As a result of all of this, my health on all levels (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually) deteriorated and things exploded in a bit of a mess. Numerous hospital visits due to type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, severe stomach ulcers, kidney degeneration and 2 heart attacks still didn’t make me wake up to what was going on in my body. I often look back and wonder why I never listened but I guess that had to be my journey to where I am now.

It wasn’t until I took matters into my own hands and made stupid choices (which I still struggle with every now and then) that I finally realised that something really had to change, even if I did not know what it was. If I am honest with myself, these feelings of guilt for what I put my family through are what really stop me from stepping out and sharing this journey of mine - I should just be thankful that I am still around is what I always tell myself. 

I still remember vividly lying on a hospital bed, restrained and hooked up to machines so filled with anger and deep sadness towards myself - I believed I was “so bad that even the devil didn’t want me in hell. I truly felt that things were beyond repair and a happy and healthy future seemed totally impossible and out of reach.

I didn’t know who I was talking to, in that moment I chose to call “it” God, but I made a personal promise that somehow I would try my best to put things together and if I was alive, happy and healthy on my 40th birthday, I would commit my life to being of service to and helping others. 

And so began the most challenging, confusing, overwhelming, difficult but rewarding journey of my life.

With a whole lot of therapy, self-compassion, personal development, mistakes, blunders, learning and a lot stubbornness - I started to rebuild my life. To cut a long story short, this involved moving to London and then to Spain, a dream I always had since being a child that, like the happy and healthy future I mentioned, seemed impossible.

I turned 40 in 2013 and together with my business partner (who is also my closest friend and brother from another mother) we opened our own Health Retreat at the beginning of 2014 - the start of me fulfilling that promise I made all those years ago in 2002.

One thing that was never, ever on my list of things to do was cooking. I had worked very hard to have a healthier relationship with food and it was one that was still rocky. Yes, I ate better than ever before but I still struggled with it so the thought of cooking with others was furthest from my mind.

I guess you could say I was forced into cooking. The chef we had lined up for our Retreat never arrived and one of us needed to cook so, as I was committed to learning and helping others, I made the decision to do it under the impression that it would be pretty easy to find someone to fill the role quickly. But that proved harder to do than expected.

At first, it felt like another thing I should do, and I was scared of it (yes, I was afraid of cooking). There were times when I just stood in the kitchen, staring blankly at the wall and wanting to cry. Thanks to my internal, neurodivergent operating system, I couldn’t follow recipes and yes, that might sound strange but my brain would just shut down as I tried to read and follow them. 

This might sound strange, and it is quite hard to explain, but I would get an image in my mind and was somehow able to follow a set of instructions that came with that image. Yes, I told you it might sound strange but that is, quite honestly, the only way I can explain it and why I find it difficult to tell people how I knew how to cook like I did. 

It was through “following” these images and instructions that I had to learn patience. I could not rush things and I had to slow down - something that I found quite challenging. I had to, somehow, get myself into a calm and quiet state and make a conscious effort to practice the art of mindfulness as it was only when I was in that state that I was able to create new meals. 

As difficult as it was, I stuck with it. Slowly, I learned how to love food, not just as something to fuel my body, but as a way to express myself and take care of my mental health.

The kitchen became my happy place. I started seeing food as therapy, a way to get calm, creative, and even a bit rebellious - I think the fact that I was not formally trained really helped me as I had no strict, rigid rules that I had to follow so could create my own. Over time, I taught myself how to really cook and discovered how much joy I get from it - how much it helps me stay grounded, how it makes me feel peaceful but most importantly, how much joy it brings me. 

I’ve learned that cooking isn’t just about eating, it’s about loving yourself enough to make something delicious, even if you’re not perfect at it. Some days I eat great, and some days I don’t (because hey, life happens). But my relationship with food? It’s a whole lot better than it used to be.

Now, I’m here, sharing this crazy journey with others at the Retreat I co-founded with my business partner. Since 2014, I’ve spent hours in the kitchen experimenting, learning, and teaching myself how to cook in a way that feels right for me. I’ve written two cookbooks and three books on mental health and self-help - because to me, food and mental health are so strongly connected. And over time, I created a system called The Food Brain, which is basically my brain’s love child of art, science, psychology, and the love of food.

What I’ve learned is simple: cooking can be your therapy. It can help you stay calm, it can help you express yourself, and it can bring you joy. And when you start to treat food as a form of self-care, it becomes easier to get creative in the kitchen, and even easier to be kind to yourself in the process.

So, if you’re reading this thinking, "Yeah, I can’t cook, and I don’t know how to love food," you’re not alone. And you don’t need to be perfect to enjoy it. Cooking can help you, and it’s way more fun than you think.

If you’ve struggled with food guilt, disconnection from your meals, or simply feeling overwhelmed by cooking, I get it. I’ve been there. But here’s the thing: cooking doesn’t have to be perfect or overwhelming.

It can be a form of self-care, a way to reconnect with yourself, and a tool to boost your mental health in ways you might not have expected.

I created The Unorthodox Cooking Academy to offer a space where anyone—whether you're a beginner or someone looking to reframe your relationship with food—can learn to cook with creativity, confidence, and a sense of joy. 

Through my personal experience and the Food Brain system, I’ve seen firsthand how cooking can be a transformative tool, and I’m here to guide you on that journey.

Transform Your Relationship with Food: Learn how to approach cooking in a mindful and creative way that fits your life.

Creative & Therapeutic Cooking: Discover the joy and peace cooking can bring while improving your mental well-being.

Support & Community: Join a community of like-minded individuals who share the same desire to improve their cooking and food mindset.

Proven System: Based on my own journey of healing, The Food Brain system is designed to help you cultivate a better relationship with food and embrace the creative freedom cooking offers.