Meet M

Hello!

I’m M. Michaela actually, but M is easier and quicker to spell!

I was born to feed people. It nurtures my soul and brings me masses of joy. Cooking began at a young age, not always successfully! I sensed that I could show people how much I cared for them by making them yummy things to eat. Growing up living in different countries around the world immersed me in a variety of cuisines and cultures. Those experiences nurtured the joy I found in cooking for people and I cooked, and I cooked, and I cooked. Consequently, food guides how I live my life.

At the beginning of 2019 I leapt into the world of self-employment as a freelance private chef. I’d been doing this in my spare time for five years, and knew that working for myself would give me more purpose and freedom than I had in my day job. I realised the only way I would achieve that was to be entirely accountable for my work life. I had worked in professional kitchens earlier in my career, and had thought that would tick the box for me by way of saying I’d given the chef life a go. It wasn’t enough though, and ten years later I began my professional food adventure again, only this time I needed to make it work for me. My work can easily be described as either cooking for people, or helping people learn how to cook. Both give me masses of joy, and I am happy to say the feeling is usually mutual! 

I’d love to hear from you about anything food related - drop me a line or give me a call.

Best wishes,

M

  • Emma Gannon - Intelligent Appliances

    What shines through with Michaela is her instinctive passion for all things food and cooking. She backs this up with a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

    As a private chef and our Better Living Champion, Michaela brings our Intelligent Appliances to life. She helps us and our customers to get the best out of our appliances and to put them at the centre of our purpose of helping people to lead healthier lifestyles.

    Michaela has shown us how to cook with seasonal ingredients sourced with TLC. And she gives our customers the confidence to embrace the produce, its preparation and to start cooking with a fresh perspective. We love having Michaela with us on our journey

  • Karen Turner – Owner of Laudale Estate

    Michaela has often cooked for us at our estate in the Highlands where we entertain large groups of friends. She also looks after corporate guests and private celebratory gatherings there, usually for around 20 people.

    Her food is always superb: Michaela can cook whatever is required to a very high standard including for multiple generations of mixed dietary requirements - never easy!”

    Planning is always precise, the kitchen is always calm, organised and tidy and Michaela can turn her hand to last-minute changes with ease and good humour which is essential in a family kitchen-style cooking environment.

  • Ted Innes Ker – Owner of Reiver Travel

    Michaela is an outstanding chef. My clients fly over from the USA every year and insist Michaela is with them for their trip, she has become an absolutely essential part of the experience thanks in large part to her exceptional cooking with the freshest of produce, turning her hand to anything, being very flexible, as well as being huge fun to be around

  • Andrea Sutton - Private Function Client

    The most delicious food imaginable! Michaela at With M created a selection of wonderful dishes for a big family celebration, which went down a storm. Her attention to detail and passion for her craft can only be described as 'love'. She puts everything into it and the results are spectacular dishes of food which are talked about for years afterwards. I cannot recommend her highly enough.